Valeriu Tița (born 22 April 1966) is a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

and former player. He is the current

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Bangladesh Premier League Bangladesh Premier League (), also known as Dutch-Bangla Bank BPL for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in Bangladesh organised by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). It was formed in 2011 by the BCB, after the su ...

club

Bashundhara Kings Bashundhara Kings () is a professional football club based in Bashundhara Residential Area, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The club competes in the Bangladesh Premier League, the top tier of the Bangladesh football league system. The club was established i ...

. He led Syrian club

Al-Ittihad Aleppo Al-Ittihad Ahli of Aleppo Sports Club () also known as Al-Ittihad Ahli, is a professional multi-sports club based in the Syrian city of Aleppo, mostly known for its football team which competes in the Syrian Premier League, the top league of Syr ...

to the

AFC Cup The AFC Champions League Two (abbreviated as the ACL Two or ACL2) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. It is the second-tier competition of Asian club football, ranked below the AFC C ...

title in 2010.

Playing career

Tița began his football career as a midfielder with hometown side

FC Drobeta-Turnu Severin FC Drobeta-Turnu Severin was a Romanian professional football club from Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Mehedinți County, Romania, founded in 1958 and dissolved in 2011. History ''FC Drobeta-Turnu Severin'' was never able to reach the Liga I, playing ...

and Corvinul Hunedoara. In 1992, he moved to

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

to play for

Olympique de Casablanca Club Olympique de Casablanca () or CO Casablanca for a short, is a defunct Morocco, Moroccan Association football, football club that was based in Casablanca. The club played its home games at the ''Stade du COC'' History Olympique de Casablanca ...

under head coach

Ilie Balaci Ilie Balaci (; 13 September 1956 – 21 October 2018) was a Romanian football player and manager. A midfielder, he spent 12 of his 15 years as a professional with Universitatea Craiova, appearing in more than 300 official games with the club a ...

, where he won the

Moroccan Football League The Moroccan Football League Association was a confederation of football compétitions, under the aegis of the ''North African Football Union''. Since Morocco's independence in 1956, this confederation has ended, giving way to the Royal Morocc ...

and the

Arab Cup Winners' Cup The Arab Cup Winners' Cup () was a football (soccer), football competition between the winning clubs of national cup competitions in Arab nations. It started in 1989 and merged with the Arab Club Champions Cup and Arab Super Cup in 2002 to form th ...

twice. He then spent a few seasons with

Raja Casablanca Raja Club Athletic, widely known as Raja Casablanca or simply Raja, is a Football team, football club based in Casablanca, Morocco, that competes in Botola, the top flight of Moroccan football league system, Moroccan football. Founded on 20 M ...

and

Maghreb de Fès Maghreb Fez () is a Moroccan professional football club based in Fez, that competes in Botola, the top flight of Moroccan football. The club was founded in 1946. Maghreb Fez, commonly known as MAS, is one of the oldest sports clubs in Morocco. ...

before returning to his homeland to become a manager. He holds a

UEFA Pro License The UEFA coaching licences are documents testifying credentials of managers/ coaches among members of UEFA. The governing body for football in Europe mandates several licences, each valid for coaching at a certain level. These include the UEFA Pro ...

Coaching career

Al-Ittihad Aleppo

Tita led Al-Ittihad Aleppo to 2010 AFC Cup Finals. Al-Ittihad won the game 4–2 after penalties shoot-out against Al-Qadsia. The game was tied 1–1 after regular time and Extra Time. It was their first title. The AFC Cup Title considered as the most honourable achievement of his coaching career and he became beloved by most Syrians.

Syria national team

On 21 December 2010, he became coach of Syria national team. In his first

international friendly An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

game, he won 1–0 against

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, then lost to Iraq 0–1 on a second game. Tita led Syria team in the

2011 AFC Asian Cup The 2011 AFC Asian Cup was the 15th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Qatar from 7 to 29 January 2011. It was the secon ...

and won 2–1 against

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, and lost 1–2 to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and 1–2 to

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

. He left the Syria team after the team failed to qualify to quarter finals.

Short spells in different countries

From 2011 to 2019, Tita coached

Al-Shorta Al-Shorta Sports Club () is an Iraqi sports club based in Al-Rusafa, Iraq, Al-Rusafa, Baghdad. It has teams in 19 different sports, and the best known section of the club is the football team, whose origins date back to 1932. Al-Shorta was for ...

in Syria, Al Naser in Kuwait, Al Sharjah in UAE, Al-Faisaly Amman in Jordan, Al-Safa and

Nejmeh SC Nejmeh Sporting Club () is a Association football, football club based in Manara, a neighbourhood in Ras Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon, that competes in the . The club was established in Beirut in 1945, and received its license in 1947. Nejmeh have ...

in Lebanon, Al-Orobah in Saudi Arabia, and

Al-Talaba Al-Talaba Sports Club () is an Iraqi professional sports club based in Al-Rusafa, Baghdad. Its football team competes in the Iraq Stars League, the top flight of Iraqi football. Founded in 1969, the club was named Al-Jamiea but became known a ...

in Iraq. On 23 July 2019, Tita came back to

and signed for

Al-Mina'a SC Al-Mina'a Sports Club () is an Iraqi multi-sport club based in Al-Maqal, Basra that participates in the Iraq Stars League, the top tier of Iraqi football. It is one of the most popular clubs in Iraq, particularly in the south, and became the ...

club. The Romanian coach had around 5 to 10 games to look for the players he wanted to start the next season in a more positive fashion. Tita picked 10 players from the team and wanted some new, substantial signings to improve the challenge Al-Minaa would be able to make in the

Iraqi Premier League The Iraq Stars League (), is the highest level of the Iraqi football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Iraqi Premier Division League. It is governed by the Iraqi Pro League Asso ...

. He remained there until January 2021.

Return to Syria national team

In November 2021, he was reappointed as coach of Syria national team. He led his team during the

2021 FIFA Arab Cup The 2021 FIFA Arab Cup () was the 10th edition of the FIFA Arab Cup, Arab Cup, the Arab world's national team Association football, football tournament; it was the first edition under FIFA's jurisdiction, with previous editions having been organi ...

, before being dismissed after two losses against

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

in the

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was the FIFA World Cup qualification, qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar national football team, Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Par ...

Al-Ain

On 24 June 2023, Tița was appointed as head coach of Saudi club

Al-Ain Al Ain () is a city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the seat of the administrative division of the Al Ain Region. The city is bordered to the east by the Omani town of Al-Buraimi. Al Ain is the largest inland city in ...

Bashundhara Kings

On 9 July 2024, Tița was appointed as head coach of

club

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Olympique Casablanca * Moroccan League: 1993–94 *

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

Raja Casablanca * Moroccan League: 1995–96 *

Moroccan Cup The Moroccan Throne Cup or the Throne Cup () is a knockout football tournament in Moroccan football, organized by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.The first club to win this cup was Mouloudia Oujda. Since the inception of the cup, the sys ...

: 1995–96

Manager

Al-Ittihad Aleppo *

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Al-Safa *

Lebanese Super Cup The Lebanese Super Cup () is Lebanese football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous Lebanese Premier League season and the holders of the Lebanese FA Cup. If the Lebanese Premier League champions also won the Lebanese FA ...

: 2013 Nejmeh *

Lebanese FA Cup The Lebanon Cup (), commonly known as the Lebanese FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in domestic Lebanese football. In the first FA Cup final, held on 26 June 1938, Nahda beat Hilmi-Sport 3–2 in the replay (after drawing 1� ...

: 2016 *

Lebanese Elite Cup The Lebanese Elite Cup () was a Lebanese football annual cup competition contested by the top six teams of the previous Lebanese Premier League season. Founded in 1996 as the Super League Cup, the first edition was played by the top five finisher ...

: 2016 *

: 2016 Bashundhara Kings *

Bangladesh Challenge Cup The Bangladesh Challenge Cup, also known as the Challenge Cup is Football in Bangladesh, Bangladesh football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous Bangladesh Premier League (football), Bangladesh Premier League season an ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

References