1. Early life and background
Albert Streit was born on 28 March 1980 in Bucharest, Romania, to Călin Ursachi and Renate Streit. Following his parents' divorce, he later adopted his mother's surname, Streit, replacing his birth name, Albert Ursachi.
2. Professional career
Albert Streit's professional football career spanned over a decade, marked by significant moves between prominent German clubs and a persistent desire to represent the German national team.
2.1. Early career and 1. FC Köln
Streit began his professional career with 1. FC Köln. After the club's relegation, he signed a three-year contract with Eintracht Frankfurt on 9 May 2006. At the end of the 2006-07 season, Streit expressed his desire to move to FC Schalke 04. This led to friction with Eintracht Frankfurt manager Friedhelm Funkel, who benched Streit for several matches, citing his poor training performance. An agreement was reached between Streit and Eintracht executive Heribert Bruchhagen that would allow the transfer if Streit performed well in the final matches of the season. However, the transfer ultimately failed when Schalke executive Andreas Müller refused to pay more than 2.00 M EUR, an offer that Eintracht Frankfurt clearly rejected.
2.2. Schalke 04 and subsequent loan spells
Despite the initial setback, Streit eventually signed a four-year contract with FC Schalke 04, beginning in the summer of 2008, an announcement made on 12 November 2007. However, Eintracht Frankfurt and Schalke 04 later reached an agreement in December 2007 for Streit to move prematurely in January 2008. His time at Schalke was challenging; in January 2009, he was removed from the first team squad and had to play for the second team in the Fußball-Regionalliga. To gain playing time, he joined Hamburger SV on loan on 2 February 2009 until the end of the season. Upon his return to Schalke in July 2009, he was again demoted to the reserve team. His contract with Schalke ended on 30 June 2012.
2.3. Later career and retirement
In December 2011, Streit reunited with his former coach Friedhelm Funkel when he joined Alemannia Aachen until the end of the season. He later moved to Viktoria Köln, but cancelled his contract with the club on 6 January 2014. Shortly thereafter, he signed with Fortuna Köln, where he contributed to their promotion to the 3. Liga. Streit concluded his playing career by retiring at the end of the 2013-14 season.
2.4. National team aspirations and evaluations
Throughout his professional career, Albert Streit consistently expressed his belief that his performances warranted a call-up to the Germany national football team. Despite his repeated statements and aspirations, then-national team coach Joachim Löw consistently declined to nominate him for the German squad. This ongoing situation became a notable talking point in sports media, with many commentators evaluating Streit's claims against Löw's decisions.