EXCLUSIVE Story of the day in the Cup » The son of the former goalkeeper in the first league, a starter on the field where his father became champion in 2011. He lives right across the street from the stadium!
In the family Bibthe chip did not bounce far from the trunk. The 23-year-old son of former goalkeeper Cristian Brăneț, 183 matches on the first stage, former champion with Oțelul in 2011, is a goalkeeper at Sporting Liești, a League 3 team that performed in the current season of groups of the Romanian Betano Cup. He was the starter in today's match against Csikszereda, in which he scored 5 goals, all in the second act (0-5 final). Both teams from Group C were eliminated from the competition.
Do you still remember Cristian Brăneț, the champion goalkeeper in the first league with Oțelul, also at Poi Iaşi, FC Vaslui and Dunărea Galați? At 48 years old, the former player of the “steelers” deals with the training of the goalkeepers of Sporting Liești, a contender for promotion in League 2, currently the leader in Series 2 of “C”.
Cristian Brăneț in 2011, in the steel gate / PHOTO: Gazeta Sporturilor archive
Branet sr. he lives in Galati, a stone's throw from Oțelului stadium, from where, the other day, he spoke to GSP reporters about the new professional stage in his life:
“I have been at Sporting Liești for nine years. There are three people here who do all the work for this team, coach Savu, president Dorin and I, we try to do it as well as possible. This year we are in first place, we hope to keep it that way and try to promote. It's not a set goal, but once we're there, we can't go back.”
He looks at the championship won with Oțelul with a touch of nostalgia: “It was a beautiful period in my life, I hope that all athletes enjoy their careers, because they are unique moments, which you don't come across again”.
In the year of the title won by Oțelul, Cristian Brăneț was the reserve of the Bosnian Branko Grahovac. The Romanian benefited from the same status in the Champions League groups. Retired in 2014, he accumulated 41 matches in Galațiu's shirt.
Cristi Brăneț's son, Andrei, is also a goalkeeper at Sporting Liești
At the age of 23, Andrei Brăneț scored his second match in the Betano Romanian Cup groups on Wednesday evening. He defended the draw with Oțelul in the first round, 3-3, so that in the second match, the improbable 4-7 with Metalul Buzău, he was a reserve.
He came back between goals in the duel with Csikszereda, which the team from the third echelon played right on Oțelui's pitch, at night.
Brăneț jr., who performed with a protective helmet on his head, kept Liești's goal intact in the first half. He could not intervene in the 57th minute phase, when Ciuc's forward Wilhelm Loeper beat him in front of the goal. The evening then got complicated: he scored four more goals from Robert Ilyes' first-division team.
Basically, the two Brăneț family members only had to cross the street for the game against the Harghitians, bearing in mind that their residence is directly opposite the “Oțelul” stadium.
“For Andrei, football is a hobby! His main activity is now primary education, he is a secondary school physics teacher“, Cristi Brăneț also told us.
Andrei Brăneț, in the Sporting Liești Cup match – Oțelul 3-3 / Photo source: Facebook
In 2012, when he was only 9 years old, Andrei Brăneț was named the best goalkeeper in an edition of the Hagi Danone Cup.
He declared then, according to Libertatea, that he intends to follow in his father's footsteps. “I'm glad I was the best. My role model is my father, who defends the goal of the Romanian champion. It is normal that I dream of overcoming it. Football is my life”.
Andrei Brăneț in 2012, MVP at the Hagi Danone Cup / Photo source: Libertatea
“Principal” at Sporting Liești is Cătălin Savu, 55 years old, former secondary player at Oțelul, Dunărea Galați, Dacia Unirea Brăila and Rocar.
