Nicolae Mitea facts for kids

Nicolae Mitea, born on March 24, 1985, is a former professional footballer from Romania. He played as a winger, which means he played on the sides of the field. Between 2003 and 2005, he played eight games for the Romanian national team and scored two goals.

Playing for Clubs

Early Football Years

Nicolae Mitea was born in Bucharest, Romania. He started playing football at a young age in 1994 for a local club called FRB Titan. In 1997, he moved to Juventus București. A year later, he joined Dinamo București. Then, in 2001, he switched teams again to Rapid București.

In 2002, Mitea had a trial with FC Barcelona in Spain. He also tried out for Mircea Lucescu's Galatasaray in Turkey. Even though he played well at both clubs, he didn't sign a contract.

Starting at Dinamo București

In 2002, Mitea returned to Dinamo București to start his professional career. He played his first game in Romania's top league, Liga I, on November 24, 2002. He came into the game in the last few minutes.

He also played in the Romanian Cup in 2003. Dinamo București won this trophy that season. Mitea also helped a smaller team, Poiana Câmpina, move up to a higher league.

Playing for Ajax

After playing only nine games in Romania, the Dutch club Ajax bought Mitea in 2003. He made his debut in the Dutch league, Eredivisie, on September 13, 2003. He scored his first goal for Ajax on October 5. He also scored an important goal against their rivals, PSV Eindhoven.

Mitea also played in the Champions League, a big European competition. In his first season at Ajax, he played 23 league games and scored seven goals. He helped Ajax win the league title in the 2003–04 season. He was even named "2004 Ajax Talent of the Year."

However, Mitea had a knee injury that kept him from playing for a long time. This slowed down his career. He didn't play much in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. Even so, he won the Dutch Cup with Ajax in 2007. He played three games in that competition and scored one goal.

Due to more small injuries and not being chosen by the coaches, Mitea didn't play any games for Ajax in the 2007–08 season. He was then told to find a new club. During his time at Ajax, he played with other Romanian players, Bogdan Lobonț and George Ogăraru. He also became good friends with Zlatan Ibrahimović.

Back to Dinamo București

In August 2008, Mitea returned to Dinamo București. However, he didn't become a key player for the team this time. A year later, he left the club.

Later Career and Retirement

In August 2010, Mitea signed with Ionikos, a team in Greece's second league. But he didn't play any games for them. The next year, he went back to Romania to play for Petrolul Ploiești. He played his first game after more than two years away from football. In his second and last game for Petrolul, he scored his only goal in Romania's top league.

In July 2013, his former youth coach brought him to Concordia Chiajna. But Mitea had problems with his fitness and left the club in February 2014 without playing a single game. He retired from football at the age of 28.

Playing for Romania

From 2002 to 2006, Mitea regularly played for Romania's national youth teams, including the Under-19 and Under-21 teams.

He played eight games and scored two goals for the senior Romanian national team. His first game was on August 20, 2003, in a friendly match against Ukraine. His last three games for the national team were in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers. In one of these games, he scored two goals in a 2–1 win against Macedonia.

Career Achievements

Dinamo București

• Cupa României: 2002–03

Ajax

• Eredivisie: 2003–04
• KNVB Cup: 2006–07

See also

In Spanish: Nicolae Mitea para niños