ˈɪli stˈɑːɹɾᵻd fˈʊtbɔːl ɪn hɪz hˈoʊm tˈaʊn, wˈɜːkɪŋ hɪz wˈeɪ ˌʌp fɹʌmðə pəlaɪtˈeɪnɪkə ˈaɪæʃi jˈuːθ ænd bᵻfˌoːɹ hɪz tɹˈænsfɜː tə tˈɪmɪsˌoːɹə ɪn wˈɪntɚ tˈuː θˈaʊzənd sˈɪks hiː hæd ˈoʊnli plˈeɪd fɚðɪ aɪˈɑːsi bˈeɪst tˈiːm.
Ilie started football in his home town, working his way up from the Politehnica Iaşi youth and before his transfer to Timișoara in winter 2006 he had only played for the Iași based team.