Dan Alexa (born 28 October 1979) is a Romanian professional football manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder, currently in charge of Liga II club ASU Politehnica Timișoara.
Club career
Early career Although born in Banat, Alexa was considered disposable while at UM Timișoara in 1998, and he moved to Rocar București where he helped his side reach the 2000–01 Romanian Cup final.
Dinamo București After several years with short spells at Fulgeru Bragadiru and Universitatea Craiova, Alexa got his big chance as Dinamo București decided to transfer him. His performances were of a high caliber throughout the two seasons he spent there, but he also got a reputation for being an extremely aggressive player. In two years, he scored 1 goal in 47 appearances.
Beijing Hyundai His consequent move to Beijing Hyundai saw him leave Romania for two years. In a friendly match against Real Madrid he was selected man of the match.
Dinamo București He returned to Dinamo in 2006 just for a few months playing 13 matches, scoring one goal.
Politehnica Timișoara In the summer of the same year, Politehnica boss Marian Iancu decided to bring Alexa – by then, a real "persona non-grata" in Timișoara, due to his pledge of loyalty to Dinamo – back to the city where he started his career, together with teammate Ştefan Grigorie. The fans protested at Alexa's arrival in Timișoara through several banners and chants, but the club's management remained unimpressed. Alexa himself stated that he had made those statements out of necessity and that he will do all he can to prove to the fans that he is a real professional. A few months after his arrival, Alexa became the captain of Poli. He is nicknamed "the surgeon" because he inflicted many injuries requiring surgery to opposing players. On 19 April 2010, he scored the equaliser goal in the 98th minute against CFR Cluj and kept Poli in the battle for the title, however Poli finished 5th, losing their last three matches.
Rapid București On 4 June 2011, the former captain of Politehnica Timișoara signed a two-year contract with Rapid București following the relegation of Poli.
Anorthosis Famagusta On 24 June 2012, Dan Alexa signed with the Cyprus First Division football club, Anorthosis Famagusta, on a free transfer. He signed a reported €250,000/yr contract with the club.
International career Alexa was first called up by the national team in 2004. Later in 2010, he was called up for a friendly match against Italy after a six-year absence. Alexa scored his first goals for Romania in a 2–2 draw against Ukraine at Cyprus International Cup 2011. However, Romania were eliminated from the tournament, after losing on penalty kicks 4–2.
Managerial career After he ended his playing career, Alexa became a manager. His first job was at ACS Poli Timișoara, in March 2014. Since 23 August 2017 he was manager of Dunărea Călărași until summer of 2019. Then he was named manager of Astra Giurgiu.
Career statistics International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsRomania200410201010201142Total62
Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Alexa goal. + List of international goals scored by Ionuț NedelcearuNo.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition 1 8 February 2011 Paralimni Stadium, Paralimni, Cyprus 3 1–2 2–2 Friendly 2 2–2
Managerial statistics
TeamFromToRecordG W D L GF GA GD Win %ACS Poli Timișoara17 March 201422 August 2015Rapid București27 August 201520 July 2016ASA Târgu Mureș7 August 201622 December 2016Concordia Chiajna23 December 201618 July 2017Dunărea Călărași22 August 201712 June 2019Astra Giurgiu13 June 201910 October 2019Rapid București11 March 20206 August 2020ASU Politehnica Timișoara11 November 202017 June 2021CSM Reșița30 June 202110 June 2022FC Brașov23 June 20228 August 2023Botoșani1 September 20232 November 2023Tunari18 March 202423 July 2025ASU Politehnica Timișoara24 July 2025presentTotal
Honours Player UM Timișoara Divizia C: 1998–99 Rocar București Cupa României runner-up: 2000–01 Dinamo București Divizia A: 2003–04 Cupa României: 2002–03, 2003–04 Politehnica Timișoara Cupa României runner-up: 2006–07, 2008–09
Coach ACS Poli Timișoara Liga II: 2014–15 Rapid București Liga II: 2015–16 Dunărea Călărași Liga II: 2017–18 CSM Reșița Liga III: 2021–22 Tunari Liga III: 2024–25 ASU Politehnica Timișoara Liga III: 2025–26
References
External links