The almost forgotten name, called up to the Romanian national team after an absence of 4 years: “He's an exceptional player”
Article by Maria Olteanu – Published on Thursday, 02 April 2026, 07:43 / Updated on Thursday, 02 April 2026 07:56
Mihai Stoica (60 years old), the president of the Board of Directors of FCSB, had only words of praise for the Romanian international Alexandru Maxim (35 years old), a player who has been out of the gear of the first representative team for almost 4 years.
June 14, 20220-3 failure with Montenegro, in the Nations League group, is Alexandru Maxim's last match in the national team shirt. Since then, the offensive footballer registered in Gaziantep has not been in the attention of the selectors, neither Edi Iordănescu nor Mircea Lucescu calling him to any action.
However, the FCSB official believes that Maxim is a great loss and that he should have been brought back to the national circuit, especially since he showed his value at the club team level.
Alexandru Maxim, MM Stoica's regret in the World Cup draw
“Maxim wrote history in Gaziantep. He is an exceptional player. Let those who are really interested in the championships since he has been playing there look at how many well-known players he has left behind in terms of numbers – assists and goals scored.
He has some amazing numbers. It has some names behind it that you won't believe. I think it would have been useful now. He also played in Germany, in Mainz and Stuttgart“said MM Stoica, on the show “Fotbal Show”, from Prima Sport.
From 2020, Alexandru Maxim wears the jersey of Gaziantep, with a short break in 2023, when he was loaned to Beşiktaş. He collected 220 matches, 58 goals and 47 assists in 6 years. In the current edition, the attacking midfielder has 5 goals and 7 assists in 26 matches.
Even if it will soon be 4 years since he was not called up to the national team, the player who is approaching 36 years old is still thinking about a call-up to the first representative team.
I don't want to open this topic. As long as I am an active player I think about the national team, from which I have never taken my mind off. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, I'm with them and I wish them success.
I'm happy that I'm still playing at my age, that I'm healthy, I feel good and that makes me happy every day, I hope to keep it that way. As long as I am an active player I will think about the national team.
I work every day, I'm happy to play, I train and I enjoy playing. It would be a dream to be called up with Turkey and see the national team at a World Cup!
– Alex Maxim, in January 2026
