Florin Niță Explained

Florin Niță
Fullname:Florin Constantin Niță
Birth Date:1987 7, df=yes
Birth Place:Bucharest, Romania
Height:1.84 m
Position:Goalkeeper
Youthyears1:1994–2001
Youthclubs1:Steaua București
Youthyears2:2001–2005
Youthclubs2:Rapid București
Youthyears3:2005–2006
Youthclubs3:Astra Ploiești
Clubs1:Concordia Chiajna
Clubs2:Steaua București
Clubs3:Sparta Prague
Clubs4:Pardubice (loan)
Clubs5:Gaziantep
Years1:2006–2013
Years2:2013–2018
Years3:2018–2023
Years4:2023
Years5:2023–2024
Caps1:117
Caps2:87
Caps3:92
Caps4:17
Caps5:34
Goals1:0
Goals2:0
Goals3:0
Goals4:0
Goals5:0
Nationalyears1:2017–
Nationalteam1:Romania
Nationalcaps1:25
Nationalgoals1:0
Pcupdate:26 May 2024
Nationalteam-Update:2 July 2024

Florin Constantin Niță (in Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan pronounced as /floˈrin konstanˈtin ˈnitsə/; born 3 July 1987) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for the Romania national team.

Niță started his senior career at Concordia Chiajna, before signing for Steaua București in 2013. He won six honours during his spell with the capital-based team, and at the start of 2018 earned a transfer abroad to Sparta Prague. Following a loan at Pardubice, he signed for Süper Lig side Gaziantep in 2023.

Niță recorded his debut for the Romania national team in November 2017, in a 2–0 friendly win over Turkey. He was selected for the UEFA Euro 2024, where his country topped its group and reached the round of 16.

Club career

Early career / Concordia Chiajna

Born in Bucharest, Niță started playing football at the age of seven with Steaua București.[1] In 2001, he moved to local rivals Rapid București, where he stayed for four years. He then spent his last season as a junior at Astra Ploiești.[2]

In 2006, aged 19, Niță joined Concordia Chiajna and played his first senior matches in the Liga III,[2] the third level of the Romanian league system. He made his Liga I debut for the team on 25 July 2011, in a 1–2 home loss to Sportul Studențesc.[3]

Steaua București

In December 2012, it was announced that Niță would return to his boyhood club Steaua București in the summer of the following year.[4]

He started to appear frequently for the Roș-albaștrii in the 2015–16 season, in which he recorded 32 matches in all competitions. On 16 August 2016, Niță saved one of the two penalty kicks missed by Sergio Agüero in the 0–5 UEFA Champions League play-off loss to Manchester City.[5]

In May 2017, he agreed to a new deal at the team, now named FCSB, which would have kept him in Bucharest until 2021.[6] [7] Niță's performances in 2017 earned him third place in Gazeta Sporturilors Romanian Footballer of the Year award, which he shared with Ștefan Radu.

Sparta Prague

Niță transferred to Czech team Sparta Prague on 1 February 2018 for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be in the region of €2 million plus €500,000 in bonuses.[8] [9]

In December 2021, he was named the Romanian Footballer of the Year by both the CSJ Association and the Gazeta Sporturilor daily for his performances throughout the calendar year.[10] [11] After falling down the pecking order, Sparta Prague loaned Niță out to fellow league side Pardubice for the remainder of the 2022–23 season.[12]

Gaziantep

On 9 September 2023, Niță signed a one-year contract with Turkish club Gaziantep,[13] joining several compatriots including manager Marius Șumudică. He was the first-choice goalkeeper during the campaign, and amassed eight clean sheets in the Süper Lig as his team finished eleventh in the table.

International career

On 18 March 2017, following the injury of Silviu Lung Jr., Niță was picked by manager Christoph Daum in Romania's squad for a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Denmark.[14] Days before his call-up, former Romanian internationals Helmuth Duckadam, Gheorghe Hagi, and Laurențiu Reghecampf stated that his omissal from the squad was "unjust".[15] [16]

Niță eventually made his debut for the full side on 9 November 2017, entering as a 71st-minute substitute for Costel Pantilimon in a 2–0 friendly win over Turkey in Cluj-Napoca.[17] After Ciprian Tătărușanu announced his retirement from the national team at the end of 2020, Niță played the full 90 minutes in all three 2022 World Cup qualifying matches against North Macedonia, Germany, and Armenia in March 2021. Romania lost against the latter two opponents, but his saves were praised by media and fans alike.[18] [19]

On 7 June 2024, Niță was named in the squad for the Euro 2024.[20] Although he did not feature in the qualifiers, he started in all four matches his country played during the final tournament, where they topped their group but were subsequently eliminated by the Netherlands in the round of 16.[21]

Career statistics

Club

Club!rowspan=2
SeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupContinentalOtherTotal
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Concordia Chiajna2007–0870??70
2008–09150??150
2009–10290??290
2010–1127000270
2011–1221000210
2012–1318020200
Total1170201190
Steaua București2013–145030000080
2014–15301020000060
2015–1629010101000320
2016–17290202090420
2017–182100080290
Total8707050180001170
Sparta Prague2017–18140140
2018–192600020280
2019–201102020150
2020–212601030300
2021–221500080230
2022–2300000000
Total920301501100
Pardubice (loan)2022–23170170
Gaziantep2023–2434010350
Career total347013050330003980

International

[22]

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Romania201710
201810
2021110
202260
202460
Total250

Honours

Steaua București

2013–14, 2014–15

2014–15

2013

2014–15, 2015–16

Sparta Prague

2022–23

2019–20

Individual

Notes and References

  1. Web site: "La Steaua n-am avut nicio şansă!" Povestea EMOŢIONANTĂ a portarului care a eliminat liderul din Cupă! Şi-a pierdut părinţii şi casa. "I had no chance at Steaua!" The HEARTWARMING story of the goalkeeper who eliminated the leader from the Cup! He lost his parents and his home. ProSport. ro. 2 November 2012. 17 March 2017.
  2. Web site: Veteran la 24 de ani! A fost şcolit la Steaua şi Rapid. 24-year-old hotshot! He spent his youth career at Steaua and Rapid. ProSport. ro. 5 September 2011. 17 March 2017.
  3. Web site: ETAPA 1, CONCORDIA CHIAJNA – SPORTUL STUDENŢESC. ProSport. ro. 25 July 2011. 10 June 2018.
  4. Web site: Steaua a transferat un portar din Liga 1! Becali a dat deja banii pe el: "Stati linistiti, are Tatarusanu competitie din vara!" Cine a semnat cu Steaua. Steaua transferred a Liga 1 goalkeeper! Becali already paid the money for him: "Stay calm, Tătărușanu will face competition from the summer!" Who signed for Steaua. Sport.ro. ro. 13 December 2012. 17 March 2017.
  5. Web site: Sergio Aguero hat trick as Man City cruise at Steaua Bucharest. ESPN FC. 16 August 2016. 17 March 2017.
  6. Web site: FCSB i-a prelungit contractul lui Florin Niță până în 2021. DolceSport. 19 May 2017. 9 July 2017. 7 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170807193651/https://www.dolce-sport.ro/fotbal/fotbal-intern/fcsb-i-prelungit-contractul-lui.html. dead.
  7. Web site: Veste uriaşă pentru Niţă! . Digi Sport. 19 May 2017.
  8. Web site: Florin Nita přichází na Letnou. Florin Niță is coming to Letná. Sparta Prague. Czech. 1 February 2018. 1 February 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180204073830/http://www.sparta.cz/novinky/zpravodajstvi/a-tym/florin-nita-prichazi-na-letnou-19038.html. 4 February 2018. dead.
  9. Web site: Florin Nita, despartire emotionanta de FCSB – Portarul va evolua la Sparta Praga. Florin Niță, emotional parting from FCSB – The goalkeeper will play for Sparta Prague. Hotnews.ro. ro. 1 February 2018. 1 February 2018.
  10. Web site: Gala Fotbalului Românesc 2021 Edi Iordănescu, cel mai bun antrenor! Florin Niță, cel mai bun fotbalist român. Toate premiile. 2021 Romanian Football Gala Edi Iordănescu, the best coach! Florin Niță, the best Romanian footballer. All the prizes. Digi Sport. ro. 13 December 2021. 13 December 2021.
  11. Web site: VIDEO GALA GSP 2021 » Gazeta a decernat Superlativele anului 2021 și a premiat 5 Legende: iată cine sunt laureații!. VIDEO 2021 GSP GALA » Gazeta announced the Superlatives of the year 2021 and awarded 5 Legends: here are the winners!. Gazeta Sporturilor. ro. 21 December 2021. 21 December 2021.
  12. Web site: René. Machálek. Vysvobození pro sparťana Nitu. Zkušený gólman míří na hostování do Pardubic. sport.cz. cs. 28 January 2023. 28 January 2023.
  13. Web site: TRANSFER FLORIN NITA GAZİANTEP'TE! . TRANSFER FLORIN NITA IS IN GAZİANTEP! . . 9 September 2023 . tr. gaziantepfk.org.
  14. Web site: OFICIAL! Florin Niţă a fost convocat la echipa naţională, în locul lui Silviu Lung. OFFICIAL! Florin Niță has been called up for the national team, replacing Silviu Lung. Digi Sport. Romanian. 18 March 2017. 18 March 2017.
  15. Web site: EXCLUSIV Niţă, sfătuit să renunţe la echipa naţională: "În locul lui, aşa aş face! Nu are rost!". ProSport. Romanian. 14 March 2017.
  16. Web site: Cum a comentat Reghecampf faptul că Daum nu l-a luat pe Niță la "națională". Gazeta Sporturilor. Romanian. 17 March 2017.
  17. Web site: România-Turcia, 2 – 0. Gheorghe Grozav a marcat de două ori pentru echipa națională. Romania-Turkey, 2–0. Gheorghe Grozav scored twice for the national team. Pro TV. Romanian. 9 November 2017. 10 June 2018.
  18. Web site: "Am pierdut un meci, dar am castigat un portar!" Nita, laudat de un fost antrenor dupa paradele exceptionale! "A castigat respectul intregii tari". "We lost a game, but we won a goalkeeper!" Niță, praised by a former coach after his exceptional saves! "He has won the respect of the whole country". Sport.ro. Romanian. 29 March 2021. 1 April 2021.
  19. Web site: Complimentul carierei pentru Niţă. A fost lăudat după meci de marele Manuel Neuer: "Felicitări! A avut intervenţii bune!". The praise of his career for Niță. He was complimented after the match by the great Manuel Neuer: "Congratulations! He had good saves!". Telekom Sport. Romanian. 29 March 2021. 1 April 2021.
  20. Web site: Lotul României pentru EURO 2024. Romania's squad for EURO 2024. Romanian Football Federation. ro. 7 June 2024. 5 July 2024.
  21. Web site: Romania 0–3 Netherlands: Donyell Malen and Cody Gakpo score as Dutch reach quarters. BBC. 2 July 2024. 8 July 2024.
  22. Web site: Florin Niță. EU-Football.info. 26 March 2018.