Club career
Ajax
After having played only nine matches in the Romanian league, he was picked up by Dutch club Ajax which paid $720,000 for his transfer. [1] [8] Mitea made his Eredivisie debut on 13 September 2003 when coach Ronald Koeman sent him in the 77th minute to replace Tom Soetaers in a 4–1 home win over RKC Waalwijk. [9] [10] He scored his first goal on 5 October in a 3–1 away victory against FC Groningen, then he scored the decisive goal in a 2–1 win over rivals PSV Eindhoven. [9] [11] He also started playing in European competitions, making four appearances in the 2003–04 Champions League group stage. [1] [9] [12] 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] [9] [13] 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 draw against Bayern Munich. [1] [9] [14] All these performances helped him earn the "2004 Ajax Talent of the Year" award. [15] [16]
His career development was set on hold due to a knee injury that sidelined him for a long time, resulting in only one appearance for Ajax in the 2005–06 season. [1] [17] In the following season, Mitea did not play regularly as manager Henk ten Cate chose to overlook him and he was no longer first choice for the left-wing position. [18] Despite the lack of appearances in these two seasons he did add the 2006–07 KNVB Cup to his list of trophies. [1] [19] He played three games in the campaign and scored once in a 3–1 win over RKC Waalwijk but remained an unused substitute in the victory against AZ Alkmaar in the final. [1] [19] [20] 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] [21] He was not in new coach Marco van Basten's plans and was told to look for a new club. [17]
During his spell with the Sons of the Gods he was colleagues with fellow Romanians Bogdan Lobonț and George Ogăraru, also developing a good friendship with Zlatan Ibrahimović. [19] [22] He 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." [23]
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". [24] 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] [25]
Late career
In August 2010, Mitea signed with Greece second league side Ionikos, but he made no appearances for the team. [1] [26] In the following summer he went back to Romania at Petrolul Ploiești where he worked with coach Valeriu Răchită. [1] [27] 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 to Rapid București, this being his first appearance in a football match after over two years of absence. [28] 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 against his former team, Dinamo. [29]
In July 2013, his former youth coach Ionuț Chirilă, who was head coach at Concordia Chiajna, brought Mitea to the club. [1] [30] However, in February 2014 he left without playing a single game due to physical condition issues, subsequently retiring at age 28. [1] [31]
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