Andrei Cristea (; born 15 May 1984) is a Romanian professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who plays as a
forward. Although deployed as a forward, Cristea is better known for his pace and his range of passing instead of his goalscoring abilities, and represented the
Romania national team
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
from 2003 to 2010.
Club career
Cristea started football in his home town and made his debut in the
Divizia A in 2001, for local club
FCM Bacău
Asociația Sportivă a Suporterilor FCM 1950 Bacău, commonly known as ASS FCM 1950 Bacău, FCM 1950 Bacău or simply as FCM Bacău, is a Romanian football club based in Bacău, Bacău County. Founded in 1950 as ''Dinamo Bacău'', the club fro ...
.
In the summer of 2004, Cristea transferred to
Steaua București for a fee of
$1 million. However, he did not manage to earn a first-team place there, despite scoring two goals that eliminated
Valencia CF
Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the Spa ...
in the
2004–05 UEFA Cup
The 2004–05 UEFA Cup was the 34th edition of the UEFA Cup. The format of the competition had changed from previous seasons, replacing that from the previous one after the abolition of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1999; an extra qualifying round was ...
season. He was put on the transfer list in the summer of 2006.
Cristea moved to fellow
Liga I
The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently Sponsor (commercial), sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It ...
club
Politehnica Timişoara, in a swap which saw
Gigel Coman move to
Steaua București. After failing to impress at Politehnica Timişoara, he was loaned to
Politehnica Iaşi for the second part of the
2007–08 season, where he had a great part in saving the team from relegation, with man of the match performances against
CFR Cluj
Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ), is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, which competes in the Liga I. It was founded in 1907 as ''Kolozsvári Vasutas Sport Club'', whe ...
and his former team,
Steaua București.
Dinamo București
On 9 May 2008, Cristea signed a five-year contract with
Dinamo, just six days before turning 24. He called the transfer "a birthday present" and joined
Dinamo after the summer holiday. He started scoring for the red and white team in the friendly games they played in pre-season. Cristea played only the first half on the season for
Dinamo, netting two goals in eight matches and entering
Dinamo's history by scoring the goal that brought the 1.000th victory of the team in all-time domestic championship, against
Farul Constanta.
Cristea again went on loan to
Politehnica Iași, in the winter transfer window, where he was very well received and scored seven times in 15 games, goals which proved crucial in helping the team continue in the first division. Upon his return, he became a very important player, scoring goals that brought significant victories in
Liga I
The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently Sponsor (commercial), sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It ...
and
Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
. He was the top scorer of the Romanian league in the
2009–10 season with 16 goals.
Karlsruhe
On 16 January 2011,
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
signed Cristea in the attempt of avoiding the relegation. On 13 February, Cristea scored two goals against the leader of
Second Bundesliga,
Hertha BSC. These were his first goals on this new club.
On 27 February, he scored the last goal of the game in the 1–4 loss against
FC Ingolstadt 04
Fußball-Club Ingolstadt 2004 e.V., commonly known as FC Ingolstadt 04 or FC Ingolstadt, is a German football club based in Ingolstadt, Bavaria. The club was founded in 2004 out of the merger of the football sides of two other clubs: ESV Ingols ...
, after coming from bench.
On 11 March, Cristea scored the first goal of the match in
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
-
Duisburg
Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in No ...
, 3–1 final score.
On 15 May, in the last round of the
Second Bundesliga, the
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
n striker saved his club from relegation, scoring a brace in the 3–2 win against
Union Berlin.
The next season Karlsruhe were relegated after a play-off and Cristea became a
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
.
Initially, Cristea wanted to stay in Germany, where he had offers from
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Ba ...
and
Energie Cottbus
FC Energie Cottbus ( Lower Sorbian: ''Energija Chóśebuz'') is a German football club based in Cottbus, Brandenburg. It was founded in 1963 as SC Cottbus in what was East Germany. After the reunification of Germany, Energie played six seasons i ...
, but Dinamo approached him and he accepted to return to Bucharest where he had the chance to again work under
Dario Bonetti
Dario Bonetti (; born 5 August 1961) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is the elder brother of Ivano Bonetti.
Club career
Born in San Zeno Naviglio, Brescia, Italy, Bonetti made his professional debut during the 1978–79 sea ...
. On 22 June 2014, Cristea signed a one-year contract with
Azerbaijan Premier League side
Gabala FK
Gabala Football Club ( az, Qəbələ Futbol Klubu ), also spelled Qabala, is an Azerbaijani association football club representing Qabala in the Azerbaijan Premier League since 2006. Gabala has been the runner up in the Premier League three time ...
. In December of the same year Cristea had his contract with Gabala terminated. Following his release he signed with
Lega Pro
The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C.
The unification of the Lega Pro ...
side
U.S. Salernitana 1919 until the end of the season.
Politehnica Iași
After playing for
Salernitana
Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919, commonly referred to as Salernitana, is
an Italian football club based in Salerno, Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recentl ...
and
Martina Franca
Martina Franca, or just Martina ( Martinese: ), is a town and ''municipality'' in the province of Taranto, Apulia, Italy. It is the second most populated town of the province after Taranto, and has a population (2016) of 49,086. Since 1975, th ...
in the Italian
Serie C
The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C.
The unification of the Lega Pro ...
, in February 2016, Cristea returned to Romania to join his former team,
Liga I
The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently Sponsor (commercial), sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It ...
club
Politehnica Iași. He subsequently signed a one and a half-year contract with the Moldavian squad.
He scored 7 goals in 17 games in the second half of the
2015–16 Liga I
The 2015–16 Liga I (also known as Liga 1 Orange for sponsorship reasons) was the 98th season of the Liga I, the top professional league for Romanian association football clubs. The season began 10 July 2015 and ended on 29 May 2016, being the f ...
and helped Politehnica Iași qualify for the
2016–17 Europa League qualifying phase for the first time in their history. He then opened the scoring in a 2–2 draw against
Hajduk Split in their first European game. On 14 December 2018, in a game against
Concordia Chiajna
Clubul Sportiv Concordia Chiajna, commonly known as Concordia Chiajna, is a Romanian professional football club based in Chiajna, Ilfov County, which competes in the Liga II.
Founded in 1957, the team's best period was between 2011 and 2019, wh ...
, Cristea scored a brace and reached 100 goals scored in the Romanian Liga I.
On 27 September 2020, Cristea scored a hat-trick in a 5–2
league win over
FCSB
Fotbal Club FCSB (), commonly known as FCSB, is a Romanian professional football club based in Bucharest. It has spent its entire history in the top flight of the Romanian league system, the Liga I.
The original ''Steaua București'' footbal ...
.
International career
Cristea made his debut for the
Romanian national team on 11 October 2003, in a 1–1 draw against
Japan. Over the years he made ten appearances for the national team, until his retirement in 2010.
Career statistics
Club
[
]
International
Honours
[
]
Club
Steaua București
* Divizia A: 2004–05, 2005–06
Dinamo București
* Supercupa României: 2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
US Salernitana
*Serie C
The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C.
The unification of the Lega Pro ...
: 2014–15
Individual
*Liga I
The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently Sponsor (commercial), sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It ...
top scorer: 2009–10
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cristea, Andrei
1984 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Bacău
Romanian footballers
Association football forwards
Liga I players
FC Steaua București players
FCM Bacău players
FC Politehnica Timișoara players
FC Politehnica Iași (1945) players
FC Dinamo București players
2. Bundesliga players
Karlsruher SC players
FC Brașov (1936) players
Gabala FC players
U.S. Salernitana 1919 players
FC Politehnica Iași (2010) players
CS Universitatea Craiova players
CS Mioveni players
Romanian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Germany
Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Expatriate footballers in Azerbaijan
Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan
Expatriate footballers in Italy
Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Romania international footballers