Moldova's football: Andronic clan keep it in the family
By Miron Goihman
Andronic may be the most common surname in Moldova but Valeriu, Oleg, Igor and 'Moldovan Beckham' Georghe have all emerged from the same family to represent their country.
Well-travelled Valeriu
The father of this football dynasty is Mikhail Andronic, a former player and current youth coach who nurtured son Valeriu into the player he is today. The 26-year-old plies his trade with Czech side FC Bohemians Praha after spells in Hungary, Romania, Ukraine and Russia. However, it was in his native country with FC Zimbru Chişinău that the 21-times capped Valeriu started out. In the Zimbru youth academy of the day, and now in the first team, were cousins Oleg, 20, and Igor, 21, both of whom are mainstays of the Moldova Under-21 setup.
'Moldovan Beckham'
The quartet is completed by Oleg's brother, Gheorghe, an 18-year-old member of the Zimbru side who is fast earning a reputation as a free-kick specialist. Likened to England's David Beckham by supporters because of his exploits, the youngest of the foursome is keen to tap into his family's experience in order to further his career. "I can learn from them," he told uefa.com. "My brother Oleg is very calm, Valeriu is an example on and off the pitch, and Igor is a determined man," he said. "And they all love football and work hard in training. We try to support each other and, of course, my older brother helps with advice."
No bias
Oleg is equally complimentary about his younger sibling and hopes their close understanding can benefit Zimbru. "Everybody thinks he passes only to me, but I don't feel that. On the contrary, I would like to have more passes from him so we can play faster. We speak about this but I very much like playing alongside him."
All together
While the three younger Andronics play alongside one another at international level, the ensemble are yet to don the same jersey simultaneously. "I know it is not rare to have two brothers in one team," added Gheorghe. "But I don't know if there are examples of three or four brothers. Will we all play together one day? I think so, yes, after three or four years. I would like to play for a club in Italy, Spain or Portugal during my career."
uefa.com
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