Alexandru Zotincă

Alex Zotincă

Personal information
Full name	Alexandru Zotincă
Date of birth	22 January 1977 (1977-01-22)
Place of birth	Sibiu, Romania
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1995–1998	Inter Sibiu
1998–2000	Steaua Bucureşti	4	(0)
2000–2003	Kansas City Comets (indoor)
2003–2006	Kansas City Wizards	85	(3)
2007–2008	Chivas USA	26	(0)
2010	Chivas USA	1	(0)
Total		116	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 September 2010. † Appearances (Goals).

Alexandru Zotincă (born 22 January 1977 in Sibiu) is a Romanian-American soccer defender, who most recently played for C.D. Chivas USA of Major League Soccer in the United States.

Career

Zotinca began his career with FC Inter Sibiu, where he played from 1995 to 1998. In 1998 he moved to Steaua Bucureşti, where he would play from 1998 to 2000, and with whom he would appear in the UEFA Cup.

In 2000, Zotinca won a United States Green Card in an immigration lottery, and left Romania for America. He played for four years for the Kansas City Comets of the MISL, being named to the All-Rookie team in 2000-01, and the All-Star team in 2002-03. Near the beginning of the 2003 MLS season, Zotinca was signed by the Wizards. He did well in his first year, starting 14 games and playing 1239 minutes in a variety of positions for the Wizards. In 2004, Zotinca firmly established himself at the right back position, and played most of the team's minutes there, appearing in 25 games and playing 1779 minutes. He played a similarly important role during the next two seasons, but failed to sign a new contract with the team for the 2007 season and was traded to Chivas USA. Zotinca started 20 games for the club during 2007, but played a diminished role in the next season, starting only 4 games, and was waived by Chivas USA on 28 November 2008.

After a two-year layoff from professional football, Zotincă was re-signed by Chivas USA on 4 June 2010 to strengthen their defensive unit.

After the 2010 MLS season Chivas USA declined Zotincă's contract option and Zotincă elected to participate in the 2010 MLS Re-Entry Draft. Zotincă became a free agent in Major League Soccer when he was not selected in the Re-Entry draft.

Honours

Club

Steaua Bucharest

• Romanian Cup: 1999

Sporting Kansas City

• Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup: 2004
• MLS (Western Conference Championship): 2004

Individual

• MISL All-Rookie team: 2001
• MISL Al-Star: 2003

External links

• MLS player profile
• ESPNsoccernet Profile