Florin Constantin Niță (; born 3 July 1987) is a Romanian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for Czech First League club

Pardubice Pardubice (; german: Pardubitz) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 89,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the Elbe River. The historic centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monu ...

, on loan from Sparta Prague, and the

Romania national team Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and t ...

. He started his senior career at

Concordia Chiajna Clubul Sportiv Concordia Chiajna, commonly known as Concordia Chiajna, is a Romanian professional football club based in Chiajna, Ilfov County, which competes in the Liga II. Founded in 1957, the team's best period was between 2011 and 2019, when ...

, before signing for FCSB in 2013. Niță won six honours during his spell with the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

-based team, and at the start of 2018 transferred to the Czech Republic with Sparta Prague. Niță earned his first cap for the

in November 2017, in a 2–0

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

win against

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Club career

Early career / Concordia Chiajna

Born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, Niță started playing football at the age of seven with

FC Steaua București FC Steaua București was a Romanian professional football club of which two current entities are claiming the records. The original ''FC Steaua București'' team was part of the namesake CSA Steaua București sports club and belonged to the Ministry ...

. In 2001, he moved to local rivals

Rapid București Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a '' cascade' ...

, where he stayed for four years. He then spent his last season as a junior at

Astra Ploiești Asociația Fotbal Club Astra Giurgiu (), commonly known as Astra Giurgiu or simply Astra, was a Romanian football club based in the city of Giurgiu, Giurgiu County. Founded in 1921 in Ploiești as ''Clubul Sportiv Astra-Română'', it spent the m ...

. In 2006, aged 19, Niță joined

and played his first senior matches in the

Liga III The Liga 3, most often spelled as Liga III, is the third level of the Romanian football league system. Its name was changed from Divizia C to Liga III before the start of the 2006–07 season. It was the first in this format (six series of 18 t ...

, the third level of the Romanian league system. He made his debut with the team in the

Liga I The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It is the country's top ...

on 25 July 2011, in a 1–2 home loss to Sportul Studențesc.

FCSB

In December 2012, it was announced that Niță would return to his boyhood club FC Steaua București in the summer of the following year. 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 A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

missed by

Sergio Agüero Sergio Leonel Agüero del Castillo (born 2 June 1988), also known as Kun Agüero, is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest playe ...

in the 0–5 UEFA Champions League play-off loss to

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

. In May 2017, Niță agreed to a new deal at the team, now named FCSB, that would have kept him in Bucharest until 2021. His good display in 2017 earned him third place in ''

Gazeta Sporturilor ''Gazeta Sporturilor'' ( en, The Sports Gazette) is a daily Romanian newspaper, and the country's largest and most read sports-related publication. It is owned by Ringier Sportal S.R.L—a joint venture of Ringier Romania S.R.L. and the Bulgarian ...

Romanian Footballer of the Year The Romanian Footballer of the Year ( ro, Fotbalistul român al anului), also known as the Nicolae Dobrin Trophy ( ro, Trofeul Nicolae Dobrin), is an annual association football award given by the ''Gazeta Sporturilor'' newspaper to the Romanian ...

award, which he shared with

Ștefan Radu Ștefan Daniel Radu (; born 22 October 1986) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a left-back or a centre-back for Serie A club Lazio. After a stint in his home country with Dinamo București during which he earned three domestic h ...

Sparta Prague

Niță transferred to Czech team Sparta Prague on 1 February 2018 for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

2 million plus €500,000 in bonuses. In December 2021, Niță 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. Sparta Prague loaned Niță out to

for the remainder of the 2022–23 season.

International career

On 18 March 2017, following the injury of

Silviu Lung Jr. Silviu Lung (born 4 June 1989) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Saudi Professional League club Al-Raed. International career He played his first match for Romania in 2010, being used by coach Răzvan Lucescu to ...

, Niță was picked by manager

Christoph Daum Christoph Paul Daum (born 24 October 1953) is a German professional football manager and former player. Daum played as a midfielder and was a junior for several clubs from the region of Duisburg. He began his senior career with Hamborn 07 and E ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

's squad for a

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

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against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. Days before his call-up, former Romanian internationals

Helmuth Duckadam Helmut Robert Duckadam (; born 1 April 1959) is a Romanian retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was dubbed "the Hero of Seville" due to his performance in the 1986 European Cup Final, won by his club Steaua București, where he s ...

, Gheorghe Hagi and

Laurențiu Reghecampf Laurențiu Aurelian Reghecampf (born 19 September 1975) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently in charge of Azerbaijan Premier League side Neftchi Baku. Playing career Club Reghecampf was born in Târ ...

stated that his omissal from the squad was "unjust". Niță eventually made his debut for the full side on 9 November 2017, entering as a 71st-minute substitute for

Costel Pantilimon Costel Fane Pantilimon (; born 1 February 1987) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. He is currently a free agent. Pantilimon began his senior career at Politehnica Timișoara. In 2011, he signed for Manchester City ...

in a 2–0

win over

Cluj-Napoca ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...

. After

Ciprian Tătărușanu Anton Ciprian Tătărușanu (; born 9 February 1986) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club AC Milan. He started his senior career in Romania with Juventus București, going on to represent Gloria Bistrița a ...

announced his retirement from the national team at the end of 2020, Niță played the full 90 minutes in all three 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

in March 2021. In spite of the fact that Romania lost against the latter two, his performances were praised by media and fans alike.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

FCSB *

: 2013–14, 2014–15 *

Cupa României The Cupa României ( en, Romanian Cup) is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. I ...

: 2014–15 *

Supercupa României The Supercupa României ( en, Romanian Supercup) is a Romanian football championship contested by the winners of the Liga I and the Cupa României. It is usually played at the Arena Națională in Bucharest. The competition started off in 1994, ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

* Cupa Ligii: 2014–15, 2015–16 Sparta Prague * Czech Cup: 2019–20 Individual *''

: 2021; third place: 2017 *CSJ ''Gala Fotbalului Românesc'' Romanian Footballer of the Year: 2021 *Liga I Team of the Season: 2016–17

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nita, Florin 1987 births Living people Footballers from Bucharest Romanian footballers Association football goalkeepers Liga I players Liga II players Liga III players CS Concordia Chiajna players FC Steaua București players Czech First League players AC Sparta Prague players FK Pardubice players Romania international footballers Romanian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in the Czech Republic Romanian expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic