Andrei Cristea

Youth career

Cristea was born on 15 May 1984 in Bacău, Romania. He grew up supporting Selena Bacău, where he particularly admired striker Daniel Scînteie. He was also deeply impressed by Romania's performance in the 1994 World Cup, developing a strong admiration for Ilie Dumitrescu and Florin Răducioiu. Cristea began playing junior-level football at LPS Bacău when he was 10. In 1999, he joined the junior center of FCM Bacău.

FCM Bacău

Cristea made his Divizia A debut on 1 June 2002, when coach Gheorghe Poenaru sent him in the 89th minute to replace Cătălin Cursaru in FCM Bacău's 2–0 victory against Gloria Bistrița. He scored his first goal in the competition on 7 December 2002 in a 4–0 win over FC Brașov. On 20 March 2004, he netted a hat-trick in a 4–1 victory over Universitatea Craiova.

Steaua București

In the summer of 2004, Cristea was transferred from FCM Bacău to Steaua București for a fee estimated by the press to be between $800,000 and $1 million. He helped the team win the 2004–05 title under coaches Walter Zenga and Dumitru Dumitriu by contributing with seven goals in 28 league appearances, including scoring in a 1–0 away win over rivals Dinamo București. In the last round of the season, he scored a goal in the 2–1 home victory against Politehnica Timișoara which mathematically secured the title. In the same season, he played eight games in the UEFA Cup and scored a brace to help Steaua eliminate title holders Valencia in the campaign,…

Cristea played 10 matches for Romania, making his debut on 11 October 2003, when coach Anghel Iordănescu sent him in the 82nd minute to replace Dorinel Munteanu in a 1–1 friendly draw against Japan. Subsequently, he played in a loss to the Netherlands and a win against Macedonia during the 2006 World Cup qualifiers. He made another two appearances in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers in a loss to Serbia and a victory against Faroe Islands. His last appearance for the national team took place on 2 June 2010 in a 1–0 friendly loss to Macedonia.

In January 2021, after the dismissal of Daniel Pancu, Cristea was named head coach of Liga I club Politehnica Iași, while still an active player. He led the team in four matches which were all losses, and he was replaced by Nicolò Napoli. During the 2022–23 Liga IV season, he led ACS FC Dinamo București, failing to help the team gain promotion to Liga III. Subsequently, in June 2023, he signed with Înainte Modelu, but left two months later. From 2023 to 2025, Cristea worked for Popești-Leordeni. During his tenure, the team fought to earn promotion to Liga II for two consecutive seasons, though they were unsuccessful each time. In September 2025, Cristea was appointed as coach of Liga II side Concordia Chiajna, leaving the team at the end of the 2025–26 season.

On 29 March 2006, Cristea was decorated by the President of Romania, Traian Băsescu, with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" (Order of "Sporting Merit"), Class II, for his contribution to reaching the 2005–06 UEFA Cup quarter-finals with Steaua București.