Claudiu Keșerü

Claudiu Andrei Keșerü (Romanian pronunciation: [klaˈudju anˈdrej keˈʃery]; born 2 December 1986) is a former Romanian professional footballer who played mainly as a striker.

Claudiu Keșerü
Keșerü with Ludogorets Razgrad in 2019
Personal information
Full name Claudiu Andrei Keșerü
Date of birth (1986-12-02) 2 December 1986
Place of birth Oradea, Romania
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1992–2003 Bihor Oradea
2003–2004 Nantes
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2003 FC Oradea 15 (3)
2003–2010 Nantes 81 (11)
2003–2007 Nantes B 32 (23)
2008 → Libourne (loan) 17 (11)
2009 → Tours (loan) 12 (8)
2010 → Angers (loan) 14 (4)
2010–2013 Angers 100 (33)
2013–2014 Bastia 16 (1)
2014–2015 Steaua București 34 (20)
2015 Al-Gharafa 9 (9)
2015–2021 Ludogorets Razgrad 169 (113)
2021 Ludogorets Razgrad II 3 (3)
2021–2022 FCSB 19 (5)
2022–2023 UTA Arad 26 (3)
Total 547 (247)
International career
2004–2008 Romania U21 21 (6)
2013–2021 Romania 47 (13)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

After starting out at his hometown side FC Oradea, Keșerü soon moved to Nantes in 2003. Over the course of nearly eleven years in France, he represented five clubs and amassed Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 totals of 240 appearances and 67 goals. In 2014, he returned to his native country by signing a contract with defending champions Steaua București. Keșerü also had a brief spell with Al-Gharafa in Qatar, before moving to Ludogorets Razgrad in the summer of 2015. He netted more than 110 times in the Bulgarian First League and became the foreign player with the most goals in the competition.[1] Keșerü is also the only foreigner to become top scorer in Bulgaria on more than one occasion. In 2021, he returned to Steaua București—now renamed FCSB.

Keșerü made his first senior international appearance for Romania in October 2013, in a 4–0 defeat of Andorra. He earned over 40 caps for the nation and was part of the squad that participated in the UEFA Euro 2016.

Club career

Bihor Oradea

A youth product of Bihor Oradea, Keșerü was discovered and trained by Alexandru Gergely, former player in the 1970s golden team of FC Bihor.[2][3] After its promotion in the senior squad, he played a season in the second division for his hometown club and scored 2 goals in 13 matches, as "the Red and Blues" earned promotion to the Liga I. His first match in the latter competition was on 23 August 2003, a goalless draw with Petrolul Ploiești.

Nantes

In 2003, he was brought to France by Nantes. Initially included in the second team, he was promoted after a season and made his Ligue 1 debut. He played for Nantes for four years, scoring 11 goals in 81 matches. He was relegated with the club to Ligue 2 in 2007 and promoted a year later.

In 2008, Keșerü was loaned by Nantes to the Ligue 2 side Libourne. Mainly a substitute, he scored 11 goals in 17 matches. The following season, he was loaned to another second division side, Tours, where he netted 7 times in 12 matches.

Angers
Keșerü (center) training for Angers in 2012.

In 2010, Keșerü was loaned by Nantes to Angers. In his first season spent there, he scored 4 goals in 14 matches, and was bought from Nantes after the end of loan period. He spent three years with Angers, imposing himself as a regular starter.

Bastia

Despite interest from FCSB and Olympiacos Piraeus, Keșerü remained in France, where he signed with Bastia.[4] On 31 August 2013, he scored his first goal for Bastia in a 2–1 win over Toulouse. He played 16 matches in Ligue 1, but failed to impress, and left the club in the winter of 2014.

FCSB

In January 2014, Keșerü joined defending Romanian champions FCSB, with whom he won the league title and played the final of the Romanian Cup. His first goal in a European competition came in the 2–2 draw against Aktobe in UEFA Champions League's third qualifying round.

Keșerü broke the club record for goals in a single game, scoring all six goals in a 6–0 win against Pandurii Târgu Jiu on 15 August 2014. The record was previously held by his coach, Constantin Gâlcă, who scored five times in a 5–0 victory over FC Brașov in 1994. It was the first time that a player scored six goals in a Liga I game since 9 June 1993, when Marian Popa of Farul Constanța accomplished the feat in a 6–3 success against Oțelul Galați.[5] On 18 September 2014, in the first matchday of the Europa League group stage, a 6–0 win over Aalborg, Keșerü netted a hat-trick in just 12 minutes, between the 61st and 72nd minutes, resulting in the fastest hat-trick in the competition's history.[6][7]

Al-Gharafa

In February 2015, Keșerü signed with Qatari side Al-Gharafa on a two-and-a-half-year deal.[8]

Ludogorets Razgrad

Keșerü then signed a three-year contract in August 2015 with Bulgarian club Ludogorets Razgrad worth €700,000 per annum, becoming the highest-paid player ever for The Eagles.[9][10] In his first season, the team won the championship, and Keșerü became its top striker with 15 goals.[11]

Keșerü scored an equalizer against Red Star Belgrade in the first leg of third qualifying round of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League,[12] and then another equalizer in the second leg away match against Viktoria Plzeň in the play-off, helping his team to qualify for the group stage.[13] He scored his maiden goal in the Champions League groups to give a 2–0 lead in the home match against English club Arsenal, but Ludogorets eventually lost by 2–3. On 28 October 2016, Keșerü scored his first hat-trick for Ludogorets in a league match against Dunav Ruse,[14] a feat that he repeated later in the season against Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa. Eventually, with 22 goals, Keșerü became top goalscorer of the 2016–17 Bulgarian championship and won back-to-back titles with Ludogorets.

Keșerü went on to score two goals in the second leg home match against FK Žalgiris in the second qualifying round of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League which Ludogorets won 5–3 on aggregate. Keșerü won the Bulgarian championship for a third time in the 2017–18 season, also becoming top goalscorer of the league with 26 goals. He also scored the winning goal in the 2018 Bulgarian Supercup final. On 7 October 2018, he contributed three goals in a 4–1 away win over Botev Vratsa, thus becoming the foreigner with the most hat-tricks in the A PFG, having managed the feat on five separate occasions.[15] On 19 September 2019, Keșerü scored three goals in the 5:1 home win against CSKA Moscow in a UEFA Europa League group stage match.[16] In May 2020, Keșerü extended his contract with the team for two more years.[17] Prior to the 2021–22 season Keșerü lost his status as a first team regular, not being included among the squad members for Ludogorets' second qualifying round match in the Champions League.[18] He left the team in late August 2021.[19]

Return to FCSB

After Keșerü terminated his deal with Ludogorets Razgrad, he returned to his native country on 31 August 2021 with Steaua București, now renamed FCSB. On 12 September, he scored in a 6–0 eternal derby thrashing of Dinamo București in the Liga I. He fell out of favour with the club owner, Gigi Becali, and left the club in the summer of 2022.

UTA Arad

After leaving FCSB, Keșerü signed a two-year contract with fellow Liga I side UTA Arad.

International career
Keșerü playing for Romania in 2019.

On 11 October 2013, Keșerü made his full debut for Romania in a 4–0 win against Andorra, scoring the first goal of the match.[20]

He was selected in Romania's squad for UEFA Euro 2016,[21] playing the full 90 minutes in the second group match against Switzerland. This was Keșerü's only appearance of the tournament, as his country finished bottom of the group.

In 2019, Keșerü scored five goals in three games for Romania in matches against Sweden, the Faroe Islands and Norway counting for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualification.

Personal life

Keșerü is of partial Hungarian descent, but cannot speak the language.[22] He has been married since 2012,[23] and in December 2016 his spouse Laura Dorina gave birth to a son.

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 4 June 2023[24]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
FC Oradea 2002–03 Divizia B 13200———132
2003–04 Divizia A 2100———21
Total 15300000000153
Nantes B 2003–04 — 10900———109
2004–05 — 8300———83
2005–06 — 6600———66
2006–07 — 7400———74
2007–08 — 1100———11
Total 3223000000003223
Nantes 2004–05 Ligue 1 1530000——153
2005–06 Ligue 1 1430000——143
2006–07 Ligue 1 2240000——224
2007–08 Ligue 2 1100000——110
2008–09 Ligue 1 910010——101
2009–10 Ligue 1 1000000——100
Total 8111001000008211
Libourne (loan) 2007–08 Ligue 2 17110000——1711
Tours (loan) 2008–09 Ligue 2 1280000——128
Angers (loan) 2009–10 Ligue 2 1440000——144
Angers 2010–11 Ligue 2 35105111——4112
2011–12 Ligue 2 3362210——368
2012–13 Ligue 2 32170021——3418
Total 114377342000012542
Bastia 2013–14 Ligue 1 1610020——181
Steaua București 2013–14 Liga I 17821———199
2014–15 Liga I 1712101295102919
Total 3420311295104828
Al-Gharafa 2014–15 Qatar Stars League 9911———1010
Ludogorets Razgrad 2015–16 A Group 281510———2915
2016–17 Bulgarian First League 302246—134—4732
2017–18 Bulgarian First League 302622—112104430
2018–19 Bulgarian First League 352020—113114924
2019–20 Bulgarian First League 191210—136103418
2020–21 Bulgarian First League 271841—81104020
2021–22 Bulgarian First League 00——100010
Total 16911314900571641244139
Ludogorets Razgrad II 2021–22 Bulgarian Second League 33————33
FCSB 2021–22 Liga I 19500———195
UTA Arad 2022–23 Liga I 26363——2[lower-alpha 1]0346
Career total 547247311784662171659290
  1. All appearances in Liga I promotion/relegation play-offs

International
As of match played 11 October 2021[25]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Romania
201311
201422
201581
201681
201741
201881
201986
202030
202150
Total4713
Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Keșerü goal.[25]
List of international goals scored by Claudiu Keșerü
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 11 October 2013Estadi Comunal, Andorra la Vella, Andorra1 Andorra
1–0
4–0
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 18 November 2014Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania3 Denmark
1–0
2–0Friendly
3
2–0
4 29 March 2015Ilie Oană Stadium, Ploiești, Romania4 Faroe Islands
1–0
1–0
UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
5 3 June 2016Arena Națională, Bucharest, Romania13 Georgia
5–1
5–1
Friendly
6 5 October 2017Ilie Oană Stadium, Ploiești, Romania19 Kazakhstan
3–1
3–1
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 17 November 201828 Lithuania2–03–02018–19 UEFA Nations League C
8 23 March 2019Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden30 Sweden1–21–2UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
9 26 March 2019Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu, Cluj, Romania31 Faroe Islands
2–0
4–1
10
3–0
11 7 June 2019Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway32 Norway
1–2
2–2
12
2–2
13 12 October 2019Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands36 Faroe Islands3–03–0

Honours

Nantes[24]

Steaua București[24]

Ludogorets Razgrad[24]

Individual

References
  1. "Кешерю на гол от историческо постижение (ВИДЕО)" (in Bulgarian). blitz.bg. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  2. Încă o tragedie în fotbalul românesc: a murit antrenorul care l-a descoperit pe Claudiu Keșeru (Another tragedy in Romanian football: the coach who discovered Claudiu Keșeru died). gsp.ro (in Romanian)
  3. Doliu în fotbal! A murit antrenorul Alexandru Gergely (Mourning in football! Coach Alexandru Gergely died). gsp.ro (in Romanian)
  4. "Claudio Keșerü s'engage pour deux ans" (in French). SC Bastia. 19 June 2013. Archived from the original on 26 June 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  5. "Member associations – Romania – News". UEFA. 16 August 2014.
  6. Europa League matchday one facts and figures, uefa.com, Saturday 20 September 2014
  7. Steaua record double-first against AaB, Thursday 18 September 2014, 23.00 CET
  8. Andrei Crăițoiu (18 February 2015). "După două runde de negocieri, Keșerü a semnat în Qatar » Contract pe doi ani și jumătate cu Al Gharafa" (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor.
  9. "Лудогорец с нов трансферен удар, подписа с румънски национал" (in Bulgarian). ludogorets.com. 13 August 2015.
  10. "Claudiu Keșerü a semnat contractul cu Ludogorets. Va fi jucătorul bulgarilor pentru următorii 3 ani" [Claudiu Keșerü signed the contract with Ludogorets. He will be the Bulgarians' player for the next three years] (in Romanian). Sport Total FM. 13 August 2015.
  11. "Камбуров стана голмайстор на "А" група за пети път" (in Bulgarian). monitor.bg. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  12. "Ajax held by PAOK, Shakhtar defeat Young Boys". UEFA. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  13. "Porto, Monaco, Celtic lead charge to group stage". UEFA. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  14. "Осем гола и много екшън изпратиха Лудогорец на върха" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. 28 October 2016.
  15. "Кешеру записа името си в историята на българския футбол" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  16. "Ludogorets Razgrad vs. CSKA Moscow 5:1". flashscore.com. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  17. "Клаудиу Кешерю преподписа с Лудогорец за 2 години" (in Bulgarian). ludogorets.com. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  18. Koychev, Iliyan (20 July 2021). "Дамбраускас обясни защо е извадил Кешеру от групата" (in Bulgarian). gong.bg. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  19. Kichukov, Simeon (27 August 2021). ""Лудогорец" се раздели с голмайстора си Клаудиу Кешеру" (in Bulgarian). dnevnik.bg. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  20. "Andorra – România 0–4 » Tricolorii au înscris de patru ori, dar s-au întrecut şi în ratări" [Andorra – Romania 0–4 » The Tricolours netted four times, but also missed a lot of chances] (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  21. "Romania Euro 2016 squad". The Daily Telegraph. London. 3 June 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  22. "Tricolori de valoare, cu rădăcini maghiare" [Valuable "tricolours", with Hungarian roots]. Click! (in Romanian). 9 October 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  23. "Totul despre stelistul Keşeru! Povestea BOMBARDIERULUI" [Everything about Steaua player Keșerü! The story of the BOMBER] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  24. Claudiu Keșerü at Soccerway. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  25. "Claudiu Keșerü". European Football. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  26. Petkov, Georgi (5 January 2020). "Димитър Илиев е "Футболист на годината", получи наградата си лично от Бербатов". topsport.bg. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
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