Alexandru Epureanu

Alexandru Epureanu (born 27 September 1986) is a Moldovan former professional footballer who played as a centre-back for the Moldova national team.

Alexandru Epureanu

Epureanu with Anzhi Makhachkala in 2014
Personal information
Date of birth	(1986-09-27) 27 September 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth	Chișinău, Moldavian SSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s)	Centre-back
Youth career
1995–1998	Hoverla Uzhhorod
1998–2002	Zimbru Chișinău
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2002–2004	Zimbru Chișinău	29	(2)
2004–2006	Sheriff Tiraspol	66	(3)
2007–2009	Moscow	72	(3)
2010–2014	Dynamo Moscow	44	(3)
2012	→ Krylia Sovetov (loan)	17	(1)
2013	→ Anzhi Makhachkala (loan)	7	(0)
2014	Anzhi Makhachkala	10	(2)
2014–2023	İstanbul Başakşehir	214	(14)
2023	Ümraniyespor	13	(0)
Total		469	(28)
International career‡
2002–2005	Moldova U19
2005–2007	Moldova U21	18	(0)
2006–2022	Moldova	100	(7)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 7 June 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 25 March 2024

Club career

Born in Chișinau, Epureanu joined FC Sheriff Tiraspol in summer 2004.^[2]

He has won Moldovan Footballer of the Year in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2018. Since playing for FC Sheriff Tiraspol, he has gone on to play for Dinamo Moscow.

On 2 July 2014, Epureanu signed for İstanbul Başakşehir.^[3] He made his league debut for the club on 30 August 2014 in a 1–1 home draw with Kasımpaşa, playing all ninety minutes of the match.^[4] He scored his first league goal for the club on 5 October 2014 in a 4–0 home victory over Akhisarspor. His goal, scored in the sixth minute, made the score 1–0 to İstanbul BB.^[5]

In January 2023, Epureanu departed Başakşehir^[6] and subsequently joined Ümraniyespor until the end of the season.^[7] On 25 March 2024, he confirmed that he retired from football.^[8]

International career

Epureanu made his international debut in a 2–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying loss against Norway on 6 September 2006, and has since been a regular in the national team, wearing the captain's armband on several occasions.^[9] In September 2019, Epureanu retired from the national team due to a knee injury.^[10] However, he returned in August 2020.^[11] He ranks first in terms of all-time appearances for Moldova.^[12] On 31 March 2021, he made his 100th and last appearance for Moldova in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Israel.^[13]

Career statistics

Club

As of 22 June 2023^[14][15]

Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Zimbru Chișinău	2002–03	Moldovan National Division	5	0			0	0	—		5	0
	2003–04		24	2			3	0	—		27	2
	Total		29	2			3	0	—		32	2
Sheriff Tiraspol	2004–05	Moldovan National Division	22	0			0	0	—		22	0
	2005–06		27	2			4	2	—		31	4
	2006–07		17	1			4	0	—		21	1
	Total		66	3			8	2	—		74	5
FC Moscow	2007	Russian Premier League	23	0			—		—		23	0
	2008		24	1	2	1	3	0	—		29	2
	2009		25	2	1	0	—		—		26	2
	Total		72	3	3	1	3	0	—		78	4
Dynamo Moscow	2010	Russian Premier League	23	2	2	0	—		—		25	2
	2011–12		14	1	3	0	—		—		17	1
	2012–13		7	0	0	0	—		—		7	0
	Total		44	3	5	0	—		—		49	3
Krylia Sovetov (loan)	2012–13	Russian Premier League	17	1	2	1	—		—		19	2
Anzhi Makhachkala (loan)	2013–14		7	0	1	0	4	1	—		12	1
Anzhi Makhachkala	2013–14		10	2	0	0	4	0	—		14	2
İstanbul Başakşehir	2014–15	Süper Lig	32	4	1	0	—		—		33	4
	2015–16		14	0	9	0	0	0	—		23	0
	2016–17		30	1	6	0	4	0	—		40	1
	2017–18		31	6	1	0	10	0	—		42	6
	2018–19		22	2	1	1	2	0	—		25	3
	2019–20		29	0	0	0	5	0	—		34	0
	2020–21		30	0	2	0	5	0	1[a]	0	38	0
	2021-22		22	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	23	1
	2022-23		4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	Total		211	14	21	1	26	0	1	0	262	15
Career total			456	28	32	3	48	3	1	0	540	34

1. Appearance in Turkish Super Cup.

International

As of match played 31 March 2021^[9]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Moldova	2006	3	0
	2007	9	1
	2008	10	0
	2009	8	1
	2010	7	1
	2011	8	0
	2012	6	1
	2013	7	0
	2014	8	3
	2015	3	0
	2016	7	0
	2017	7	0
	2018	8	0
	2019	0	0
	2020	6	0
	2021	3	0
Total		100	7

Scores and results list Moldova's goal tally first.^[9]

List of international goals scored by Alexandru Epureanu

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	24 March 2007	Zimbru Stadium, Chișinău	Malta	1–1	1–1	Euro 2008 qualifier
2	12 August 2009	Republican Stadium, Yerevan	Armenia	4–1	4–1	Friendly
3	3 March 2010	Antalya Atatürk Stadium, Antalya	Kazakhstan	1–0	1–0	Friendly
4	16 October 2012	Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle	San Marino	2–0	2–0	2014 World Cup qualifier
5	5 March 2014	Estadi Comunal d'Andorra la Vella, Andorra la Vella	Andorra	1–0	3–0	Friendly
6				3–0
7	12 October 2014	Otkrytie Arena, Moscow	Russia	1–1	1–1	Euro 2016 qualifier

Note: Some sources have credited Epureanu with scoring the second goal in a 4–0 victory over Saudi Arabia in 2014, however this was a penalty converted by Igor Picușceac.^[16]

Honours

Club

Zimbru Chișinău

• Moldovan Cup: 2003–04

Sheriff Tiraspol

• Divizia Naţională: 2004–05, 2005–06
• Moldovan Cup: 2005–06
• Moldovan Supercup: 2005

Dynamo Moscow

• Russian Cup runner-up: 2011–12

İstanbul Başakşehir

• Süper Lig: 2019–20^[17]

Individual

• Moldovan Footballer of the Year: 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2018
• Süper Lig Defender of the Season: 2018–19^[18]
• Süper Lig Team of the Season: 2018–19^[19]

See also

• List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps