Marin Andrei
Birth date22 October 1940
Birth placeTârgoviște, Romania
Death date14 May 2026 (aged 85)
Height1.80 m
PositionGoalkeeper
Years 11959–1962
Clubs 1Metalul Târgoviște[a]
Caps 123
Goals 10
Years 21962–1968
Clubs 2Rapid București
Caps 273
Goals 20
Years 31968–1969
Clubs 3Steaua București
Caps 38
Goals 30
Years 41969
Clubs 4Progresul București
Caps 48
Goals 40
Years 51970–1972
Clubs 5Dinamo București
Caps 522
Goals 50
Years 61972–1973
Clubs 6Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea
Caps 613
Goals 60
Totalcaps147
Totalgoals0
Nationalyears 11964
Nationalteam 1Romania Olympic
Nationalcaps 13
Nationalgoals 10
Nationalyears 21965
Nationalteam 2Romania
Nationalcaps 21
Nationalgoals 20

Marin Andrei (22 October 1940 – 14 May 2026) was a Romanian footballer who played as a goalkeeper.[1] He competed in the men's tournament at the 1964 Summer Olympics.[2]

Club career

Andrei was born in Târgoviște, Romania on 22 October 1940.[1] He started his senior career in 1959, playing for Metalul Târgoviște in Divizia B.[1] After two seasons, they managed to gain promotion to Divizia A, a competition where Andrei made his debut under coach Valentin Stănescu on 20 August 1961 in a 3–1 victory against UTA Arad.[1][3] In 1962, he followed Stănescu to Rapid București.[4] Andrei was an important player in the first three seasons spent with The Railwaymen as the team managed to be runner-up in all of them, and also in the 1964–65 season he set a competition record for goalkeepers of 770 minutes without conceding a goal.[1][4][5][6] In the 1966–67 season he helped Rapid win its first title, but Stănescu used him in only three games, because Rică Răducanu was the team's first-choice goalkeeper.[1][4][5][7] Andrei was contacted by Peruvian champion Club Universitario de Deportes in 1967, which wanted a European goalkeeper, but was denied a transfer there by Romania's communist regime.[5] In 1968, Andrei went for one season at Steaua București where he made eight league appearances, having a hard competition with international goalkeepers Carol Haidu and Vasile Suciu, managing to win the Cupa României.[1][5][8] He joined Progresul București in the second league for half a year, after which he signed with Dinamo București, thus becoming the first player to play for Rapid, Steaua and Dinamo.[1][4][5] He won the 1970–71 Divizia A title with Dinamo in which coaches Nicolae Dumitru and Traian Ionescu used him in only four matches, as Mircea Constantinescu was the team's first-choice goalkeeper.[1][7] Andrei also made three appearances for the club in the 1971–72 European Cup, helping them get past Spartak Trnava in the first round, keeping a clean sheet in the first leg, but they got eliminated in the following round by Feyenoord.[1][9] He made his last Divizia A appearance on 5 December 1971 in Dinamo's 3–1 away loss to SC Bacău, totaling 126 matches in the competition.[1] Andrei ended his career after playing one season in the second league for Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea with whom he won the 1972–73 Cupa României.[1][8]

International career

Andrei played one game for Romania on 23 October 1965 under coach Ilie Oană in a 2–1 loss to Turkey in the 1966 World Cup qualifiers.[10] He also played for Romania's Olympic team, starting with a friendly that ended with a 2–1 victory against Yugoslavia.[8][5][11] Afterwards he was chosen by coach Silviu Ploeșteanu to be part of the 1964 Summer Olympics squad in Tokyo, appearing in a 1–0 victory against Iran and in a 4–2 win over Ghana, helping the team finish in fifth place.[8][5][12]

Death

Andrei died on 14 May 2026, at the age of 85.[13]

Honours

Metalul Târgoviște

Rapid București

Steaua București

Progresul București

Dinamo București

Chimia Râmnicu Vâlcea

Notes

  1. ^ The statistics for the 1959–60 and 1960–61 Divizia B seasons are unavailable.[1]

References

  1. ^
  2. ^ "Marin Andrei". Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  3. ^ "Metalul Târgoviște vs UTA Arad 1-3". Labtof. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  4. ^ "Marin Andrei, omul care a stabilit cu Rapid un record acum 53 ani!" [Marin Andrei, the man who set a record with Rapid 53 years ago!] (in Romanian). 1923.ro. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  5. ^ ""Am crescut un urs în vestiar!". GSP a redescoperit primul fotbalist care a jucat la Dinamo, Rapid și Steaua, deținătorul recordului all-time de minute la rând fără gol primit în Divizia A" ["I raised a bear in the locker room!". GSP rediscovered the first footballer to play for Dinamo, Rapid and Steaua, the holder of the all-time record of minutes in a row without a goal received in Division A] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  6. ^ "Andrei Vlad, #1 în istoria FCSB! Locul 6 într-un top uriaș: peste Prunea și Duckadam" [Andrei Vlad, # 1 in the history of FCSB! 6th place in a huge top: over Prunea and Duckadam] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Romania National Champions". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  8. ^ 37684
  9. ^ "Acum 50 de ani ne băteam cu cei mari" [50 years ago we were fighting with the big ones] (in Romanian). Welovesport.ro. 6 March 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
    "Marin Andrei. Champions League 1971/1972". WorldFootball. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Marin Andrei". eu-football.info. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
    "Turkey 2-1 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Yugoslavia vs. Romania 1 – 2". WorldFootball. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  12. ^ "Cum a fost ultima participare a României la Olimpiadă, în 1964, când "tricolorii" au pierdut dramatic sfertul cu Ungaria" [How was Romania's last participation in the Olympics, in 1964, when "The Tricolors" dramatically lost the quarter to Hungary] (in Romanian). Theplaymaker.ro. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
    "Romania vs. Iran 1 – 0". WorldFootball. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
    "Romania vs. Ghana 4 – 2". WorldFootball. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  13. ^ "S-a stins din viață Marin Andrei, primul jucător care a evoluat la Steaua, Dinamo și Rapid" [Marin Andrei, the first player to play for Steaua, Dinamo and Rapid, has passed away]. Gsp.ro. 14 May 2026. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
    "A murit Marin Andrei. A fost fotbalist la Steaua, Dinamo și Rapid" [Marin Andrei has died. He was a footballer for Steaua, Dinamo and Rapid]. Prosport.ro. 14 May 2026. Retrieved 14 May 2026.