Alexandru Mățan

Alexandru Irinel Mățan (Romanian pronunciation: [alekˈsandru məˈt͡san]; born 29 August 1999) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a winger for Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew.

Alexandru Mățan
Mățan with Rapid București in 2022
Personal information
Full name Alexandru Irinel Mățan
Date of birth (1999-08-29) 29 August 1999
Place of birth Galați, Romania
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, winger
Team information
Current team
 Columbus Crew
Number 20
Youth career
2009–2017 Gheorghe Hagi Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2021 Viitorul Constanța 53 (3)
2019–2020 → Voluntari (loan) 25 (1)
2021– Columbus Crew 42 (1)
2022 →Columbus Crew 2 4 (0)
2022 → Rapid București (loan) 6 (0)
International career‡
2014–2015 Romania U16 4 (0)
2015–2016 Romania U17 3 (0)
2016 Romania U18 1 (1)
2017–2018 Romania U19 6 (8)
2017–2021 Romania U21 11 (2)
2021 Romania Olympic 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 April 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 8 June 2021

Club career

Viitorul Constanța

An academy graduate of Viitorul Constanța,[1] Mățan made his Liga I debut on 6 May 2016, aged 16. He entered as a 63rd-minute substitute for Ciprian Perju and converted a penalty kick in the 3–3 away draw at Dinamo București.[2]

Mățan made his first appearance in European competitions on 12 July 2018, starting in a 2–0 away win over Luxembourgish team Racing FC in the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.

On 6 July 2019, Mățan played the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 victory over CFR Cluj for the season's Supercupa României. He was then sent on a one-season loan to fellow league club Voluntari, amassing 25 games and netting once during his stint.

Columbus Crew

On 8 March 2021, Mățan joined American team Columbus Crew in a transfer rumored to be worth around €1.5 million.[3][4] He made his Major League Soccer debut on 18 April, coming on as an 88th-minute substitute for Pedro Santos in a goalless draw with Philadelphia Union.

Mățan registered his first CONCACAF Champions League game 11 days later, a 2–2 home draw with Mexican side Monterrey. He totaled 30 matches in all competitions during his first season in Ohio, starting in only nine of them and failing to score.

Loan to Rapid București

After falling down the pecking order for the Columbus Crew and featuring for the reserve team, Mățan was sent on a five-month loan to Rapid București on 9 August 2022, with the loan also including a purchase option.[5][6] He made his debut for "the White-Burgundies" four days later, in a 0–1 away derby loss to Petrolul Ploiești.

On 23 December 2022, it was announced that Mățan's loan ended, with the player having made only six appearances due to a stress fracture suffered on his toe.[7]

Return to Columbus

Mățan returned to Columbus in 2023 after Rapid declined to trigger the purchase option on his loan.[8] On 18 March 2023, Mățan scored his first goal for the Crew.[9]

International career

On 21 March 2018, Mățan scored twice for the Romania national under-19 team in a 4–0 victory over Serbia at the Ilie Oană Stadium in Ploiești.[10]

In 2021, Mățan featured for the under-21 side in the UEFA European Championship. He made three appearances in the eventual group-stage exit, and contributed with the equalizer in a 2–1 win against hosts Hungary on 27 March.

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 16 April 2023[11]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Viitorul Constanța 2015–16 Liga I 11———11
2016–17 Liga I 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2017–18 Liga I 141110010162
2018–19 Liga I 1303140—201
2019–20 Liga I 3 0 — 2 0 1 0 6 0
2020–21 Liga I 22 1 1 0 — — 23 1
Total 533526020665
Voluntari (loan) 2019–20 Liga I 25 1 1 0 — — 26 1
Columbus Crew 2021 Major League Soccer 28 0 — 2 0 — 30 0
2022 Major League Soccer 6 0 1 0 — — 7 0
2023 Major League Soccer 8 1 1 0 — — 9 1
Total 42 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 46 0
Columbus Crew 2 2022 MLS Next Pro 4 0 — — — 4 0
Rapid București (loan) 2022–23 Liga I 6 0 — — — 6 0
Career total 13058280201487

    Honours

    Viitorul Constanța[11]

    Columbus Crew[11]

    References
    1. "Academia Hagi propune un nou jucător de excepţie: Alex Măţan are doar 15 ani, dar i-a impresionat pe antrenori" [Hagi Academy proposes a new exceptional player: Alex Mățan is only 15 years old, but he impressed his coaches] (in Romanian). ProSport. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
    2. "Debut perfect pentru noua "perla" a lui Hagi de la Viitorul" [Perfect debut for Hagi's new Viitorul "jewel"] (in Romanian). Ziare.com. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
    3. "SIGNED | Columbus Crew SC acquires midfielder Alexandru Matan from Romanian side FC Viitorul Constanta". Columbus Crew SC. 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
    4. "Transferul lui Alex Mățan la Columbus Crew e 95% rezolvat! Gică Hagi și americanii au ajuns la un acord, fotbalistul trebuie să facă vizita medicală și apoi să plece | EXCLUSIV". Prosport (in Romanian). 25 February 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
    5. "Columbus Crew loans midfielder Alexandru Matan to FC Rapid Bucuresti | Columbus Crew". ColumbusCrew.com. 9 August 2022. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
    6. "Alex Mățan a fost împrumutat de Rapid" [Alex Mățan was loaned by Rapid] (in Romanian). FC Rapid București. 9 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
    7. "Împrumutul lui Mățan s-a încheiat" [Mățan's loan has ended] (in Romanian). FC Rapid București. 23 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
    8. "Alex Mățan e istorie la Rapid! Adrian Mutu: "Nu are rost să stea cu noi"". www.digisport.ro (in Romanian). 2 December 2022. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
    9. Johnson, Bailey (19 March 2023). "Three things we learned from the Columbus Crew's 2-1 loss at New York Red Bulls". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
    10. "Romania 4–0 Serbia". UEFA. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
    11. Alexandru Mățan at Soccerway. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
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