Adrian Cristea

Adrian Cristea (born 30 November 1983) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a winger.

Club career Politehnica Iași Cristea, nicknamed "Prințul" (The Prince), was born on 30 November 1983 in Iași, Romania. He began playing football for his hometown club, Politehnica, in the Romanian lower leagues. One week later he netted his first goal when he opened the score in the 2–1 loss to Apulum Alba Iulia.

Dinamo București After scoring two goals in 15 matches in the first half of the 2004–05 season, Cristea was transferred to Dinamo București where he was wanted by coach Ioan Andone. By the end of the season, he won the Cupa României but Andone did not use him in the final against Farul Constanța. Cristea started the following season by winning the Supercupa României but again without Andone playing him in the victory against Steaua București. The team also reached the 2005–06 UEFA Cup group stage where he played in three games, including a 1–0 victory against title holders CSKA Moscow.

He helped The Red Dogs win the 2006–07 title, scoring three goals in 28 matches under the guidance of coach Mircea Rednic. In the same season, Dinamo reached the UEFA Cup round of 32 where they were eliminated with 3–1 on aggregate by Benfica, Cristea scoring three goals in the campaign, including one in a 2–1 win over Beşiktaş in the group stage. Subsequently, Dinamo had the objective of reaching the 2007–08 Champions League group stage, with Cristea appearing in both legs of the third qualifying round against Lazio Roma, which was eventually lost with 4–2 on aggregate. On 1 November 2008, he equalized with a header, following a pass from Gabriel Torje for a 1–1 draw against rivals Steaua.

Cristea helped the club achieve what was dubbed "The wonder from Liberec" by winning the away game 3–0 against Slovan Liberec to force a penalty shoot-out after losing the first leg by the same score, ultimately qualifying for the 2009–10 Europa League group stage. On 17 October 2010, he scored a penalty goal in a 2–1 derby win over Steaua.

Universitatea Cluj In December 2010, Cristea was transferred from Dinamo to Universitatea Cluj, for a total fee estimated by the Romanian press between €1.5 – 2 million. On 1 October 2011, he scored the first hat-trick of his career in Universitatea's 5–2 victory against Gaz Metan Mediaș. During one and a half years he netted 11 goals in 42 first-league matches for The Red Caps. In November 2012, he scored his only goal for Petrolul in a 2–0 win against his former team, Universitatea Cluj.

His only experience abroad came in 2013, when he went to play in Belgium alongside fellow Romanian George Țucudean, being loaned by Petrolul to Standard Liège. He made his Belgian Pro League debut on 10 February 2013, as coach Mircea Rednic used him the entire match in Standard's 1–0 home loss to Mons.

Steaua București On 30 July 2013, after terminating his contract with Petrolul Ploiești, Cristea signed a two-year contract with Steaua București. However, Cristea failed to win a place in the first team, being used by coach Laurențiu Reghecampf in only nine league matches in which he scored one goal as The Military Men won the title. There, he made one appearance when he was sent in the 73rd minute to replace Leandro Tatu in a 3–0 away loss to Schalke 04. He ended his contract with Steaua in April 2014.

Concordia Chiajna In September 2014, Cristea reached an agreement with Concordia Chiajna. At Chiajna he made his last Liga I appearances, totaling of 266 games with 40 goals in the competition and 34 matches with four goals in European competitions.

International career Cristea played nine games for Romania, making his debut on 7 February 2007 when coach Victor Pițurcă introduced him at halftime to replace Ovidiu Petre in a 2–0 friendly victory against Moldova. He appeared in two victories against Luxembourg in the successful Euro 2008 qualifiers.

After retirement After he ended his football career, Cristea worked as a fashion designer, opening a luxury clothing workshop in Bucharest.

Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals

2001–02 Divizia C

2002–03

2003–04

2004–05 Divizia A

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2004–05

2005–06

2006–07

2007–08

2008–09

2009–10

2010–11

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2010–11

2011–12

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2012–13

2013–14

15!!1!!3!!2!!0!!0!!1!!0!!19!!3 Standard Liège (loan) 2012–13 Belgian Pro League

Steaua București 2013–14 Liga I

2014–15

2015–16

2016–17

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International

Honours Politehnica Iași Divizia B: 2003–04 Divizia C: 2001–02

Dinamo București Liga I: 2006–07 Cupa României: 2004–05 Supercupa Romaniei: 2005

Petrolul Ploiești Supercupa României runner-up: 2013

Concordia Chiajna Cupa Ligii runner-up: 2015–16