| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 22 November 1942 [1] | ||
| Place of birth | Aninoasa, Romania [2] | ||
| Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) [2] | ||
| Position(s) | Central defender [2] | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Minerul Aninoasa | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Minerul Aninoasa | |||
| 1965–1976 | Jiul Petroșani [a] | 271 | (8) |
| 1976–1977 | Minerul Lupeni | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Andrei Stocker (born 22 November 1942) is a Romanian former footballer who played as a central defender and a referee.
Stocker, nicknamed "Keke", was born on 22 November 1942 in Aninoasa, Romania. [1] [2] [3] His parents were Transylvanian Saxon miners, and because of their German origins, they were deported by the Soviets in 1945 to perform forced labor for a few years in the Donbas region. [2]
Stocker started playing football at Minerul Aninoasa. [2] [3] There, he was noticed by coach Eugen Mladin who brought him to his team, Jiul Petroșani. [2] [3] In his first season at Jiul, he helped the team gain promotion to Divizia A. [2] [3] [4] He made his debut in the competition on 21 August 1966 under coach Ștefan Coidum in a 7–0 victory against Steagul Roșu Brașov. [2] [3] [5] After playing one and a half years as a right midfielder, Stocker started to play alongside Gogu Tonca in the central defense. [2] Subsequently, they became known for their tough playing style, with some considering them the most aggressive defensive duo in Divizia A's history. [2] His first performance with The Miners was reaching the 1972 Cupa României final, where coach Eugen Iordache used him the entire match in the eventual 2–0 loss to Rapid București. [2] [6] Stocker eventually won the competition two years later after a 4–2 victory against Politehnica Timișoara in the 1974 final, as coach Traian Ivănescu used him the full 90 minutes, helping Jiul win its first trophy. [2] [7] Afterwards he played in both legs against Dundee United in the first round of the 1974–75 European Cup Winners' Cup which was lost with 3–2 on aggregate. [2] [8] In May 1975, during a Jiul – Politehnica Iași home game, the wooden stand of the stadium started to burn due to a cigarette thrown into a pile of seed husks. [2] Stocker, along with teammates Tonca and Petre Libardi jumped in to help the firefighters extinguish the fire. [2] He appeared in 271 Divizia A matches and scored eight goals for Jiul. [2] [3]
In 1976, Stocker joined Minerul Lupeni, ending his career one year later. [2]
After he retired from his playing career, Stocker became a referee, officiating in Divizia C and serving as a linesman in Divizia B and Divizia A. [2] [3]
In 1986, he emigrated to Sweden where he settled in the city of Malmö with his family. [2] [3]
Jiul Petroșani