Andrei Burca

Andrei Andonie Burca (Romanian pronunciation: [anˈdrej ˈburkə]; born 15 April 1993) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays mainly as a central defender for Liga I club CFR Cluj and the Romania national team. He can also be deployed as a right back.

Club Career

Early years / Botoșani

Burca started his senior career with hometown club Aerostar Bacau, and then moved to SC Bacau in 2013. He made his debut in the second level of the Romanian league system on 14 September that year, in a 0–2 loss to CSM Studențesc Iași.

Following the conclusion of the 2015–16 season, the team withdrew from the championship because of financial issues. Burca then contemplated about retiring from football and starting college. He however received offers from Foresta Suceava and FC Botoșani, and after signing with the latter he went on to amass over 100 matches in the Liga I between 2016 and 2019.

CFR Cluj

On 10 June 2019, Burca joined defending champions CFR Cluj for undisclosed transfer fee. With "The Railwaymen", he was a starter in all eight matches in the 2019–20 edition of the UEFA Champions League qualifiers, as his team was eliminated in the play-off round by Slavia Prague. He also played in all eight UEFA Europa League games, scoring once in a 2–0 home victory over Celtic on 12 December.

On 3 August 2020, Burca won his first career trophy after a 3–1 success against Universitatea Craiova in the final Liga I fixture. On 15 April 2021, CFR Cluj won the 2020 Supercupa Romaniei after defeating FCSB 4–1 at the penalty shoot-out.