“That's what convinced me to come here”

He addressed several topics, among which what led him to come to Slobozia, the departure from Chindia Târgoviște or the farewell with his former colleague from Rapid, Jayson Papeau.

VIDEO. Alexandru Albu: “That convinced me to come here”

“I'm fine. I'm happy. I can start training again. I think we're all waiting to start as soon as possible, to play as soon as possible. The fact that the team is in League 1 determined me to come. I played for Chindia Târgoviște, I'm happy and I want to thank them that I was part of that wonderful team, but in the life of an athlete you always have a choice, and I chose to take this step.

I went on a hard road, because I went to League 2, and now I have taken the step back to League 1. My desires and goals are great, that's why I have work to do. It is the biggest challenge in 2026, but I am convinced that I will succeed.”

Asked about leaving Chindia Târgoviște, Alex Albu stated that things went very well there, but he considered coming to Slobozia an opportunity for his career.

Nothing happened at Chindia, but this opportunity to return to League 1 came. I think I brought my input there and gave it my best. I have very nice memories there. I had discussions with other teams, but I don't know what didn't reach me, my agent took care of it. Slobozia called me and I chose to come here.

He will be coached by Andrei Prepelita, with whom he was a colleague at Concordia Chiajna in 2019.

“I know most of my colleagues. Mysteriously, I've known Prepe for a long time. We played together at Chiajna, I spoke with him and I'm waiting to start training to work together.“

He also spoke about the goals he has with Unirea Slobozia, namely the rescue from relegation, but also about the reunion with Jayson Papeau, with whom he was a colleague at Rapid. The two teams will meet in the Superliga at the end of February.

“At the beginning of the championship, there was talk of a surprise in Slobozia, but the period came when they did not win for 9 matches. It is difficult for any team, but they stayed above the line and even I think there are real chances to save. Any game will be important, I'm not waiting for a specific game.

I know there will be a game (not the game against Rapid) where I will be happy to be on the field, hopefully I will be healthy by then. I had nice memories there, I can say that that club is part of my life. Any player is welcome and I'm glad to see Papeau. He is a very good footballer and I hope we achieve our goals.”

The batch of Unirii Slobozia for this winter's training camp

Along with Alexandru Albu, two other new arrivals appear in the Unirii Slobozia squad. Teodor Lungu and Marc Tsoungui.

• Goalkeepers: Denis Rusu, Robert Popa, Cristian Ciupercă

• Defenders: Andrei Dorobanțu, Florinel Ibrian, Ionut Dinu, Oleksandr Safronov, Raul Iancu, Paul Antoche, Rafael Garutti, Marc Tsoungui, Daniel Şerbănica, Constantin Toma

• Midfielders: Teodor Lungu, Vlad Pop, Mihaita Lemnaru, Ionuț Coada, Alexandru Albu, Valon Hamdiji, Jayson Papeau, Ronaldo Deaconu, Patrick Dulcea, Andrei Dragu, Cristi Bărbut

• Forwards: Christ Afalna, Ahmed Said, Renato Espinosa