Andrei Prepeliță
Romanian footballer
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Andrei Prepeliță (born 8 December 1985) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who played mainly as a defensive midfielder.
 Prepeliță celebrating a goal for Rostov in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 8 December 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Slatina, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1991–2000 | CȘS Slobozia | ||
| 2000–2002 | Argeș Pitești | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002–2007 | Argeș Pitești | 112 | (11) |
| 2007–2011 | Universitatea Craiova | 120 | (7) |
| 2011–2015 | Steaua București | 82 | (9) |
| 2015–2016 | Ludogorets Razgrad | 25 | (1) |
| 2016–2017 | Rostov | 17 | (1) |
| 2018–2019 | Concordia Chiajna | 32 | (3) |
| 2019–2021 | Argeș Pitești | 27 | (2) |
| Total | 415 | (34) | |
| International career | |||
| 2003–2004 | Romania U19 | 6 | (0) |
| 2003–2006 | Romania U21 | 18 | (2) |
| 2014–2017 | Romania | 14 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2020–2022 | Argeș Pitești | ||
| 2023–2024 | Gloria Buzău | ||
| 2025 | Petrocub Hîncești | ||
| 2025–2026 | Unirea Slobozia | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
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.[1][2] He completed his junior years at Argeș Pitești, being brought there by Viorel Moiceanu.[1][2] He made his debut for the first team on 7 May 2003 under coach Ion Moldovan in a Liga I match which ended with a 1–0 loss to Gloria Bistrița.[1][2] On 1 May 2004, he scored his first league goal in a 4–1 home win over Național București.[3] After five seasons, Prepeliță was transferred by Argeș together with teammate Ciprian Tănasă to Universitatea Craiova for €1.5 million.[1][4] He played regularly for "U" Craiova during his four-season spell.[1]
Steaua București
On 2 August 2011, Prepeliță signed a four-year contract with Steaua București.[1][5] During his first three seasons, Prepeliță won two titles and the 2013 Supercupa României under coach Laurențiu Reghecampf.[1][6][7][8] 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.[1][6][7][9]
Prepeliță also had some European performances with The Military Men as they reached the Europa League group phase three times, passing it twice.[1][10][11][12][13] The first was in the 2011–12 season when the club was eliminated in the round of 32 by Twente.[10][11] The second time was in the 2012–13 edition when they reached the round of 16, being defeated by Chelsea after getting past Ajax Amsterdam in the previous phase.[12] The team also reached the 2013–14 Champions League group stage, where Prepeliță played in a draw against Schalke 04 and a loss to Chelsea.[14]
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.[1][15][16] On 11 May 2016, they each scored once in a 4–1 win over Pirin Blagoevgrad.[15] Ludogorets won the Bulgarian league title at the end of the season.[1]
Rostov
Prepeliță joined Russian Premier League club Rostov on 31 August 2016.[1][17] 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.[18] The team played in the Champions League group stage, finishing in third place.[1][19] Subsequently, they qualified to the Europa League, where they were eliminated in the round of 16 by Manchester United.[1][20] He left Rostov in August 2017.[21]
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.[1][2][22] On 6 September 2019, Prepeliță rejoined Argeș Pitești, which was playing in Liga II, helping them gain promotion to the first league.[1][23][24] There, he played in the first part of the 2020–21 season, after which he retired.[1][23][25] Prepeliță accumulated a total of 327 Liga I matches with 29 goals and 40 appearances with one goal in European competitions.[1][26]
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.[27][28] Prepeliță played a total of five games during those successful qualifiers.[27] He was selected by coach Anghel Iordănescu to be part of Romania's squad for the final tournament.[27][29] 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.[27][29]
Managerial career
In December 2020, Prepeliță was presented as the manager of Argeș Pitești.[30][31] In the 2021–22 season, he managed to reach the play-off, a first-ever performance for the club, finishing in sixth place.[32] On 26 October 2022, his contract was terminated.[33]
In June 2023, Prepeliță was named the head coach of Liga II side Gloria Buzău.[34] He helped them gain promotion at the end of his first season.[35] However, the following season started badly for Gloria, who were in last place after the first eight rounds, thus Prepeliță was dismissed.[36] He then worked between April and May 2025 for Moldovan team Petrocub Hîncești with whom he finished the season in fourth place.[37] He returned to coach in the Romanian first league in June 2025 when he signed with Unirea Slobozia.[38]
Personal life
His father, Constantin, was also a footballer who appeared in 200 Divizia A games and scored 32 goals for Olt Scornicești.[39][40] Prepeliță was coached by his father while he was a junior player at CSȘ Slobozia.[2]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | League Cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Argeș Pitești | 2002–03 | Divizia A | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2003–04 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 27 | 3 | |||||
| 2004–05 | 26 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 29 | 2 | |||||
| 2005–06 | 28 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 29 | 2 | |||||
| 2006–07 | Liga I | 29 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 31 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 112 | 11 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | 120 | 11 | |||||
| Universitatea Craiova | 2007–08 | Liga I | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 30 | 1 | |||
| 2008–09 | 33 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 35 | 2 | |||||
| 2009–10 | 29 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 30 | 3 | |||||
| 2010–11 | 28 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 30 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 120 | 7 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | 125 | 8 | |||||
| Steaua București | 2011–12 | Liga I | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 7[c] | 0 | — | 19 | 1 | ||
| 2012–13 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 8[c] | 0 | — | 28 | 1 | ||||
| 2013–14 | 26 | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | 4[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 36 | 3 | |||
| 2014–15 | 27 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11[f] | 1 | 1[e] | 0 | 45 | 6 | ||
| Total | 82 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 128 | 11 | ||
| Ludogorets Razgrad | 2015–16 | A Group | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 0 | 1[g] | 0 | 29 | 1 | |
| 2016–17 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1[d] | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 11 | |||
| Rostov | 2016–17 | Russian Premier League | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 7[h] | 0 | — | 25 | 1 | ||
| 2017–18 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | — | 25 | 1 | ||||
| Concordia Chiajna | 2017–18 | Liga I | 13 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 13 | 2 | ||||
| 2018–19 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 20 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 32 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 33 | 3 | |||||
| Argeș Pitești | 2019–20 | Liga II | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 17 | 2 | |||
| 2020–21 | Liga I | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 28 | 2 | |||||
| Career total | 415 | 34 | 28 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 40 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 489 | 37 | ||
- Includes Cupa României, Bulgarian Cup, Russian Cup
- Includes Cupa Ligii
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearances in Supercupa României
- Six appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in Bulgarian Supercup
- Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
International
Managerial statistics
- As of 31 January 2026[42]
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||
 Argeș Pitești |
8 December 2020 | 26 October 2022 | 88 | 32 | 21 | 35 | 78 | 101 | −23 | 36.36 |
| Gloria Buzău |
20 June 2023 | 4 September 2024 | 43 | 18 | 13 | 12 | 58 | 49 | +9 | 41.86 |
 Petrocub Hîncești |
25 April 2025 | 23 May 2025 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 50.00 |
| Unirea Slobozia |
4 June 2025 | 4 February 2026 | 26 | 6 | 4 | 16 | 25 | 40 | −15 | 23.08 |
| Total | 161 | 58 | 38 | 65 | 170 | 196 | −26 | 36.02 | ||
Honours
Player
Steaua București
- Liga I: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15[1][41]
- Cupa României: 2014–15[1][41]
- Supercupa României: 2013[1][41]
- Cupa Ligii: 2014–15[1][41]
Ludogorets Razgrad
- Bulgarian A Group: 2015–16[1][41]
- Bulgarian Supercup runner-up: 2015[1][41]
Coach
Individual
- Gazeta Sporturilor Romania Coach of the Month: November 2021[43]
