Andrei Mercea

Club career Mercea was born on 16 March 1925 in Arad, Romania and began playing junior-level football at local clubs SG Arad and Gloria Arad. He started his senior career, making his Divizia A debut under coach Zoltán Opata on 15 September 1946, playing for ITA Arad in a 8–4 victory against Dermagant Târgu Mureș. Until the end of the season, he made a total of 17 appearances in which he scored four goals that helped the club win the title. In the following season, he won The Double, scoring 12 goals in the 25 games he was used by coach Petre Steinbach, but he did not play in the 3–2 victory against CFR Timișoara in the 1948 Cupa României final. In 1948 he joined CSCA București where on 21 November 1948, coach Colea Vâlcov used him in the first ever CSCA București – Dinamo București derby that ended with a 1–0 loss. After one season, Mercea returned to UTA, winning the 1950 Divizia A title, being used by coach Francisc Dvorzsák in 22 matches in which he scored 12 goals, and he also scored in the 3–1 loss to CCA București in the Cupa României final. He helped The Old Lady win the 1953 Cupa României, playing the entire match under coach Coloman Braun-Bogdan in the 1–0 victory against CCA București in the final. Afterwards, Braun-Bogdan used him in 24 matches in which he scored once in the 1954 Divizia A season when Mercea and the club won the fourth title together. Mercea spent the last years of his career playing for AMEF Arad and Teba Arad in the Romanian lower leagues. He played two more games in the same competition, a 2–1 win over Czechoslovakia and a goalless draw against Poland.

International goals Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mercea goal.

Honours UTA Arad Divizia A: 1946–47, 1947–48, 1950, 1954 Cupa României: 1947–48, 1953, runner-up 1950