| Alexandru Albu | |
| Fullname: | Alexandru Cristian Albu |
| Birth Date: | 17 August 1993 |
| Birth Place: | Bucharest, Romania |
| Height: | 1.86 m |
| Position: | Defensive midfielder, defender |
| Youthyears1: | 2002–2004 |
| Youthclubs1: | Palatul Național |
| Youthyears2: | 2004–2009 |
| Youthclubs2: | Inter Sport |
| Youthyears3: | 2009–2011 |
| Youthclubs3: | Unirea Urziceni |
| Youthyears4: | 2011–2012 |
| Youthclubs4: | Concordia Chiajna |
| Years1: | 2012–2016 |
| Years2: | 2015–2022 |
| Caps2: | 119 |
| Goals2: | 10 |
| Years3: | 2020 |
| Clubs3: | → Academica Clinceni (loan) |
| Caps3: | 16 |
| Goals3: | 2 |
| Years4: | 2020–2021 |
| Clubs4: | → UTA Arad (loan) |
| Caps4: | 36 |
| Goals4: | 2 |
| Years5: | 2021–2022 |
| Clubs5: | → Rapid București (loan) |
| Caps5: | 34 |
| Goals5: | 7 |
| Years6: | 2022–2024 |
| Caps6: | 61 |
| Goals6: | 3 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2020– |
| Nationalteam1: | Romania |
| Nationalcaps1: | 1 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Pcupdate: | 6 April 2024 |
| Ntupdate: | 8 October 2021 |
Alexandru Cristian Albu (in Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan pronounced as /alekˈsandru kristiˈan ˈalbu/; born 17 August 1993) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or a defender.
Albu started out his professional career at Concordia Chiajna in 2015, where he spent several seasons playing in the Liga I before relegating to the second division. Following loans to Academica Clinceni, UTA Arad, and Rapid București, respectively, he signed a permanent contract with the latter in 2021.
Internationally, Albu made his senior debut for Romania in October 2021, in a 1–2 away FIFA World Cup qualifier loss to Germany.
Albu was born in Bucharest and is of Romani ethnicity.[1] He grew up supporting Steaua București.[2]
Albu made his professional debut for Concordia Chiajna on 1 May 2015, coming on as an 89th-minute substitute for Hristijan Dragarski in a 1–0 home Liga I win over Pandurii Târgu Jiu.[3] He became a regular starter for the club in the 2016–17 season, and on 7 September 2016 scored his first goal in a 1–2 Cupa Ligii loss to ACS Poli Timișoara.[4]
On 4 March 2017, Albu recorded his first league goal in a 1–1 draw against the same opponent.[5] He amassed totals of 99 appearances and three goals in the top flight for "the Green Eagles", before relegating to the Liga II at the end of the 2018–19 campaign.[6]
In January 2020, Albu returned to the Liga I by signing for newly-promoted Academica Clinceni on loan for the remainder of the season. On 16 August, he moved to UTA Arad on a one-year loan.[7]
On 16 June 2021, Albu was loaned again to Rapid București,[8] totalling 36 games and a career-best seven goals in all competitions during the 2021–22 season.
In the summer of 2022, Albu joined Rapid București on a permanent basis after the team paid a previously-agreed €150,000 to Concordia Chiajna.[9] On 23 April 2023, he scored the only goal of a home derby victory over FCSB in the Liga I.[10]
On 25 February 2024, he and his teammate Andrei Borza were expelled from the squad for an undetermined period—later revealed as one match—because they partied in a nightclub after a 1–3 loss to Politehnica Iași.[11]
Albu made his debut for the Romania national team on 8 October 2021, coming on as an 82nd-minute substitute for Nicolae Stanciu in a 1–2 away loss to Germany counting for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[12]
Albu played as a defender during the first part of his career, mostly as a centre-back, and later developed into a defensive midfielder.[6]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Concordia Chiajna | 2014–15 | Liga I | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||||
| 2016–17 | Liga I | 35 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 37 | 3 | ||||
| 2017–18 | Liga I | 38 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 39 | 1 | |||||
| 2018–19 | Liga I | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 25 | 1 | |||||
| 2019–20 | Liga II | 20 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 22 | 6 | |||||
| Total | 119 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 124 | 11 | |||||
| Academica Clinceni (loan) | 2019–20 | Liga I | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 17 | 2 | ||||
| UTA Arad (loan) | 2020–21 | Liga I | 36 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 37 | 2 | ||||
| Rapid București (loan) | 2021–22 | Liga I | 34 | 7 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 36 | 7 | ||||
| Rapid București | 2022–23 | Liga I | 32 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | 35 | 5 | ||||
| 2023–24 | Liga I | 29 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 32 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 61 | 3 | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | 67 | 5 | ||||||
| Career total | 266 | 24 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 281 | 27 | |||||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | 2021 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 1 | 0 | ||
Concordia Chiajna