Andrei Prepeliță

Andrei Prepeliță (born 8 December 1985) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who played mainly as a defensive midfielder.

Club career Argeș Pitești and Universitatea Craiova Prepeliță was born on 8 December 1985 in Slatina, Romania and began playing organized football under the guidance of his father Constantin at CSȘ Slobozia. He completed his junior years at Argeș Pitești, being brought there by Viorel Moiceanu. After five seasons, Prepeliță was transferred by Argeș together with teammate Ciprian Tănasă to Universitatea Craiova for €1.5 million. He played regularly for "U" Craiova during his four-season spell. During his first three seasons, Prepeliță won two titles and the 2013 Supercupa României under coach Laurențiu Reghecampf. In his last season under the guidance of coach Constantin Gâlcă he helped the club win The Treble, consisting of the championship title, the Cupa României and the Cupa Ligii.

Prepeliță also had some European performances with The Military Men as they reached the Europa League group phase three times, passing it twice. The first was in the 2011–12 season when the club was eliminated in the round of 32 by Twente.

Ludogorets Razgrad On 1 July 2015, Prepeliță signed a two-year contract with Ludogorets Razgrad in Bulgaria, where he played alongside fellow Romanians Cosmin Moți and Claudiu Keșerü. On 11 May 2016, they each scored once in a 4–1 win over Pirin Blagoevgrad. He made his Russian Premier League debut on 9 September, as coach Ivan Daniliants used him as a starter in a 2–1 home win over Krylia Sovetov in which he scored the victory goal with a header. The team played in the Champions League group stage, finishing in third place. Subsequently, they qualified to the Europa League, where they were eliminated in the round of 16 by Manchester United. He left Rostov in August 2017.

Concordia Chiajna and Argeș Pitești Prepeliță returned to Romania in February 2018, signing a contract with Concordia Chiajna, where he reunited with the coach who gave him his senior debut, Ion Moldovan. On 6 September 2019, Prepeliță rejoined Argeș Pitești, which was playing in Liga II, helping them gain promotion to the first league. There, he played in the first part of the 2020–21 season, after which he retired. Prepeliță accumulated a total of 327 Liga I matches with 29 goals and 40 appearances with one goal in European competitions.

International career Prepeliță played 14 games for Romania, making his debut on 7 September 2014 when coach Victor Pițurcă sent him to replace Ovidiu Hoban in the 84th minute of a 1–0 away victory against Greece in the Euro 2016 qualifiers. Prepeliță played a total of five games during those successful qualifiers. There, he made his last appearance for the national team in a 1–1 draw against Switzerland as his side failed to progress from their group. In the 2021–22 season, he managed to reach the play-off, a first-ever performance for the club, finishing in sixth place. On 26 October 2022, his contract was terminated.

In June 2023, Prepeliță was named the head coach of Liga II side Gloria Buzău. He helped them gain promotion at the end of his first season. However, the following season started badly for Gloria, who were in last place after the first eight rounds, thus Prepeliță was dismissed. He then worked between April and May 2025 for Moldovan team Petrocub Hîncești with whom he finished the season in fourth place. Prepeliță returned to coach in the Romanian first league in June 2025 when he signed with Unirea Slobozia. In February 2026, following a 1–0 loss to Petrolul Ploiești, he was sacked and replaced by Claudiu Niculescu.

Personal life His father, Constantin, was also a footballer who appeared in 200 Divizia A games and scored 32 goals for Olt Scornicești. Prepeliță was coached by his father while he was a junior player at CSȘ Slobozia.

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

2002–03

2003–04

2004–05

2005–06

2006–07 Liga I

112!!11!!8!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!120!!11

2007–08

2008–09

2009–10

2010–11

120!!7!!5!!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!125!!8

2011–12

2012–13

2013–14

2014–15

82!!9!!11!!1!!3!!0!!30!!1!!2!!0!!128!!11

2015–16

2016–17

25!!1!!1!!0!!0!!0!!3!!0!!1!!0!!30!!11

2016–17

2017–18

17!!1!!1!!0!!0!!0!!7!!0!!0!!0!!25!!1

2017–18

2018–19

32!!3!!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!33!!3

2019–20 Liga II

2020–21 Liga I

27!!2!!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!28!!2

International National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals

Honours Player Steaua București Liga I: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15