Nicolae Mitea

Nicolae Mitea

Personal information
Date of birth	(1985-03-24) 24 March 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth	Bucharest, Romania
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s)	Winger
Youth career
1994–1997	FRB Titan București
1997–1998	Juventus București
1998–2001	Dinamo București
2001–2002	Rapid București
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2002–2003	Dinamo București	9	(0)
2003–2008	Ajax	53	(12)
2008–2009	Dinamo București	12	(0)
2010–2011	Ionikos	0	(0)
2011–2012	Petrolul Ploiești	2	(1)
2013–2014	Concordia Chiajna	0	(0)
Total		76	(13)
International career
2002	Romania U19	3	(3)
2003–2006	Romania U21	18	(6)
2003–2005	Romania	8	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Nicolae Mitea (born 24 March 1985) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a winger. Between 2003 and 2005, he made eight appearances for the Romania national team, scoring two goals.

Club career

Youth years

Nicolae Mitea was born on 24 March 1985 in Bucharest, Romania, starting to play junior level football in 1994 at local club, FRB Titan. ^{[1] [2]} In 1997 he went at Juventus București, one year later moving to Dinamo București, then in 2001 he switched teams again, going at Rapid București. ^{[1] [2]}

In 2002, Mitea and Roberto Iancu were taken by coach Ionuț Chirilă on a one-week trial at FC Barcelona, but despite leaving a good impression, they did not sign a contract because of some problems with their sports agent. ^{[2] [3]} Mitea was also taken by Chirilă at a trial at Mircea Lucescu's Galatasaray but again despite making a good impression he did not sign a contract. ^[2]

Dinamo București

In 2002 he returned at Dinamo București where he started his senior career, making his Divizia A debut on 24 November when coach Cornel Dinu sent him on the field in the 87th minute in order to replace Flavius Stoican in a 1–0 home victory over FC Brașov. ^{[1] [2] [4]} On 27 November 2003, Dinu sent him in the 79th minute to replace Ionel Dănciulescu in a 3–0 win in the derby with Steaua București from the Cupa României, a trophy which the club won at the end of the season but new coach Ioan Andone did not use him in the 1–0 win over Național București from the final. ^{[1] [5] [6]}

Ajax

After having played only nine matches in the Romanian league, he was picked up by Dutch club Ajax who paid 720.000$ for his transfer. ^{[1] [7]} Mitea made his Eredivisie debut on 13 September 2003 when coach Ronald Koeman sent him on the field in the 77th minute in order to replace Tom Soetaers in a 4–1 home win with RKC Waalwijk. ^{[8] [9]} He scored his first goal on 5 October in a 3–1 away victory over FC Groningen, also he scored the decisive goal in a 2–1 win with rivals PSV Eindhoven. ^{[8] [10]} He also started playing in European competitions, making four appearances in the 2003–04 Champions League group stage. ^{[1] [8] [11]} His first season at Ajax was a success as he, at the age of 18 was used by Koeman in 23 league matches in which he scored seven goals, helping the club win the title. ^{[1] [8] [12]} In the following season he played again in the Champions League group stage, this time making six appearances and scoring once in a 2–2 with Bayern Munich. ^{[1] [8] [13]} All these performances helped him earn the "2004 Ajax Talent of the Year" award. ^{[14] [15]}

His development in his career was set on hold due to a knee injury which sidelined him for a long time, resulting in only one appearance for Ajax in the 2005–06 season. ^{[1] [16]} Also in the following one Mitea did not play regularly as manager Henk ten Cate choose to overlook him and he was no longer first choice for the left-wing position. ^[17] Despite the lack of appearances in these two seasons he did add the 2006–07 KNVB Cup to his list of trophies, playing three games in the campaign and scoring once in a 3–1 win over RKC Waalwijk but remained an unused substitute in the victory with AZ Alkmaar from the final. ^{[1] [18] [19]} Due to minor injuries and still being out of favor with Henk Ten Cate, and then temporary replacement coach Adrie Koster, Mitea did not play a single game for Ajax during the 2007–08 season. ^{[1] [20]} He was not in new coach Marco van Basten's plans and was told to look for a new club. ^[16]

During his spell with the Sons of the Gods he was colleague with fellow Romanians Bogdan Lobonț and George Ogăraru, also developing a good friendship with Zlatan Ibrahimović. ^{[18] [21]} He also appreciated very much Ronald Koeman, saying after he ended his career:"When I arrived at Ajax, Koeman was the coach. I liked him the most, I think we collaborated for 3–4 years. The practices he led were based on possession, everything was with the ball. It was a pleasure to be trained by him, he knew how not to stress you... At the same time, he was a strict, severe, but fair technician. He knew how to support me. I can say now, after so many years, that Ronald Koeman is my father in football. I debuted with him at Ajax, there were many matches in which he relied on me as a starter." ^[22]

Return to Dinamo București

In August 2008, Mitea returned to Dinamo, coach Mircea Rednic saying about the transfer:"I agreed to this transfer, otherwise Mitea would not have come. With him on the field, Dinamo will increase in speed on both lanes". ^[23] However he did not manage to become an important player for the team, one year later terminating his contract with the club on a mutual agreement. ^{[1] [24]}

Late career

In August 2010, Mitea signed with Greece second league side Ionikos, however he made no appearances for the team, then in the following summer he went back to Romania at Petrolul Ploiești where he worked with coach Valeriu Răchită. ^{[1] [25]} He made his debut for The Yellow Wolves when he was sent to replace Valentin Negru in the final minutes of a 1–0 loss with Rapid București, these being his first appearance in a football match after over two years of absence. ^[26] In his second and last league appearance for the club and for him, Mitea scored his only goal in Romanian top-league football in the 5–1 loss in front of his former team, Dinamo. ^[27]

In July 2013, his coach from his youth years, Ionuț Chirilă who was now head coach at Concordia Chiajna, brought Mitea to the club but in February 2014 he left without playing a single game, having problems with his physical condition, retiring at age 28. ^{[1] [28]}

International career

Starting since 2002 and until 2006, Nicolae Mitea was a constant appearance for Romania's under-19 and under-21 sides. ^{[1] [29]}

He played eight games and scored two goals for Romania's senior team, making his debut on 20 August 2003 when coach Anghel Iordănescu sent him on the field in the 83rd minute in order to replace Adrian Mutu in a friendly that ended with a 2–0 away win against Ukraine. ^{[30] [31]} His last three matches for the national team were at the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, in the first scoring a double in a 2–1 victory with Macedonia, the following two consisting of a loss in front of Netherlands and a win against Armenia. ^{[30] [32]}

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Other		Total		Ref.
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Dinamo București	2002–03	Liga I	9	0	1	0	0	0	–		10	0	[5] [33]
Ajax	2003–04	Eredivisie	23	7	1	0	4	0	–		28	7	[33]
	2004–05		21	2	0	0	6	1	–		27	3	[33]
	2005–06		1	0	2	0	0	0	1	1	4	1	[33]
	2006–07		8	2	3	1	1	0	4	0	16	3	[33]
	2007–08		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	[33]
	Total		53	11	6	1	11	1	5	1	75	14	–
Dinamo București	2008–09	Liga I	12	0	2	0	1	0	–		15	0	[33] [34]
Ionikos	2010–11	Super League Greece 2	0	0	0	0	–		–		0	0
Petrolul Ploiești	2011–12	Liga I	2	1	1	1	–		–		3	2	[33] [35]
Concordia Chiajna	2013–14		0	0	0	0	–		–		0	0
Total			76	13	10	1	12	1	5	1	103	16	–

International stats

Romania [30]
Year	Apps	Goals
2003	2	0
2004	2	0
2005	4	2
Total	8	2

International goals

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mitea goal. ^{[30] [32]}

List of international goals scored by Nicolae Mitea

#	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	30 March 2005	Stadion Gradski Park, Skopje, Macedonia	6	Macedonia	1–0	2–1	2006 World Cup qualifiers
2					2–1

Honours

Dinamo București

• Cupa României: 2002–03 ^[1]

Ajax

• Eredivisie: 2003–04 ^[1]
• KNVB Cup: 2006–07 ^[1]

References

1. Nicolae Mitea at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
2. "In 2002, Mitea a disparut cu acte cu tot in Barcelona" [In 2002, Mitea disappeared with all documents in Barcelona] (in Romanian). Hotnews.ro. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
3. "Uite cu cine face minuni "Reghe". Roberto Iancu avea 82 de kilograme în urmă cu două luni" [Here's who "Reghe" works wonders. Roberto Iancu weighed 82 kilograms two months ago] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 25 April 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
   "Fabulos! Află ce jucător, care a trecut pe la Barcelona, joacă în România şi e poreclit "KFC"" [Fabulous! Find out which player, who went to Barcelona, plays in Romania and is nicknamed "KFC"] (in Romanian). Libertatea.ro. 21 November 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
4. "Dinamo Bucuresti in 2002–03". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
5. "Nicolae Mitea's 2002–03 Romanian Cup appearance". Romaniansoccer.ro. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
6. "Romanian Cup – Season 2002–2003". RomanianSoccer. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
7. "Gazeta Sporturilor vă prezintă sumele şi tranzacţiile reale în cele 12 transferuri instrumentate de DNA:"Căpu$ele de milioane"" [Gazeta Sporturilor presents the amounts and real transactions in the 12 transfers instrumented by DNA:"Căpu$ele of milions"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 5 January 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
   "Sumele vehiculate pentru transferarea unor jucatori de fotbal" [Amounts circulated for the transfer of football players] (in Romanian). Ziuaconstanta.ro. 5 January 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
8. "Nicolae Mitea. Eredivisie 2003/2004". WorldFootball. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
9. "AFC Ajax - RKC Waalwijk 4:1". WorldFootball. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
10. "AFC Ajax - PSV Eindhoven 2:1". WorldFootball. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
11. "Nicolae Mitea. Champions League 2003/2004". WorldFootball. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
12. "Ajax Amsterdam's title winning team of 2003/04". Sportskeeda. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
13. "Nicolae Mitea. Champions League 2004/2005". WorldFootball. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
14. ""Știți cum îi spunea Ibrahimovic lui Mitea?" Bogdan Lobonț, dezvăluiri de senzație de la Ajax:"Dacă îți vine să crezi"" ["Do you know what Ibrahimovic used to call Mitea?" Bogdan Lobonț, sensational revelations from Ajax: "If you can believe it"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 20 March 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
15. "Jorrel Hato is Talent of the Year". English.ajax.nl. 12 May 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
16. "S-au "născut talent și au murit speranță": 1. Nicolae Mitea" [Born talent and died hope: 1. Nicolae Mitea] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
17. "Mitea: "Joc doar la echipe de top"" [Mitea: "I only play for top teams"] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 1 February 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
18. "Cupă pentru Mitea și Ogăraru" [Cup for Mitea and Ogăraru] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 8 May 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
19. "Nicolae Mitea. KNVB beker 2006/2007". WorldFootball. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
    "2006/07 Dutch Cup, Final. AZ Alkmaar - Ajax Amsterdam". Espn. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
20. "Bataie pe Mitea! Il doresc Dinamo si Steaua!" [Fight for Mitea! He is wnated by Dinamo and Steaua!] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 22 December 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
21. "Bogdan Lobonț, dezvăluiri despre Zlatan Ibrahimovic şi Nicolae Mitea: "Știu cât suferă Nicky"" [Bogdan Lobonț, revelations about Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Nicolae Mitea: "I know how much Nicky is suffering"] (in Romanian). As.ro. 26 April 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
    "Bogdan Lobonț a dezvăluit cum l-a poreclit Zlatan Ibrahimovic pe Nicolae Mitea în perioada de la Ajax Amsterdam: "Dacă îți vine să crezi, el așa îi spunea"" [Bogdan Lobonț revealed how Zlatan Ibrahimovic nicknamed Nicolae Mitea during his time at Ajax Amsterdam: "If you can believe it, that's what he used to call him"] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 20 March 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
    "Ogăraru da, Mitea ba" [Ogăraru yes, Mitea no] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 20 July 2008. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
22. "Nicolae Mitea, copilul de suflet al selecționerului Olandei: "Ronald Koeman e tatăl meu din fotbal". Ce se va întâmpla cu antrenorul dacă România îi elimină pe batavi" [Nicolae Mitea, the soul child of the Dutch coach: "Ronald Koeman is my football father". What will happen to the coach if Romania eliminates the Batavis] (in Romanian). Sportpesurse.ro. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
    "Ce s-a ales de Nicolae Mitea, fotbalistul genial al României, care și-a irosit cariera după un start fantastic la Ajax Amsterdam! Reacție fabuloasă despre Ronald Koeman, înainte de optimile cu Olanda de la EURO 2024" [What happened to Nicolae Mitea, the brilliant footballer of Romania, who wasted his career after a fantastic start at Ajax Amsterdam! Fabulous reaction on Ronald Koeman, ahead of the round of 16 with Netherlands at EURO 2024] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 2 July 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
23. "Mitea a semnat cu Dinamo" [Mitea signed with Dinamo] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 31 August 2008. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
24. "Mitea s-a înțeles cu Dinamo și și-a reziliat contractul" [Mitea agreed with Dinamo and terminated his contract] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 4 August 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
25. "Mitea a ajuns în Liga a doua din Grecia" [Mitea ended up playing in the Greek second league] (in Romanian). Adevarul.ro. 24 August 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
    "Nicolae Mitea a semnat pe 2 ani cu Petrolul Ploiești" [Nicolae Mitea signed for 2 years with Petrolul Ploiești] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 29 June 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
    "Nicolae Mitea și-a găsit echipă după 2 ani! Merge la Petrolul" [Nicolae Mitea found his team after 2 years! Go to Petrolul] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
26. "Mitea e din nou fotbalist după 795 de zile. A jucat 7 minute contra Rapidului" [Mitea is a footballer again after 795 days. He played 7 minutes against Rapid] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 13 August 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
27. ""Cîinii" au făcut spectacol la Ploiești. Petrolul - Dinamo 1-5" [The "dogs" performed in Ploiesti. Petrolul - Dinamo 1-5] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 25 September 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
28. "Mitea, reactivat! Mijlocaşul va evolua la Concordia Chiajna" [Mitea, reactivated! The midfielder will perform at Concordia Chiajna] (in Romanian). Digisport.ro. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
    "Drama pentru Nicolae Mitea! S-a chinuit jumatate de an sa revina in fotbal, acum primeste o veste cumplita! Ce a fost anuntat" [Drama for Nicolae Mitea! He struggled for half a year to return to football, now he receives terrible news! What was announced] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
29. "Nicolae Mitea profile". 11v11. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
30. "Nicolae Mitea". European Football. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
31. "Ukraine 0-2 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
32. "Macedonia 1-2 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
33. "Nicolae Mitea – Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
34. "Nicolae Mitea's 2008–09 Romanian Cup appearance 1". Romaniansoccer.ro. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
    "Nicolae Mitea's 2008–09 Romanian Cup appearance 2". Romaniansoccer.ro. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
35. "Nicolae Mitea's 2011–12 Romanian Cup appearance". Romaniansoccer.ro. Retrieved 6 September 2024.

External links

• Voetbal International profile (in Dutch)
• Nicolae Mitea at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
• Nicolae Mitea at National-Football-Teams.com
• Nicolae Mitea at Soccerway