Athlete of the Week – Footballer Florin Niţă

Florin Niţă had a solid performance in the match against Cyprus

Florin Orban, 19.11.2024, 13:45

The Romanian national football team concluded its campaign in Nations League this year with a win. On Monday, in front a 45-thousand-strong crowd on National Arena Stadium in Bucharest, defying the negative temperatures outside, the Romanian footballers defeated Cyprus 4-1. At the end of the last group fixture, Romania tops the provisional rankings in the second Group of League C, without conceding a single defeat. Our team will very likely be promoted to the second-tier division of Nations League. However, Romania still has to wait for UEFA’s ruling regarding the match against Kosovo, held on Friday in Bucharest, which ended 0-0 in extra time, after the visiting side left the field.

The game against Cyprus started well for Romania, which scored quickly, then widened their lead to 2-0 before half-time. The start of the second half was better for the visiting side, Cyprus managing to score on minute 52. They even had a good opportunity to even the odds 10 minutes later, but goalkeeper Florin Niţă stood in the way with a great save, at the cost of a personal injury. That was the turning point of the game. Romania upped their game, scoring two more goals. Goalkeeper Florin Niţă can be considered the best player on the field, which is why Radio Romania International has designated him Athlete of the Week.

Florin Niţă was born in Bucharest, on July 3, 1987. He had a rough childhood, he was orphaned by his father at the age of 5, his mother was sick, so he had to look for work at a young age. He took up football at the age of 7, at Steaua Bucharest. He made his senior debut at Concordia Chiajna, in 2007, and stayed at the club 2013. He then moved for a five-year period at FCSB, then for another five in the Czech Republic, at Sparta Prague. In 2023, he transferred to Turkey, to Gaziantep, after which, this year, he arrived in Saudi Arabia, playing for Damac. He has 30 caps for the Romanian national team. (VP)