Cosmin Matei

Cosmin Matei
	Matei with Romania in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Cosmin Gabriel Matei
Date of birth	30 September 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth	Târgoviște, Romania
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder, winger
Team information
Current team	Sepsi OSK
Number	10
Youth career
2001–2005	FCM Târgoviște
2005–2008	Farul Constanța
Senior career*
Years	Team
2008–2010	Farul Constanța
2010–2011	Steaua București
2011	Astra Ploiești
2012–2016	Dinamo București
2016	Atromitos
2016–2019	Gençlerbirliği
2018	→ Istra 1961 (loan)
2019–2021	Viitorul Constanța
2021–2022	Dinamo București
2022–	Sepsi OSK
International career
2008–2009	Romania U17
2009–2010	Romania U19
2011–2012	Romania U21
2014	Romania
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 January 2025

Cosmin Gabriel Matei (Romanian pronunciation: [kosˈmin gabriˈel maˈtej]; born 30 September 1991) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a winger for Liga I club Sepsi OSK.

Matei started out his senior career at Farul Constanța in 2008, and has since represented Steaua București, Astra Ploiești, Dinamo București, Viitorul Constanța and Sepsi OSK in his country. Abroad, he competed for teams in Greece, Turkey and Croatia, respectively.

Internationally, Matei earned caps for Romania at under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels, before making his full debut in May 2014.

Club career

Farul Constanța

Matei made his Liga I debut for Farul Constanța on 18 October 2008, in a match against Politehnica Timișoara.^[1]

Steaua București

Matei was transferred to Steaua București in July 2010. On 22 August, he recorded his league debut by coming on as a 85th-minute substitute for Romeo Surdu in a 3–0 win over Vaslui.

On 4 September 2010, Matei made his debut for Steaua's reserves in a Liga II game against Juventus București, entering in the 17th minute as they won 1–0.

Astra Ploiești

In June 2011, Matei was transferred to Astra Ploiești.^[2] He did not impress during his stint in Prahova County, appearing in only five matches without scoring.

Dinamo București

In August 2012, Matei penned down a five-year contract with Dinamo București,^[3]^[4] the cross-town rival of his former club Steaua. He scored his first goal in a game against Universitatea Cluj, on 2 May that year.

Atromitos

In January 2016, Matei moved abroad for the first time after joining Greek club Atromitos for an undisclosed transfer fee.^[5]

Gençlerbirliği

On 10 August 2016, Süper Lig side Gençlerbirliği announced the signing of Matei on a three-year deal.^[6]

Viitorul Constanța

On 26 August 2019, Matei returned to Romania by agreeing to a two-year contract with Viitorul Constanța.^[7]

Return to Dinamo București

In September 2021, Matei returned to Dinamo București as one of the experienced players in a youth-oriented squad.^[8] After several unconvincing performances, he was excluded from the first team in December 2021 by manager Mircea Rednic.^[9] He resumed trainings the following month after Rednic's dismissal, but Dinamo continued its poor results which led to the first relegation in the club history.

Matei became the first player to depart Dinamo after the relegation, only three days after featuring 73 minutes in the decisive promotion/relegation play-off match against Universitatea Cluj.^[10]

Sepsi OSK

On 2 June 2022, shortly after Dinamo București's relegation, Matei remained in the Liga I by signing a two-year contract with Sepsi OSK. He made his debut on 9 July, in a 2–1 victory over CFR Cluj in the Supercupa României.

International career

Matei made his debut for the Romania national team in a friendly against Albania played in Switzerland, in May 2014.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 26 January 2025^[11]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League		National Cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Farul Constanța	2008–09	12	0	1	0	—		—		13	0
	2009–10	23	4	0	0	—		—		23	4
	Total	35	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	36	4
Steaua București	2010–11	5	0	2	0	2	0	—		9	0
Astra Ploiești	2011–12	6	1	1	0	—		—		7	1
Dinamo București	2011–12	7	2	1	0	—		—		8	2
	2012–13	28	5	1	0	2	0	1^[a]	0	32	5
	2013–14	29	8	3	1	—		—		32	9
	2014–15	26	3	1	0	—		2^[b]	0	29	3
	2015–16	19	2	2	0	—		2^[b]	0	23	2
	Total	109	20	8	1	2	0	5	0	124	21
Atromitos	2015–16	11	1	3	0	—		—		14	1
Gençlerbirliği	2016–17	12	1	4	0	—		—		16	1
	2018–19	16	0	4	2	—		—		20	2
	Total	28	1	8	2	0	0	0	0	36	3
Istra 1961 (loan)	2017–18	14	3	—		—		—		14	3
Viitorul Constanța	2019–20	23	4	1	0	—		—		24	4
	2020–21	33	1	1	0	—		—		34	1
	Total	56	5	2	0	0	0	0	0	58	5
Dinamo București	2021–22	20	2	2	1	—		2^[c]	0	24	3
Sepsi OSK	2022–23	35	6	5	2	4	1	1^[a]	1	45	10
	2023–24	29	5	2	1	5	2	1^[a]	0	37	8
	2024–25	17	2	0	0	—		—		17	2
	Total	81	13	7	3	9	3	2	1	99	20
Career total		365	50	34	7	13	3	9	1	421	61

^ ^a ^b ^c Appearance in Supercupa României
^ ^a ^b Appearances in Cupa Ligii
^ Appearances in Liga I promotion/relegation play-offs

International

As of match played 4 June 2014^[12]

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Romania	2014	2	0
Total		2	0

Honours

Steaua București^[11]

Cupa României: 2010–11

Dinamo București^[11]

Cupa României: 2011–12
Supercupa României: 2012

Sepsi OSK^[11]

Cupa României: 2022–23
Supercupa României: 2022, 2023

Individual

Liga I Player of the Month: April 2014^[13]

References

^ "Cosmin Gabriel MATEI". romaniansoccer.ro. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
^ "Și Cosmin Matei e "astral"" (in Romanian). fcastraploiesti.ro. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
^ "Cosmin Matei e dinamovist cu acte în regulă" (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
^ "Dinamo a mai luat un stelist – Cosmin Matei, cunoscut mai mult pentru ieşirile din afara terenului, e "cîine"!" (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
^ "Atromitos announce Matei's bargain". sdna.gr. February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
^ "Yeni transferimiz Cosmin Matei – Gençlerbirliği".
^ Bine ai venit, Cosmin Matei! [Welcome, Cosmin Matei!]. fcviitorul.ro (in Romanian)
^ [1](in Romanian)
^ [2](in Romanian)
^ [3](in Romanian)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Cosmin Matei at Soccerway
^ "Cosmin Matei". European Football. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
^ Jucătorul lunii aprilie Archived 11 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine; Digisport.ro, 28 April 2014 (in Romanian)

External links

Cosmin Matei at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
Cosmin Matei – UEFA competition record (archive)

[SCR-12] Appearance in Supercupa României

[LCR-13] Appearances in Cupa Ligii

[14] Appearances in Liga I promotion/relegation play-offs

[1] "Cosmin Gabriel MATEI". romaniansoccer.ro. Retrieved 23 August 2012.

[2] "Și Cosmin Matei e "astral"" (in Romanian). fcastraploiesti.ro. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011.

[3] "Cosmin Matei e dinamovist cu acte în regulă" (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor. Retrieved 23 August 2012.

[4] "Dinamo a mai luat un stelist – Cosmin Matei, cunoscut mai mult pentru ieşirile din afara terenului, e "cîine"!" (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor. Retrieved 23 August 2012.

[5] "Atromitos announce Matei's bargain". sdna.gr. February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.

[6] "Yeni transferimiz Cosmin Matei – Gençlerbirliği".

[7] Bine ai venit, Cosmin Matei! [Welcome, Cosmin Matei!]. fcviitorul.ro (in Romanian)

[8] [1](in Romanian)

[9] [2](in Romanian)

[10] [3](in Romanian)

[SW-11] Cosmin Matei at Soccerway

[EU-15] "Cosmin Matei". European Football. Retrieved 6 November 2021.

[16] Jucătorul lunii aprilie Archived 11 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine; Digisport.ro, 28 April 2014 (in Romanian)

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