Andrei Gabriel Torje (; born 22 November 1989) is a Romanian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a winger. Torje was named

Romanian Footballer of the Year The Romanian Footballer of the Year (), also known as the Nicolae Dobrin Trophy (), is an annual association football award given by the ''Gazeta Sporturilor'' newspaper to the Romanian player adjudged to have been the best during a calendar yea ...

in 2011.

Club career

Politehnica Timișoara

Torje made his debut during the 2005–06 season for Politehnica Timișoara against

Argeș Pitești Arges or Argeș may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Romania * Argeș County, a county in Muntenia, with its capital at Pitești * Argeș Region, an administrative division from 1950 to 1952 * Argeș River, which flows through the Southern ...

and scored on his second match, against Farul Constanța. He was promoted in the first squad by

Gheorghe Hagi Gheorghe Hagi (; born 5 February 1965) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the owner of Liga I club Farul Constanța. Deployed as an attacking midfielder, Hagi was considered one of the best players in ...

, manager of Timișoara at that time.

Dinamo Bucharest

On 15 January 2008, Torje signed a five-year contract with

Dinamo București A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterin ...

. The reported transfer fee was $2.5 million. He played his 100th match in

Liga I Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...

for Dinamo on 6 May 2011, in a defeat against

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ) or simply CFR, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I. Founded as ''Kolozsvári Vasut ...

Udinese

On 30 August 2011, he signed a five-year contract with

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

club

Udinese Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sport ...

for an undisclosed fee, rumored to be around

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

7 million. He played his first game in Serie A against

U.S. Lecce Unione Sportiva Lecce () is a Football in Italy, professional Italian football club based in Lecce, Apulia. The club play in Serie A in the 2023–24 Serie A, 2023–24 season, the top level of the Italian football league system, Italian footb ...

, on 11 September 2011, even though he had only five days of training with his new team, and he had an impressive performance, suggesting that

Alexis Sánchez Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Sánchez (; born 19 December 1988), also known mononymously as Alexis, is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Udinese and the Chile national team. He is often regarded as the ...

may not be as irreplaceable as first thought. On 5 February 2012, Torje scored his first goal in the Serie A in a 3–2 loss against

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

. On 24 March, in a game against

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

he equalized the score in the 85th minute, giving his team a 1–1 draw.

Loan to Granada

In order to get more playing time, on 8 June 2012, Torje signed for

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

on a season long loan. He made his debut for the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

team on 20 August, in a 1–0 away defeat against

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in the Villa de Vallecas district of Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish foot ...

. Halfway through the season Torje was considered one of the most successful transfers in the

2012–13 La Liga The 2012–13 La Liga season (known as the ''Liga BBVA'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 82nd since its establishment. The campaign began on 18 August 2012, and concluded on 1 June 2013. FC Barcelona, Barcelona won the league for a 22nd time, a ...

, and he became a crucial part of the team. He was praised for his performance in the 1–0 victory over La Liga champions,

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, on 2 February 2013.

Loan to Espanyol

On 2 September 2013, Torje began his second journey in

this time being loaned at the second major club in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...

. He made his debut for the club on 23 September in a 3–2 win over

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

. He played only 12 games for Espanyol, six in the starting lineup and six as a substitute, without scoring a goal. Thus, the Spanish side didn't activate the option to buy the player at the end of the loaning period.

Loan to Konyaspor

In June 2014, Turkish Super Lig side

Konyaspor Konyaspor Kulübü (, Konya Sports Club), commonly referred to as Konyaspor, is a Turkish professional football club based in Konya, one of the largest cities in central Anatolia. Due to sponsorship agreements, the club is also officially known ...

announced that they reached an agreement with Udinese to loan the player for a season.

Loan to Dinamo București

On 2 February 2018, he rejoined

on loan until the end of the 2017–18 season.

Sivasspor

On 1 September 2018, he returned to Turkey, signing with

Sivasspor Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Net Global Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department has competed in Süper Lig since t ...

AEL

On 4 February 2020, he signed a contract with

Superleague Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

club AEL. On 22 June 2020, he scored a brace, helping to a 3–1 home win against

Volos Volos (; ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia regional unit of the Thessaly Region. Volos ...

for the second game of the 2019–20 Superleague playoffs.

Bandırmaspor

After leaving AEL at the end of 2020, Torje moved to Turkish

TFF First League The TFF 1. Lig (), currently referred to as Trendyol 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization ...

club

Bandırmaspor Bandırmaspor is a Turkish professional football club located in the town of Bandırma, Balıkesir Province and currently plays in the TFF First League. History The club was founded in 1965 after a merger between amateur sides İdmanyurdu Gençl ...

in January 2021.

Farul Constanța

On 3 June 2022, joined Farul Constanța on a two-year deal. On 29 December 2022, Torje was released from the club after having his contract mutually terminated.

Gençlerbirliği

On 6 January 2023, Torje joined Turkish

club Gençlerbirliği.

International career

Torje was the captain of the Romania under-21 football team side. He also made his debut for the senior side in a friendly match against

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

on 3 September 2010. He scored his first international goal in a match against

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. On 2 September 2011, he scored twice in a 2–0 win over

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. Torje scored his first competitive goals in a 2–0 win over

during the

UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying The qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2012 was a series of parallel association football competitions held across Europe between 2010 and 2011 to decide the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2012. The draw for the qualifying rounds was held on 7 Febru ...

. He scored three goals during the

2014 World Cup qualifiers The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil. The remaining 31 places were determined by ...

as Romania reached the play-offs only to lose to

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. He did not score in Romania's successful qualification for

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's association football, football ch ...

but was chosen in the tournament's 23-man squad. He started in Romania's 1–1 draw to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and made brief appearances as a substitute in Romania's defeats to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

with the latter one confirming their elimination from the tournament.

Career statistics

Club

International stats

International goals

:''* Unofficial match according to the

Laws of the Game Sports The Laws of the Game may refer to the codified rules of a number of different sports: *Laws of the Game (association football) *Laws of Australian rules football *Bandy Playing Rules *Rules of chess *Laws of cricket *Laws of rugby league ...

(excessive number of Romanian substitutions)''

Honours

Club

Politehnica Timișoara *

Cupa României The Cupa României () is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the Romania ...

runner-up: 2006–07 Dinamo București *

runner-up:

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Farul Constanța *

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Individual

*''

Gazeta Sporturilor Gazeta Sporturilor () is a Romanian sports website, originally founded in 1924 as a daily newspaper. It was the third-oldest daily newspaper in Europe, with 99 years of uninterrupted publication, before issuing its last edition on 31 October 2023. ...

: 2011; third place: 2012

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Torje, Gabriel 1989 births Living people Footballers from Timișoara Romanian men's footballers Romania men's under-21 international footballers Romania men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders CSF CFR Timișoara players FC Politehnica Timișoara players FC Dinamo București players Udinese Calcio players Granada CF footballers RCD Espanyol footballers Konyaspor footballers FC Akhmat Grozny players Kardemir Karabükspor footballers Sivasspor footballers Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C. players Bandırmaspor footballers FCV Farul Constanța players Gençlerbirliği S.K. footballers CS Concordia Chiajna players AFC Câmpulung Muscel players Liga I players Liga II players Serie A players La Liga players Süper Lig players TFF 1. Lig players Russian Premier League players Super League Greece players Romanian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Russia Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Greece UEFA Euro 2016 players 21st-century Romanian sportsmen