Romania national team
Nicolae Dică was the coach of which team from 2019 to 2020?
Nicolae Dică Nicolae Constantin Dică ( ; born 9 May 1980 ) is a Romanian former footballer and currently manager . Primarily an attacking midfielder , he was also deployed as a forward and was known for his incisive passing , long balls and spectacular finishes . Dică played professionally in four countries , but spent most of his career in Romania , where he appeared for Dacia Mioveni , Argeș Pitești , Steaua București , CFR Cluj and Viitorul Constanța . He was a Romanian international for seven years , and represented the country at the UEFA Euro 2008 . Club career . Dacia Mioveni . Dică started playing professional football when he was 18 years old at a local team Dacia Mioveni . In his first season , Dică played in 17 games and scored 5 times for Mioveni . In the second , he became a first team player and had a very good season , with Dacia finishing fourth in the Romanian Divizia B . He was one of the top scorers in the league that season with 14 goals . Argeș Pitești . Dică was seen as an upcoming talent and the local Divizia A club , FC Argeș Pitești , signed him in 2000 . He made his debut for FC Argeș Pitești in a 2–1 win against Gaz Metan Mediaș . He was soon awarded the captains armband after the transfers of Adrian Mutu to Dinamo București and Adrian Neaga to Steaua București . Steaua București . Romanian giants Steaua București paid €250,000 to sign him from Argeș Pitești in December 2003 . He was transferred to Steaua after the recommendation of Victor Pițurcă and Mihai Stoica . He made his debut in Europe in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup season , when Steaua eliminated previous winners Valencia , en route to the Round of 16 , where they were knocked out by another Spanish side Villareal . In 2005 after Dică lost the chance to play in the UEFA Champions League , due to FCSB being eliminated by Rosenborg BK , he had another successful season in the UEFA Cup . The Bucharest club defeated the likes of Lens , Heereenven , Real Betis and their Romanian rivals Rapid București , on their way to the UEFA CUP semi-final , where they were eliminated by English Premier League club , Middlesbrough . On 13 September 2006 , Dică scored twice in the 4–1 away win against Dynamo Kyiv in Steaua Bucureștis opening game in the UEFA Champions League , this being his first ever appearance in said tournament . He went on to score four goals and add one assist in six games against group opponents , Dynamo Kiev , Real Madrid , and Olympique Lyonnais . After his performances in the Champions League , the daily newspaper Gazeta Sporturilor gave the Romanian Footballer of the Year 2006 award to Dică . On 23 January 2007 , he suffered a knee injury while playing in a friendly against AC Siena , and missed most of the season . On 9 May , for his birthday , Dică returned to the team and was introduced in the late stages of the 2–0 victory against Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț . This was his first official game in 2007 . Catania . On 28 June 2008 , Dică moved to Catania , mainly due to the desire of his former Steaua coach , Walter Zenga . He was expected to replace midfielder Juan Manuel Vargas who moved to ACF Fiorentina , but ended up being a flop , taking part in just 93 minutes of play during his first six months with Palermo . Although it seemed almost certain that he would leave during the January transfer market , coach Walter Zenga kept him at Catania until the end of the Serie A season . In June 2009 , Iraklis signed Dică on loan from Calcio Catania . He made his competitive debut on 23 August 2009 and scored twice in a 2–1 win over Panthrakikos . In January 2010 , CFR Cluj signed the midfielder on loan from Catania until June 2010 . He won the Liga I and the Romanian Cup with them , scoring his first goal in a 2–1 victory against Dinamo București in the second leg of the Cup semi-final . In July 2010 , Manisaspor signed the midfielder on loan from Catania until June 2011 . He rarely made it to the first team and then , on 14 December 2010 , he agreed to cancel his contract with Manisaspor . Later years . In January 2011 , Dică signed a one-year contract with his former team , Steaua București . 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 AS Brașov , which sent Steaua through to the Romanian Cup final . On 25 May , Dică scored from a trademark free kick in a 2–1 victory over rivals Dinamo București , and won his second consecutive Romanian cup . In May 2011 , Dică joined Liga I side Dacia Mioveni . He received the number 80 jersey . On 31 October , Dică scored a goal in a 3–1 defeat to Concordia Chiajna . In January 2012 , after fifteen games for the Liga I squad , he terminated his contract with Mioveni . Later that month he signed a one and a half year contract with Liga II side Viitorul Constanța . At the end of the 2011–12 season , Viitorul earned promotion to the Liga I , in part due to Dicăs performances , who scored six goals in the second half of the season . International career . On 11 October 2003 , Dică made his debut for the Romania national team in a friendly game against Japan . He scored his first goal in August 2006 , in a friendly game against Cyprus and amassed a total of 32 appearances for Romania . Managerial career . On 15 May 2017 , it was announced that Nicolae Dică will be the manager of FCSB for the 2017–18 season . He went undefeated in his first ten games in all competitions before losing to Portuguese club Sporting CP , in the 2017–18 Champions League play-off . In December 2018 , after a year and a half at the helm of the club , Dică terminated his contract with FCSB by mutual consent . Personal life . In November 2003 , Dică married Corina Zimbroianu , after the two met in 1998 . He has a son , Marco Ilie , who was baptized by his former Steaua teammate , Mirel Radoi . In March 2007 , he had a difficult period in 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 footballer . Honours . Player . Steaua București - Liga I : 2004–05 , 2005–06 - Romanian Cup : 2010–11 - Romanian Supercup : 2006 CFR Cluj - Liga I : 2009–10 - Romanian Cup : 2009–10 Individual - Romanian Footballer of the Year : 2006 Manager . SCM Pitești - Liga III : 2016–17 External links . - Nicolae Dică at FC Steaua Bucharest