Andrei Cristea

Andrei Cristea (born 15 May 1984 in Bacău) is a Romanian footballer who plays for Liga I club Politehnica Iași. He is a forward who is known for his pace and represented the Romania national team from 2003 to 2010.

Cristea started football in his home town and made his debut in the Divizia A in 2001, for local club FCM Bacău.

Steaua București

His 2004 transfer to Steaua Bucureşti cost the team over one million dollars. However, Cristea did not manage to earn a first-team place there, despite scoring the two goals that eliminated Valencia CF in the UEFA Cup 2004–05 season. His fall from grace lead to him being transfer-listed in the summer of 2006.

Politehnica Timișoara

While FC Sochaux had taken up an initial interest in the Romanian youngster, he was finally transferred by Politehnica Timişoara, in a swap which saw Gigel Coman moving to Steaua Bucureşti. After failing to impress at Politehnica Timişoara, he was loaned at Poli Iaşi for the second part of the 2007–08 season, where he had a great part in saving the team from relegation, with man of the match performances with CFR Cluj (1–0) and his former team, Steaua Bucureşti (2–1).

Dinamo București

On 9 May 2008, Cristea signed a five-year contract with Dinamo, just six days before turning 24. He called the transfer "a birthday present" and joined Dinamo after the summer holiday. He started scoring for the red and white team in the friendly games they played in pre-season. Cristea played only the first half on the season for Dinamo, netting two goals in eight matches and entering Dinamo's history by scoring the goal that brought the 1.000th victory of the team in all-time domestic championship, against Farul Constanta.

He went on loan in the winter transfer window to Poli Iasi, where he was very well received and scored seven times in 15 games, goals which proved crucial in helping the team continue in the first division. He returned to Dinamo in the summer and stated that, because he was so loved at Poli Iasi, he wanted to retire from football in ten years or more, from this team. Upon his return, he became a very important player, scoring goals that brought significant victories in Liga I and Europa League. Although he was regarded reluctantly at his first spell in Stefan cel Mare, Cristea proved to be a player that coaches and fans could rely on, with his consistent performances, steady scoring, his modest and intelligent opinions and discreet lifestyle.

He was top scorer of the Romanian league in the 2009–10 season with 16 goals.

Karlsruhe

On 16 January 2011, Karlsruhe signed Cristea in the attempt of avoiding the relegation. On 13 February, Cristea scored two goals against the leader of Second Bundesliga, Hertha BSC. These were his first goals on this new club. On 27 February, he scored the last goal of the game in the 1–4 loss against FC Ingolstadt 04, after coming from bench. On 11 March, Cristea scored the first goal of the match in Karlsruhe-Duisburg, 3–1 final score. On 15 May, in the last round of the Second Bundesliga, the Romanian striker saved his club from relegation, scoring a brace in the 3–2 win against Union Berlin. The next season (2011–12) Karlsruhe were relegated after a play-off, and Cristea left the club and became a free agent.

Initially, Cristea wanted to stay in Germany, where he had offers from Ingolstadt and Energie Cottbus. But Dinamo approached him and Cristea accepted to return to Bucharest where he had the chance to work again with Dario Bonetti, the coach that managed Dinamo the last time Cristea was under contract with the Red Dogs.

On 22 June 2014, Cristea signed a one-year contract with Azerbaijan Premier League side Gabala FK. In December of the same year Cristea had his contract with Gabala terminated. Following his release from Gabala, Cristea signed with Lega Pro side U.S. Salernitana 1919 until the end of the season.

Politehnica Iași

In February 2016, after his experiences in the lower leagues of Italy, Cristea returned to Romania to joing Liga I club CSMS Iași. He subsequently signed a one and a half year contract with his former team (FC Politehnica Iași restructured as CSM Politehnica Iași after the club declared bankruptcy in 2010). Cristea scored 7 goals in 17 games in the second half of the 2015–16 Liga I and helped CSMS qualify for the 2016–17 Europa League qualifying phase for the first time in their history. He then opened the scoring in a 2-2 draw against Hajduk Split in their first European game.

Cristea has played ten times for the Romanian national team.

Club

International

Statistics accurate as of match played 29 December 2012

Club

• Romanian League: 2004–05, 2005–06

• Romanian Supercup: 2012

• Serie C: 2014–15

Individual

• Liga 1 Golden Boot: 2009–10