Andrei Cristea

Andrei Cristea (; born 15 May 1984) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player.

Deployed as a forward, Cristea was known for his pace and range of passing rather than his goalscoring abilities, and represented the Romania national team from 2003 to 2010.

Club career Youth career Cristea was born on 15 May 1984 in Bacău, Romania. He grew up supporting Selena Bacău, where he particularly admired striker Daniel Scînteie. He was also deeply impressed by Romania's performance in the 1994 World Cup, developing a strong admiration for Ilie Dumitrescu and Florin Răducioiu. In 1999, he joined the junior center of FCM Bacău. He scored his first goal in the competition on 7 December 2002 in a 4–0 win over FC Brașov.

Steaua București In the summer of 2004, Cristea was transferred from FCM Bacău to Steaua București for a fee estimated by the press to be between $800,000 and $1 million. He helped the team win the 2004–05 title under coaches Walter Zenga and Dumitru Dumitriu by contributing with seven goals in 28 league appearances, including scoring in a 1–0 away win over rivals Dinamo București. In the last round of the season, he scored a goal in the 2–1 home victory against Politehnica Timișoara which mathematically secured the title. In the same season, he played eight games in the UEFA Cup and scored a brace to help Steaua eliminate title holders Valencia in the campaign, reaching the round of 16 where the journey ended in favor of Villarreal.

Cristea started the 2005–06 season by entering the field in the 60th minute to replace Victoraș Iacob in the 3–2 loss to Dinamo in the Supercupa României. Throughout the season, Cristea scored three goals in 24 league matches under coaches Oleh Protasov and Cosmin Olăroiu to help Steaua win another championship.

Politehnica Timișoara and Politehnica Iași In 2006, Cristea moved to fellow Liga I club Politehnica Timișoara in a swap deal that saw Gigel Coman move to Steaua, with Steaua receiving an additional €200,000. He helped the team reach the Cupa României final, where coach Valentin Velcea sent him in the 55th minute to replace Mansour Gueye in the 2–0 loss to Rapid.

For the second part of the 2007–08 season, Cristea was loaned to Politehnica Iași, where he scored six goals to help the team avoid relegation.

Dinamo București and Politehnica Iași On 9 May 2008, Cristea signed a five-year contract with Dinamo București for a fee estimated by the press at €500,000 to €600,000. Cristea wrote his name into Dinamo's history by scoring a goal in a 1–0 victory against Farul Constanța that secured the team's 1,000th victory in the domestic championship. He went again on loan to Politehnica Iași in the winter transfer window of the 2008–09 season, during which he helped the team avoid relegation by scoring seven times. He helped the club achieve what was dubbed "The wonder from Liberec" by opening the scoring in the 3–0 away game win 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. His performance in the match earned him a grade 10 from the Gazeta Sporturilor newspaper.

Karlsruhe On 16 January 2011, Karlsruher SC signed Cristea in an attempt to avoid relegation, paying Dinamo a €675,000 transfer fee. He made his 2. Bundesliga debut on 22 January, when coach Uwe Rapolder sent him at halftime in a 4–2 away loss to Alemannia Aachen. On 13 February, Cristea scored two goals in a 6–2 loss to Hertha BSC. In the next season, Cristea did not play a single match due to a knee injury, and Karlsruhe suffered relegation to the third league.

Dinamo and FC Brașov Initially, Cristea wanted to stay in Germany, where he had offers from Ingolstadt 04 and Energie Cottbus, but Dinamo approached him and he agreed to return to Bucharest, where he had the chance to work again with coach Dario Bonetti. During this second spell, Cristea scored a single league goal in a 2–0 victory against Gaz Metan Mediaș.

Cristea signed a contract with FC Brașov in August 2013. His first goal was the decisive one in the 2–1 win over ACS Poli Timișoara. He scored eight times until the end of the 2013–14 season, including two goals in 1–0 wins over ACS Poli and Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț, and one goal in a 2–0 victory over his former club Dinamo. In the last round of the season, Cristea scored the equalizer in the 1–1 draw against Gaz Metan Mediaș, which helped his side earn the point that saved them from relegation.

Gabala, Salernitana and Martina Franca On 22 June 2014, Cristea signed a one-year contract with Azerbaijan Premier League side Gabala, being brought there alongside Adrian Ropotan and Alexandru Benga by coach Dorinel Munteanu. Half a year later, Cristea had his contract with Gabala terminated. Following his release, he signed with Lega Pro side Salernitana until the end of the season. He helped the club achieve promotion to Serie B at the end of the 2014–15 season. However, he stayed in the third league, joining Martina Franca. He scored seven goals in 17 games in the second half of the 2015–16 Liga I and helped Politehnica qualify for the Europa League for the first time in their history. In their first European match, he opened the scoring in the 2–2 draw against Hajduk Split in the first leg of the 2016–17 Europa League second qualifying round. However, they failed to advance further in the competition as they were defeated 2–1 by Hajduk in the second leg. On 14 December 2018, in a 3–0 win against Concordia Chiajna, Cristea scored a brace and reached 100 goals in Liga I.

In January 2019, Cristea was transferred to Universitatea Craiova, which paid €100,000 to Politehnica Iași and sent Florin Gardoș and Andrei Burlacu to the latter club on loan. However, he was unsuccessful during his spell, scoring only one goal in a 2–0 win over CFR Cluj and returning after half a year to Politehnica Iași.

On 27 September 2020, Cristea scored a hat-trick and provided an assist to Juan Pablo Passaglia's goal in Politehnica's 5–2 league win over FCSB. However, the season was unsuccessful, as Politehnica suffered relegation to Liga II. Subsequently, Cristea joined newly promoted club Mioveni. After making 13 goalless appearances during the 2021–22 season, he terminated his contract with Mioveni in February 2022. One month later, Cristea announced his retirement, earning throughout his career a total of 421 matches with 114 goals and 46 assists in Liga I.

International career Cristea played 10 matches for Romania, making his debut on 11 October 2003, when coach Anghel Iordănescu sent him in the 82nd minute to replace Dorinel Munteanu in a 1–1 friendly draw against Japan. Subsequently, he played in a loss to the Netherlands and a win against Macedonia during the 2006 World Cup qualifiers. He led the team in four matches which were all losses, and he was replaced by Nicolò Napoli. During the 2022–23 Liga IV season, he led ACS FC Dinamo București, failing to help the team gain promotion to Liga III. Subsequently, in June 2023, he signed with Înainte Modelu, but left two months later. During his tenure, the team fought to earn promotion to Liga II for two consecutive seasons, though they were unsuccessful each time.

Personal life On 29 March 2006, Cristea was decorated by the President of Romania, Traian Băsescu, with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" (Order of "Sporting Merit"), Class II, for his contribution to reaching the 2005–06 UEFA Cup quarter-finals with Steaua București.

Career statistics Club

International

Honours Player Steaua București Divizia A: 2004–05, 2005–06 Supercupa României runner-up: 2005 Politehnica Timișoara Cupa României runner-up: 2006–07 Salernitana Lega Pro: 2014–15 Individual Liga I top scorer: 2009–10 Manager Popești-Leordeni Liga III: 2024–25