Athlete of the Week on RRI – Footballer Florin Andone

Florin Andone is doing well in this season in Segunda Division

România Internațional, 05.04.2016, 13:38

It is a little over two months until the European Football Championship kicks off in France. Romania will play the opening match against the host country France, on June 10, on Stade de France stadium in Paris.

Until then coach Anghel Iordanescu must decide on the membership of the team capable of moving past the group phase. Iordanescu’s favourite for the position of striker has lately been Florin Andone, a footballer playing in the second-tier league in Spain. In the matches against Lithuania and Spain, Andone didn’t have a stellar performance, but he did pull his weight. His selection to the national team boosted however his morale. Proof thereof was his remarkable performance in Sunday’s match his club, Cordoba, played against Gimnastic de Tarragona. Andone scored a hattrick and was close to scoring a fourth goal, the ball he sent hitting the post. His solid contribution helped his team draw against Tarragona, final score 4-all.

For his excellent performance, we have designated Florin Andone Athlete of the Week on Radio Romania International.

Florin Andone was born in Joldesti village, Botosani County, northern Romania, on April 11, 1993. When he was 12, his family moved to Spain, close to Valencia, where he enrolled with a local junior football team. He made his senior debut at Castellon, in 2011. He played in lower tiers until 2014, when he was signed by Cordoba. He made his debut in Primera Division in January 2015. He remained with Cordoba after the team had relegated to the second division, and was among the top goal scorers of Segunda Division in the 2015-2016 season.

His first official match for Romania was on June 13, 2015, when he played 18 minutes against Northern Ireland as part of the 2016 European Championship qualifiers.

(Translated by V. Palcu)