Alexandru Mățan

Alexandru Mățan
Mățan with the Columbus Crew in 2023
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
 Dibba Al-Hisn
Number 29
Youth career
2006–2009 Jiul Petroșani[1]
2009–2017 Gheorghe Hagi Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2021 Viitorul Constanța 53 (3)
2019–2020 → Voluntari (loan) 25 (1)
2021–2024 Columbus Crew 93 (5)
2022 Columbus Crew 2 4 (0)
2022 → Rapid București (loan) 6 (0)
2025– Dibba Al-Hisn 3 (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 22 April 2025
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 8 June 2021

Alexandru Irinel Mățan (Romanian pronunciation: [alekˈsandru məˈt͡san]; born 29 August 1999) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for UAE Pro League club Dibba Al-Hisn.

Club career

Viitorul Constanța

An academy graduate of Viitorul Constanța,[2] 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.[3]

In 2017, he struggled with a nagging sports hernia injury for two years, limiting his appearances.[4] 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 subsequently participated in five of the following six games, starting all of them, which included both legs of his team's 7–5 aggregate loss to Gent in the second qualifying round of the Europa League. He was then sent on a loan for the remainder of the season to fellow league club Voluntari, amassing 25 games and netting once during his stint.[5][6]

Columbus Crew

"The first 2 years in America were not the most pleasant for me, but the last 2 were incredible. I was reborn as a person, as a footballer."

—Alexandru Mățan[7]

On 8 March 2021, Mățan joined American team Columbus Crew in a transfer rumored to be worth around €1.5 million.[8][9] 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. Playing mainly as a left winger, he totaled 30 matches in all competitions during his first season in Columbus, 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.[10][11] He made his debut for "the White-Burgundies" four days later, in a 1–0 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.[12]

Return to Columbus Crew

Mățan returned to Columbus at the start of 2023, after Rapid București did not trigger the purchase option in his loan.[13] On 18 March, he scored his first goal for the Crew in a 2–1 league loss to New York Red Bulls.[14]

On 12 October 2024, Mățan scored his first professional hat-trick against the New England Revolution at Lower.com Field.

Dibba Al-Hisn

After a four-year tenure with Columbus, Mățan left as a free agent to sign with UAE Pro League club Dibba Al-Hisn in February 2025.[15][16]

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.[17]

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 equaliser in a 2–1 win against hosts Hungary on 27 March.

Style of play

A diminutive playmaker, Mățan is typically deployed as an attacking midfielder, though he is also capable of playing as a left winger. In that role, he often cuts inside onto his stronger right foot, using his dribbling ability and flair to create opportunities. He is known for his high work rate, contributing to both attacking and defensive phases of play. Mățan is particularly noted for his dribbling skills, as well as his speed, agility, and vision.[8][18][19][20]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 22 April 2025[21]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Viitorul Constanța 2015–16 Liga I 1 1 — — — 1 1
2017–18 14 1 1 1 — 1[a] 0 16 2
2018–19 13 0 3 1 4 0 — 20 1
2019–20 3 0 — 2 0 1[a] 0 6 0
2020–21 22 1 1 0 — — 23 1
Total 53 3 5 2 6 0 2 0 66 5
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 6 0 1 0 — — 7 0
2023 31 1 1 0 — 8[b] 2 40 3
2024 28 4 0 0 5 1 7[c] 0 40 5
Total 93 5 2 0 7 1 15 2 117 8
Columbus Crew 2 2022 MLS Next Pro 4 0 — — — 4 0
Rapid București (loan) 2022–23 Liga I 6 0 — — — 6 0
Dibba Al-Hisn 2024–25 UAE Pro League 3 0 — — — 3 0
Career total 184 9 8 2 13 1 17 2 222 14
  1. ^ a b Appearance in Supercupa României
  2. ^ Two appearances and one goal in Leagues Cup and six appearances and one goal in MLS Cup Playoffs
  3. ^ Four appearances in Leagues Cup, one appearance in Campeones Cup and two appearances in MLS Cup Playoffs

Honours

Viitorul Constanța[21]

Columbus Crew

References

  1. ^ "Lungul drum al performanței / Cum a ajuns Alex Măţan, un jucător de la Jiul, sub aripa "regelui" Hagi".
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ Apostol, Eduard (15 June 2021). "Mărturia lui Alex Mățan, puștiul vândut de Hagi în State: "Eram năzdrăvan, acum trăiesc visul meu american"". Gazeta Sporturilor - GSP (in Romanian). Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  5. ^ "Succes, Alex Mățan, Arpad Tordai și Andrei Tîrcoveanu". www.farulconstanta.com (in Romanian). 3 September 2019. Archived from the original on 9 August 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Alexandru Mățan 2019-2020 Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  7. ^ Roșu, Emanuel (16 December 2024). "Alex Mățan a vorbit pentru prima oară despre perioada petrecută la Rapid: "Chiar așa a fost"". Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  8. ^ a b "SIGNED | Columbus Crew SC acquires midfielder Alexandru Matan from Romanian side FC Viitorul Constanta". Columbus Crew SC. 8 March 2021. Archived from the original on 9 August 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ "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.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ "Împrumutul lui Mățan s-a încheiat" [Mățan's loan has ended] (in Romanian). FC Rapid București. 23 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  13. ^ "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 6 December 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ "Alex Mățan a schimbat continentul! A semnat cu o echipă aflată pe penultimul loc în campionat".
  16. ^ Mac Kay, Brianna. "Columbus Crew forward Alex Matan becomes first player to announce departure this offseason". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  17. ^ "Romania 4–0 Serbia". UEFA. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  18. ^ Myers, Jacob. "Romanian midfielder Alex Matan ready for 'amazing' time with Columbus Crew". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  19. ^ "Alexandru Mățan, propus la FCSB de Dumitru Dragomir: "Gigi Becali să pună repede banii să-l cumpere"". GSP (in Romanian). 16 November 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  20. ^ Dunau, Casey (30 March 2023). "Leveling up: 10 MLS players taking The Leap in 2023". mlssoccer. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  21. ^ a b Alexandru Mățan at Soccerway. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
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