Florentin Matei (; born 15 April 1993) is a

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

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 le ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

. He began his football career at Steaua București, before leaving his native country in 2011 to play for

Cesena Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and ''comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137. History Cesena was o ...

. He then had spells with

Volyn Lutsk Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. Th ...

and

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

, winning two domestic trophies in Croatia with the latter. At the beginning of 2018, Matei returned to Romania on loan with

Astra Giurgiu Asociația Fotbal Club Astra Giurgiu (), commonly known as Astra Giurgiu or simply Astra, was a Romanian football club based in the city of Giurgiu, Giurgiu County. Founded in 1921 in Ploiești as ''Clubul Sportiv Astra-Română'', it spent th ...

, but then joined

Ittihad Kalba Ittihad Kalba Football Club ( ar, نادي إتحاد كلباء لكرة القدم‎) is a football club in Kalba, United Arab Emirates. History Ittihad Kalba was established in 1972 when two clubs ''(Al Shabab)'' and ''(Al Rooba)'' merged w ...

in the summer of the same year. After being released by the Emirati side in January 2019, he was resigned by his boyhood club FCSB. Matei represented

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

at under-17 and under-19 level.

Club career

Steaua București

Born in

Bolintin-Vale Bolintin-Vale () is a town in Giurgiu County, Muntenia, Romania with a population of 12,929 . The town administers three villages: Crivina, Malu Spart and Suseni. It is the second largest city in the county; proximity to the capital Bucharest has ...

Giurgiu County Giurgiu () is a county (''județ'') of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Giurgiu. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 265,494 and the population density was . * Romanians – over 96% * Roman ...

, Matei came through

FC Steaua București FC Steaua București was a Romanian professional football club of which two current entities are claiming the records. The original ''FC Steaua București'' team was part of the namesake CSA Steaua București sports club and belonged to the Ministry ...

's youth ranks, and in 2009 he was named the best player of the "Iulian Manzarov – International Football Tournament for Juniors" in Bulgaria. On 16 May 2010 he made his

Liga I The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It is the country's top ...

debut for the senior team, in a 2–0 victory against

FC Universitatea Craiova U Craiova 1948, commonly known as FC U Craiova 1948 or FC U Craiova, is a Romanian professional football club based in Craiova, Dolj County, which competes in the Liga I. It is along with CS Universitatea Craiova one of the two entities asserti ...

where he came on as a substitute for

Romeo Surdu Romeo Constantin Surdu (born 12 January 1984) is a Romanian footballer and manager. Club career Born in Brașov, Surdu began his football career at FC Brașov. During the summer of 2005 he was traded to CFR Cluj. Steaua On 22 August 2007, he ...

in the 82nd minute; in September, he was sent on loan at fellow league side

Unirea Urziceni Asociația Sportivă Fotbal Club Urziceni, commonly known as FC Urziceni (), is a Romanian professional Association football, football Club (organization), club based in Urziceni, Ialomița County which currently plays in fourth division, Ialomi ...

along with several other teammates from Steaua's reserves. The following year, Matei terminated his contract with the capital-based club. As a result, Steaua owner

George Becali George "Gigi" Becali (; born 25 June 1958) is a Romanian businessman and former politician, mostly known for his ownership of the FCSB football club. Becali was a Member of the European Parliament between June 2009 and December 2012, and a Memb ...

criticised the youngster, stating in a controversial manner that he would never become an above average player.

Cesena

After eight months as 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 ...

, Matei signed with

A.C. Cesena A.C. Cesena, commonly referred to as Cesena (), was an Football in Italy, Italian football club based in Cesena, Emilia-Romagna. The club spent most of its history in professional leagues such as Serie A and Serie B, but went bankrupt and folde ...

from Italy on 11 September 2011. He was released only a year later.

Volyn Lutsk

In the autumn of 2013, Matei agreed to a three-year deal with Ukrainian side

, having been previously close to joining

Dinamo București A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterinbu ...

, the historical rival of his former club Steaua. During his spell with "the Crusaders" he made 61 appearances all competitions comprised, and scored 12 goals.

Rijeka

On 2 February 2016,

HNK Rijeka Hrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka ( en, Croatian Football Club Rijeka), commonly referred to as NK Rijeka or simply Rijeka, is a Croatian professional association football, football club from the city of Rijeka. HNK Rijeka compete in Croatia's top ...

announced they had signed Matei on a three-and-a-half-year contract. He was given the

number 10 jersey Squad numbers are used in association football to identify and distinguish players that are on the field. Numbers very soon became a way to also indicate position, with starting players being assigned numbers 1–11, although in the modern ga ...

and made his debut a week later, as an 85th-minute substitute in a 2–0 home win over

NK Lokomotiva Nogometni klub Lokomotiva Zagreb ( en, Lokomotiva Zagreb Football Club), commonly known as Lokomotiva Zagreb or simply Lokomotiva, is a Croatian professional association football, football club based in Zagreb. It competes in the Croatian First ...

. He scored his first goal for his new team in the first leg of the

Croatian Cup Croatian Cup may refer to: *Croatian Football Cup *Croatian Football Super Cup * Croatian Women's Football Cup *Croatian Basketball Cup, also known as Krešimir Ćosić Cup *Croatian Handball Cup *Croatian Water Polo Cup *Croatian Minute Movie Cup ...

semi-final, helping to a 2–1 defeat of

Slaven Belupo Nogometni klub Slaven Belupo ( en, Slaven Belupo Football Club), often referred to as NK Slaven Belupo, Slaven Belupo or simply Slaven, and known internationally as NK Slaven Koprivnica, is a Croatian professional football club based in the city ...

. On 9 January 2018, Rijeka loaned Matei to

in Romania until the end of the

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

Ittihad Kalba

In May 2018, after his loan at Astra Giurgiu expired, he moved to Emirati club

for a transfer fee of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

500,000. He netted his first goal on 28 September, in a 3–1 victory over

Al-Nasr Al Nassr Football Club ( ar, نادي النصر السعودي; '' Naṣr'' meaning ''Victory'') is a Saudi Arabian football club based in Riyadh. Formed in 1955, the club plays its home games at the Mrsool Park. Their home colours are yellow ...

Return to FCSB

Matei returned to his boyhood club Steaua București—now renamed FCSB—on 4 January 2019, seven years after stating that he did not regret leaving the ''Roș-albaștrii'' and being subsequently criticised by owner Gigi Becali.

Return to Astra Giurgiu

On 19 June 2019 he signed a 1-year contract with

side

Apollon Smyrnis

On 19 February 2022, Matei's contract with Greek club Apollon Smyrnis was terminated.

International career

Matei earned

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for

's under-17 and under-19 teams. In early 2016, Romanian coach

Mircea Lucescu Mircea Lucescu (; born 29 July 1945) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently head coach of Ukrainian Premier League club Dynamo Kyiv. He is one of the most decorated managers of all time. Lucescu is also ...

regarded him as a player who would deserve to be selected for the full side.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Club

;Rijeka *

Prva HNL The Hrvatska nogometna liga () ( en, Croatian football league), also known as HNL or for sponsorship reasons the SuperSport HNL, is the top Croatian professional football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, it was called Prva H ...

: 2016–17 *

: 2016–17

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matei, Florentin 1993 births Living people People from Bolintin-Vale Romanian footballers Romania youth international footballers Association football midfielders Liga I players Liga II players Serie A players Ukrainian Premier League players Croatian Football League players UAE Pro League players Cypriot First Division players Super League Greece players FC Steaua II București players FC Steaua București players FC Unirea Urziceni players A.C. Cesena players FC Volyn Lutsk players HNK Rijeka players FC Astra Giurgiu players Al-Ittihad Kalba SC players Apollon Limassol FC players Apollon Smyrnis F.C. players FC UTA Arad players Romanian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Ukraine Expatriate footballers in Croatia Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Expatriate footballers in Greece Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Croatia Romanian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Greece