Andrei Mercea

Andrei Mercea (16 March 1925 – 24 January 2002) was a Romanian football forward.^[1][3]

Andrei Mercea

Personal information
Date of birth	(1925-03-16)16 March 1925[1]
Place of birth	Arad, Romania[1]
Date of death	24 January 2002(2002-01-24) (aged 76)[2]
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Position(s)	Forward[1]
Youth career
1937	SG Arad
1937–1946	Gloria Arad
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1946–1948	ITA Arad	42	(16)
1948–1949	CSCA București	23	(6)
1950–1958	UTA Arad[a]	165	(35)
1958–1961	AMEF Arad
1961	Teba Arad
Total		230	(57)
International career
1948–1952	Romania	6	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Andrei Mercea was born on 16 March 1925 in Arad, Romania and started playing junior level football at local clubs SG Arad and Gloria Arad.^[1][4] He started his senior career, making his Divizia A debut on 15 September 1946, playing for ITA Arad in a 8–4 victory against Dermagant Târgu Mureș, by the end of the season making a total of 17 appearances in which he scored four goals which helped the club win the title.^[1][5] In the following season, he won The Double, scoring 12 goals scored in the 25 games he was used by coach Petre Steinbach, but he did not play in the 3–2 victory against CFR Timișoara from the 1948 Cupa României final.^[1][5][6] In 1948 he went to play for CSCA București where on 21 November 1948, coach Colea Vâlcov used him in the first ever CSCA București – Dinamo București derby which ended with a 1–0 loss.^[1][7][8] After one season, Mercea returned in Arad, winning the 1950 Divizia A title, being used by coach Francisc Dvorzsák in 22 matches in which he scored 12 goals, also scoring in the 1950 Cupa României final which was lost with 3–1 in front of CCA București.^[1][5][9] Mercea helped The Old Lady win the 1953 Cupa României, being used by coach Coloman Braun-Bogdan in the 1–0 victory in front of CCA București from the final, Braun-Bogdan also using him in 24 matches in which he scored once in the 1954 Divizia A season when he and the club won the fourth title together.^[1][5][10] He made his last Divizia A appearance on 15 June 1958, playing for UTA in a 2–1 victory against Rapid București, gaining a total of 230 matches played with 57 goals scored in the competition.^[1] Andrei Mercea spent the last years of his career playing for AMEF Arad and Teba Arad in the lower leagues of Romania.^[1]

International career

Andrei Mercea played six matches and scored two goals for Romania's national team, making his debut on 6 June 1948 under coach Petre Steinbach in a 9–0 loss against Hungary at the 1948 Balkan Cup, a competition in which he would make two more appearances.^[2][11] His last three matches for the national team were friendlies in which he scored two goals against Albania and Poland, making his last appearance on 25 May 1952 in a 1–0 victory against Poland.^[2] He was part of Romania's squad at the 1952 Summer Olympics.^[12]

International goals

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mercea goal.^[2]

List of international goals scored by Andrei Mercea

#	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	14 May 1950	Stadion Olimpijski, Wrocław, Poland	4	Poland	1–0	3–3	Friendly
2	8 October 1950	Stadionul Republicii, Bucharest, Romania	5	Albania	3–0	6–0	Friendly

Death

He died on 24 January 2002 at age 76 and a book about him was written by Radu Romănescu, called Andrei Mercea – Campionul care desena inimi (Andrei Mercea – The champion that drew hearts), being released on 18 April 2018.^{[1][4][13][14]}

Honours

UTA Arad

• Divizia A: 1946–47, 1947–48, 1950, 1954^[1]
• Cupa României: 1947–48, 1953, runner-up 1950^[1][9]

Notes

1. The 1957 championship called Cupa Primăverii is unofficial, so the appearances and goals scored at that competition for UTA Arad are not official.^[1]