Eric Cosmin Bicfalvi (Romanian pronunciation: ['erik kosˈmin ˈbikfalvi]; born 5 February 1988) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a forward for Russian First League club Ural Yekaterinburg, which he captains.
 Bicfalvi with Ural Yekaterinburg in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Eric Cosmin Bicfalvi | ||
| Date of birth | 5 February 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Carei, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder, forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Ural Yekaterinburg | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Școala Sportivă Carei | |||
| –2005 | Kaizer Carei | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2006 | Fink Fenster Petrești | 23 | (9) |
| 2006–2007 | Jiul Petroșani | 16 | (0) |
| 2007–2012 | Steaua București | 63 | (3) |
| 2008 | → Gloria Buzău (loan) | 25 | (1) |
| 2012–2015 | Volyn Lutsk | 73 | (26) |
| 2015–2016 | Liaoning Whowin | 12 | (0) |
| 2016 | Dinamo București | 7 | (1) |
| 2016 | Tom Tomsk | 15 | (3) |
| 2017– | Ural Yekaterinburg | 196 | (49) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2006–2007 | Romania U19 | 3 | (1) |
| 2007–2010 | Romania U21 | 23 | (3) |
| 2014–2021 | Romania | 9 | (1) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 March 2021 | |||
Bicfalvi began his senior career with Fink Fenster Petrești in the Romanian third tier, and went on to amass over 100 appearances in the Liga I for Jiul Petroșani, FC Steaua București and Gloria Buzău combined. He moved abroad for the first time by joining Ukrainian team Volyn Lutsk in 2012, where he was top scorer of the national league in the 2014–15 season. After brief spells in China and back to Romania, Bicfalvi has played in Russia since 2016.
Bicfalvi has been a full Romania international since November 2014, making his debut in a 2–0 friendly win over Denmark. He previously represented the nation at under-19 and under-21 levels.
Club career
edit
In 2005, Bicfalvi began his senior career in the Romanian third division with Fink Fenster Petrești, where he spent one year. During this period, he made 23 appearances and scored nine goals for the club. The following season he moved to Liga I side Jiul Petroșani. After the team was relegated, he was signed by FC Steaua București on a five-year deal.
In 2012, as his contract expired he subsequently joined Ukrainian club Volyn Lutsk. Bicfalvi ended the 2014–15 Ukrainian Premier League season as joint-top scorer with 17 goals,[1] which earned him a transfer to Liaoning Whowin in the Chinese Super League on 7 July 2015.[2]
He did not adapt to life in China and after a brief spell with Dinamo București, the cross-town rival of his former club Steaua, he put pen on a contract with Tom Tomsk, newly promoted to the Russian Premier League.[3]
On 23 January 2017, he signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with another Russian first division side, Ural Yekaterinburg.[4] Bicfalvi was chosen as Russian Premier League player of the month for May 2022 after scoring 4 goals in 4 games during the month.[5]
International career
editBicfalvi is a former Romania youth international, representing the nation at under-19 and under-21 levels.
In August 2013, after not being convoked by the Romania senior team on any occasion, his agent announced that Bicfalvi would like to play for Hungary in the near future.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
However, Romania senior manager Anghel Iordănescu named him as a possible call-up for the next UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier against Northern Ireland in November 2014.[13][14] On 18 November that year, Bicfalvi made his full debut in a friendly with Denmark.[15][16]
Personal life
editBicfalvi's paternal grandfather, Alexander Bicfalvi/Sándor Bikfalvi was also a footballer and played for Victoria Carei. He was ethnic Swedish according to Gazeta Sporturilor and Hungarian according to Nemzeti Sport, while Eric's mother, Elisabeta/Erzsébet, is of Hungarian heritage.[17][18]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 4 November 2024[19]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Jiul Petroșani | 2006–07 | Liga I | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| Steaua București | 2007–08 | Liga I | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 15 | 1 | ||
| 2008–09 | Liga I | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 1 | ||||
| 2009–10 | Liga I | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | |||
| 2010–11 | Liga I | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 29 | 0 | |||
| 2011–12 | Liga I | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 29 | 1 | ||
| Total | 63 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 94 | 3 | |||
| Gloria Buzău (loan) | 2007–08 | Liga I | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 1 | |||
| 2008–09 | Liga I | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 1 | |||
| Steaua II București | 2009–10 | Liga II | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | ||||
| Volyn Lutsk | 2012–13 | Ukrainian Premier League | 24 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 5 | |||
| 2013–14 | Ukrainian Premier League | 23 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 4 | ||||
| 2014–15 | Ukrainian Premier League | 26 | 17 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 29 | 19 | ||||
| Total | 73 | 26 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 28 | |||
| Liaoning Whowin | 2015 | Chinese Super League | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| Dinamo București | 2015–16 | Liga I | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 1[b] | 0 | 10 | 2 | ||
| Tom Tomsk | 2016–17 | Russian Premier League | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 3 | |||
| Ural Yekaterinburg | 2016–17 | Russian Premier League | 9 | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 12 | 4 | |||
| 2017–18 | Russian Premier League | 26 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 8 | ||||
| 2018–19 | Russian Premier League | 26 | 6 | 5 | 2 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 32 | 8 | |||
| 2019–20 | Russian Premier League | 26 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 28 | 8 | |||
| 2020–21 | Russian Premier League | 22 | 7 | 2 | 3 | — | — | 24 | 10 | ||||
| 2021–22 | Russian Premier League | 28 | 10 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 10 | ||||
| 2022–23 | Russian Premier League | 26 | 4 | 11 | 4 | — | — | 37 | 8 | ||||
| 2023–24 | Russian Premier League | 22 | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | 1[d] | 0 | 27 | 4 | |||
| 2024–25 | Russian First League | 11 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 196 | 49 | 30 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 229 | 61 | |||
| Career total | 410 | 84 | 46 | 15 | 22 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 483 | 99 | |||
- ^ Appearance in the Supercupa României
- ^ Appearance in the Cupa Ligii
- ^ a b Appearance in the FNL Cup
- ^ Appearance in the relegation play-offs
International
edit- As of match played 25 March 2021[20]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | |||
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 9 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bicfalvi goal.[20]
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 November 2020 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland | 8 |  Northern Ireland |
1–1 | 1–1 | 2020–21 UEFA Nations League B |
Honours
editSteaua București[19]
Dinamo București
- Cupa României runner-up: 2015–16
Ural Yekaterinburg[19]
- Russian Cup runner-up: 2016–17, 2018–19
Individual
- Ukrainian Premier League top scorer: 2014–15 (17 goals)
References
edit- ^ "Top Scorers. Season 2014/2015". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
- ^ 辽足官宣乌超金靴加盟 (in Japanese). sports.sina.com. 2015-07-07. Retrieved 2015-07-07.
- ^ "Eric Bicfalvi și-a găsit echipă după despărțirea de Dinamo! Prima reacție a mijlocașului (Eric Bicfalvi found his team after breaking up with Dinamo! The midfielder's first reaction)" (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
- ^ "УРАЛ" ЗАКЛЮЧИЛ КОНТРАКТ С ЭРИКОМ БИКФАЛВИ (in Russian). FC Ural Yekaterinburg. 23 January 2017. Archived from the original on 26 January 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- ^ "БИКФАЛВИ, ФЕДОТОВ И КРИВЦОВ – ЛУЧШИЕ В МАЕ!" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 27 May 2022.
- ^ "Un fotbalist român, nemulțumit că nu e băgat în seamă de selecționer, vrea să evolueze pentru Ungaria!".
- ^ "Magyar lenne egy román játékos". rangado. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
- ^ ORIGO. "Bikfalvi a magyar vlogatottsgon gondolkodik". origo.hu/.
- ^ SZFU. "Magyar válogatott lenne Bikfalvi?". Szatmári Friss Újság.
- ^ "Magyar válogatott akar lenni a románok elfelejtett játékosa". csakfoci.hu. Archived from the original on 26 November 2013.
- ^ "Maszol - A magyar válogatott felé tapogatózik Eric Bicfalvi?". maszol.ro/. 14 August 2013.
- ^ "Játékossors: magyar válogatott lenne a Steaua egykori játékosa? - N". NSO.hu. 13 August 2013.
- ^ SZFU. "Iordănescu lehet a kapitány, Bikfalvit is meghívta". Szatmári Friss Újság.
- ^ "OFICIAL: FRF confirmă varianta cu Iordănescu. "Secunzi" surpriză, Bicfalvi şi Puşcaş printre convocaţi".
- ^ "România - Danemarca 2-0. Keşeru a adus victoria "tricolorilor" cu prima sa dublă la naţională".
- ^ "Felkészülés: Bevették a dánok a Keserü-pirulát - NSO". 18 November 2014.
- ^ "Haginál a románok lecsaphatnak a magyar válogatottba vágyó Bicfalvira". Nemzeti Sport. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
- ^ "Bunicul lui Eric, Alexander Bicfalvi, este de origine suedez, dar s-a stabilit in Romania si s-a casatorit cu o romanca, Maria. "Nu ma consider nici macar 0,1 la suta suedez, sint roman get-beget", a spus Bicfalvi". GSP. 10 June 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2007.
- ^ a b c Eric Bicfalvi at Soccerway
- ^ a b "Eric Bicfalvi". European Football. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
External links
edit- Eric Bicfalvi at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
- Eric Bicfalvi at National-Football-Teams.com
- Eric Bicfalvi – UEFA competition record (archive)