Nicolae Constantin DicÃÂ (; born 9 May 1980) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player.
Deployed as an attacking midfielder or a forward, DicÃÂ was known for his incisive passing, long balls and spectacular finishes. He played professionally in four countries, but spent most of his career in his native Romania representing Dacia Mioveni, ArgeÃÂ PiteÃÂti, Steaua BucureÃÂti, CFR Cluj and Viitorul ConstanÃÂa. He was a Romanian international for seven years, and was selected for the UEFA Euro 2008.
Since his retirement as a player, DicÃÂ has had several stints as either an assistant, a caretaker or a head coach at his former club Steaua BucureÃÂti. He also managed ArgeÃÂ PiteÃÂti and was an assistant at the Romania national team.
DicÃÂ started playing professional football when he was 18 years old at a local team Dacia PiteÃÂti.
In his first season, DicÃÂ played in 17 games and scored 5 times for Dacia. In the second, he became a first team player and had a very good season, with Dacia finishing fourth in the Divizia B. He was one of the top scorers in the league that season with 14 goals.
Dicàwas seen as an upcoming talent and the local Divizia A club, ArgeàPiteÃÂti, signed him in 2000. He made his debut for ArgeàPiteÃÂti in a 2âÂÂ1 win against Gaz Metan MediaÃÂ. He was soon awarded the captain's armband after the transfers of Adrian Mutu to Dinamo BucureÃÂti and Adrian Neaga to Steaua BucureÃÂti.
Romanian giants Steaua BucureÃÂti paid â¬250,000 to sign him from ArgeàPiteÃÂti in December 2003. He was transferred to Steaua after the recommendation of Victor PiÃÂurcàand Mihai Stoica.
He made his debut in Europe in the 2004âÂÂ05 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 Villarreal.
In 2005 after DicÃÂ lost the chance to play in the UEFA Champions League, due to Steaua 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 BucureÃÂti, on their way to the UEFA CUP semi-final, where they were eliminated by English Premier League club, Middlesbrough.
On 13 September 2006, Dicàscored twice in the 4âÂÂ1 away win against Dynamo Kyiv in Steaua BucureÃÂti's 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 Kyiv, Real Madrid, and Lyon. After his performances in the Champions League, the daily newspaper Gazeta Sporturilor gave the Romanian Footballer of the Year 2006 award to DicÃÂ.
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, Dicàreturned to the team and was introduced in the late stages of the 2âÂÂ0 victory against CeahlÃÂul Piatra NeamÃÂ. This was his first official game in 2007.
On 28 June 2008, DicÃÂ 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 Dicàon loan from Calcio Catania. He made his competitive debut on 23 August 2009 and scored twice in a 2âÂÂ1 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 2âÂÂ1 victory against Dinamo BucureÃÂti 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.
In January 2011, Dicàsigned a one-year contract with his former team, Steaua BucureÃÂti. He made his debut for the club, on 27 February 2011, in a 1âÂÂ0 win at Universitatea Craiova. On 5 April, he scored his first goal after his return to Steaua in a 5âÂÂ0 home win over Unirea Urziceni. On 11 May, Dicàscored the equalizer against AS BraÃÂov, which sent Steaua through to the Romanian Cup final. On 25 May, Dicàscored from a trademark free kick in a 2âÂÂ1 victory over rivals Dinamo BucureÃÂti, and won his second consecutive Romanian cup.
In May 2011, Dicàjoined Liga I side Dacia Mioveni. He received the number 80 jersey. On 31 October, Dicàscored a goal in a 3âÂÂ1 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 ConstanÃÂa. At the end of the 2011âÂÂ12 season, Viitorul earned promotion to the Liga I, in part due to DicÃÂ's performances, who scored six goals in the second half of the season.
On 11 October 2003, DicÃÂ 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.
On 15 May 2017, it was announced that Nicolae Dicàwill be the manager of FCSB for the 2017âÂÂ18 season. He went undefeated in his first ten games in all competitions before losing to Portuguese club Sporting CP, in the 2017âÂÂ18 Champions League play-off. In December 2018, after a year and a half at the helm of the club, Dicàterminated his contract with FCSB by mutual consent.
On 26 July 2022, DicÃÂ returned to FCSB. On 1 November 2022, DicÃÂ terminated his contract with FCSB by mutual consent.
On 14 January 2023, he was presented as the new manager of his former club Mioveni. He left the team by mutual consent on 26 April 2023.
On 17 July that year, he took charge of another Liga I side FC U Craiova. After two losses in the opening games of the season, he recorded two wins, before suffering a 4âÂÂ3 defeat to Petrolul PloieÃÂti on 18 August. The following day, only 34 days into his tenure, he was dismissed from the club.
In November 2003, DicÃÂ 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. DicÃÂ 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.
Steaua BucureÃÂti
CFR Cluj
Individual
SCM PiteÃÂti