Nicolae Dică

Nicolae Dică

Dică playing for CFR Cluj
Personal information
Full name	Nicolae Constantin Dică
Date of birth	9 May 1980 (1980-05-09) (age 31)
Place of birth	Piteşti, Romania
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Playing position	Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current club	Mioveni
Number	80
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1998–2000	Dacia Piteşti	50	(19)
2000–2004	Argeş Piteşti	89	(34)
2004–2008	Steaua Bucureşti	124	(54)
2008–2010	Catania	3	(0)
2009–2010	→ Iraklis (loan)	13	(3)
2010	→ CFR Cluj (loan)	13	(0)
2010	→ Manisaspor (loan)	5	(0)
2011	Steaua Bucureşti	11	(4)
2011–	Mioveni	11	(1)
National team‡
2003–	Romania	32	(9)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 May 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 5 June 2010

Nicolae Constantin Dică (born 9 May 1980 in Piteşti) is a Romanian football attacking midfielder. He is a playmaker or forward known for his incisive passing and long balls. He is on 2nd place top scorer for Steaua with 14 goals in European competitions.

Club career

Dacia Piteşti

Dică started playing professional football when he was 18 years old at a local team in his birth town, Dacia Piteşti, in Divizia B.

In his inaugural season, Dică played in 17 games and scored 5 times for Dacia Piteşti. In the second, he played in almost all the games and had a very good period, with his side finishing fourth. He was one of the top scorers in the league that season with 14 goals. Dică was seen as an upcoming talent and the Divizia A team of his town, FC Argeş Piteşti, signed him in 2000. Dică played for Dacia Piteşti a total of 50 times and scored 19 goals in Liga II.

Arges Piteşti

Dică made his debut in Liga I for FC Argeş Piteşti in a 2–1 win against Gaz Metan Medias. He was soon awarded captaincy of the team after Adrian Mutu went to Dinamo and Adrian Neaga departed for Steaua Bucureşti. Dică's skill inevitably attracted interest from the top teams in the Romanian championship.

Dică played 89 matches and scored 34 goals for Argeş Piteşti.

Steaua Bucureşti

Romanian giants Steaua Bucureşti paid €250,000 to sign him from Argeş Piteşti in December 2003. He was brought to Steaua by Victor Piturca and Mihai Stoica.

In the first season for Steaua he scored 9 times in 14 games, helping the side to a runners-up spot to eventual champions and bitter rivals, Dinamo Bucureşti. At the next season, Dică had some disputes with the fans and was anxious to leave but remained at Steaua and in the next season, helping them to the championship title with a total of 11 goals. The following season, Steaua won the league again and Dica's value grew. He contributed with 15 goals, finishing the top scorer for Steaua.

He debuted in European competition in the 2004–2005 season when Steaua qualified for the UEFA Cup, eliminating previous winners Valencia en route to the Round of 16, where they were knocked out by another Spanish side, Villareal.

In 2005 after they lost the chance to play in the UEFA Champions League groups due to elimination by Rosenborg BK, they had another fairly successful season in the UEFA Cup. They defeated the likes of Lens, Heereenven, Real Betis and their traditional Romanian rivals Rapid Bucureşti in the quarter finals, but were unfortunately eliminated in the semi-final by English Premier League side, Middlesbrough.^[2]

On 13 September 2006, Dica scored twice in the 4–1 away win against Dynamo Kiev in Steaua Bucureşti's opening game in the UEFA Champions League, this being his first ever appearance in said tournament.^[3] He went on go on to score four goals and add one assist in six games against group opponents, Dynamo Kiev, Real Madrid, and Olympique Lyonnais.

The daily newspaper Gazeta Sporturilor gave the Romania's player of the year 2006 honour to Dică along with Claudiu Niculescu from Dinamo Bucureşti.^[4]

On 23 January 2007, he suffered a knee injury during a friendly against Siena 2 and missed most on the season.^[5] On May 9, for his birthday, Dica returned to Steaua Bucureşti and was introduced in the late stages of the 2–0 victory against Ceahlaul Piatra Neamt, even gaining the captain's band before running on to the Ghencea field again. This was his first official game in 2007. Dica played 46 matches in the European cups scoring 14 times.

Calcio Catania

On 28 June 2008, Dică moved to Catania, mainly by the desire of his past and actual coach, Walter Zenga. He is expected to replace midfielder Juan Manuel Vargas who moved to AC Fiorentina.^[6] Since moving to Sicily he has been a big flop, taking part in just 93 minutes of play during his first six months. It seemed almost certain that he would leave during the January transfer market, but coach Walter Zenga claimed that he would not leave Catania until next summer.

Iraklis Thessaloniki

During the month of June 2009, Iraklis signed the player on loan from Calcio Catania.^[7] He made his competitive debut on 23 August 2009 and scored twice in a 2–1 win over Panthrakikos.

CFR Cluj

In January 2010, CFR Cluj signed the midfielder on loan from Catania Calcio until June 2010. He won the Romanian League with them, and the Romanian Cup scoring his first goal in a 2–1 victory against Dinamo Bucharest in the second leg of the Romanian Cup semi-final.

Manisaspor

In July 2010, Manisaspor signed the midfielder on loan from Catania Calcio until June 2011. He rarely made it to the first team and then, agreed to cancel his contract with Manisaspor at 14 December 2010.^[8]

Return to Steaua Bucureşti

On January 2011, Dică signed a one-year contract with his former team. He made his debut for the club on 27 February 2011, in a 1–0 win at Universitatea Craiova. On 5 April, He scored his first goal after his return to Steaua in a 5–0 home win over Unirea Urziceni. On 11 May, Dică scored the equalizer against FC Braşov which sent Steaua through to the final of the Romanian Cup. On 25 May, Dică scored a trademark free kick in a 2–1 victory over rivals Dinamo Bucharest, winning his second consecutive cup.

In June 2011, Dică left Steaua.

Dacia Mioveni

Later that month he joined Liga I side Dacia Mioveni. He received the number 80 jersey.^[9]

Career statistics

Club

(Correct as of 30 October 2011)

Club	Season	League		Cup		Europe		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Dacia Piteşti
	1998–99	17	5	?	?	0	0	17	5
	1999–00	33	14	?	?	0	0	33	14
Total		50	19	?	?	0	0	50	19
FC Argeş
	2000–01	19	4	?	?	0	0	19	4
	2001–02	27	11	?	?	0	0	27	11
	2002–03	28	10	?	?	0	0	28	10
	2003–04	14	8	?	?	0	0	14	8
Total		89	34	?	?	0	0	89	34
Steaua
	2003–04	14	9	?	?	0	0	14	9
	2004–05	29	11	?	?	11	2	40	13
	2005–06	29	15	?	?	15	6	44	21
	2006–07	23	10	?	?	10	5	33	15
	2007–08	30	9	?	?	10	1	40	10
Total		125	54	?	?	46	14	171	68
Catania
	2008–09	3	0	?	?	0	0	3	0
Total		3	0	?	?	0	0	3	0
Iraklis
	2009–10	13	3	?	?	0	0	13	3
Total		13	3	?	?	0	0	13	3
CFR Cluj
	2009–10	13	0	?	?	0	0	13	0
Total		13	0	?	?	0	0	13	0
Manisaspor
	2010–11	5	0	?	?	0	0	5	0
Total		5	0	?	?	0	0	5	0
Steaua
	2010–11	11	4	2	2	0	0	13	6
Total		11	4	2	2	0	0	13	6
Mioveni
	2011–12	10	0	0	0	0	0	10	0
Total		10	0	0	0	0	0	10	0
Career total		319	114	2	2	46	14	367	130

International career

Nicolae Dică playing against Nigeria on Steaua Stadium.

Dică debuted on 11 October 2003 at the national Romanian team in a friendly game against Japan.

Dică won 25 caps for Romania, scoring his first goal in August 2006 in a friendly against Cyprus. After his injury suffered in a club-team friendly in January 2007 Dică will rejoin the "tricolorii" in qualifying for the Euro 2008 with the Romanian national team.

International goals

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first. "Score" column indicates the score after the player's goal.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	16 August 2006	Stadionul Farul, Constanţa, Romania	Cyprus	1–0	2–0	Friendly
2	6 September 2006	Qemal Stafa, Tirana, Albania	Albania	1–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
3	22 August 2007	Stadionul Lia Manoliu, Bucharest, Romania	Turkey	1–0	2–0	Friendly
4	8 September 2007	Dinamo Stadium, Minsk, Belarus	Belarus	2–1	3–1	UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
5	21 November 2007	Stadionul Lia Manoliu, Bucharest, Romania	Albania	1–0	6–1	UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
6	21 November 2007	Stadionul Lia Manoliu, Bucharest, Romania	Albania	6–1	6–1	UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
7	31 May 2008	Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania	Montenegro	3–0	4–0	Friendly
8	31 May 2008	Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania	Montenegro	4–0	4–0	Friendly
9	20 August 2008	Stadionul Tineretului, Urziceni, Romania	Latvia	1–0	1–0	Friendly

Personal life

In November 2003, Dică married Corina Zimbroianu. The two met in 1998 and since then they never stood apart. He has a son, Marco Ilie, who was baptized by his teammate from Steaua Bucureşti, Mirel Radoi.

On 8 March 2007, Dică suffered a difficult period of his life as his father died due to cirrhosis. Dică was under treatment at the Isokinetic clinic in Bologna when he heard the news. His father was the one who encouraged him to become a football player.

Each time he scores a goal Dică, being very spiritual, makes the sign of the cross, kisses his hands and points two fingers to the sky, one for God and the other for his late father.

Honours

Club

Steaua Bucureşti

• Romanian First League: 2004–05, 2005–06
• Romanian Cup: 2010–11
• Romanian Supercup: 2006
• UEFA Cup semi-finalist: 2005-06

CFR Cluj

• Romanian First League: 2009–10
• Romanian Cup: 2009–10

Individual

• Romanian Footballer of the Year: 2006
• In the 2006–2007 season, Dică was voted by the fans across the whole of Europe as the third best football player in the UEFA Champions League after Kaká and Cristiano Ronaldo.

References

1. ^ "Nicolae Dica – Catania – Campionato di Serie A" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. http://www.gazzetta.it/speciali/2008/calcio/Players/player_p188249.shtml. Retrieved 10 June 2009. 
2. ^ Walker, Michael (28 April 2006). "Boro win 4–3 on aggregate". London: guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2006/apr/28/match.sport?gusrc=rss&feed=football. Retrieved 7 June 2008. 
3. ^ "Steaua Thrashed Dynamo Kiev in Champions League Opener". news.softpedia.com. 14 September 2006. http://news.softpedia.com/news/Steaua-Thrashed-Dynamo-Kiev-in-Champions-League-Opener-35495.shtml. Retrieved 7 June 2008. 
4. ^ "Nicolae Dica este jucătorul anului 2006 în Ancheta Gazetei". blogsport.ro. 21 December 2006. http://blogsport.ro/gsp/2006/12/21/nicolae-dica-este-jucatorul-anului-2006-in-ancheta-gazetei/. Retrieved 7 June 2008. 
5. ^ "Dică riscă să piardă tot sezonul". realitatea.net. 20 January 2007. http://www.realitatea.net/dica-risca-sa-piarda-tot-sezonul_37427.html. Retrieved 7 June 2008. 
6. ^ "Catania Snap Up Nicolae Dica". transfermarketweb.com. 28 June 2008. http://www.transfermarketweb.com/?action=read&idsel=19424. Retrieved 28 June 2008. 
7. ^ Catania gibt Dica an Iraklis ab
8. ^ "Nicolae Dică şi-a reziliat contractul cu turcii de la Manisaspor: "Avem jucători mai buni ca el"". prosport.ro. 15 December 2010. http://www.prosport.ro/fotbal-extern/campionate-externe/nicolae-dica-si-a-reziliat-contractul-cu-turcii-de-la-manisaspor-avem-jucatori-mai-buni-ca-el-7819515. Retrieved 15 December 2010. 
9. ^ "Dică's profile on CS Mioveni's official site". csmioveni.ro. 18 July 2011. http://www.csmioveni.ro/fotbal/nicolae-constantin-dic. Retrieved 30 August 2011. 

External links

• Nicolae Dica at National Soccer Teams (English)
• Nicolae Dică's career at Romaniansoccer.ro (English)
• Nicolae Dică's profile at UEFA.com (English)

Sporting positions
Preceded by Adrian Neaga	Steaua Top Scorer 2004–2005 2005–2006	Succeeded by Valentin Badea
Preceded by Valentin Badea	Steaua Top Scorer 2007–2008	Succeeded by Pantelis Kapetanos Bogdan Stancu

Romanian football portal

Persondata
Name	Dica, Nicolae
Alternative names
Short description	footballer
Date of birth	9 May 1980
Place of birth	Piteşti, Romania
Date of death
Place of death