Ion Niță (born 21 February 1948) is a Romanian former footballer who played as a midfielder and forward.
He was part of "U" Craiova's team that won the 1973–74 Divizia A, which was the club's first trophy.
Club career Niță was born on 21 February 1948 in Dragodana, Romania. He began his senior career at Dinamo Pitești, making his Divizia A debut under coach Vasile Ștefan on 10 April 1966 in a 2–2 draw against Universitatea Cluj.
Subsequently, Niță had a brief spell with Dunărea Calafat, and in 1966 he joined Universitatea Craiova. There, he made his debut in European competitions, playing in both legs of the 4–2 aggregate loss to Pécsi Dózsa in the first round of the 1970–71 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. "U" was close to winning the title in the 1972–73 season, but they finished in second place on equal points with Dinamo București, losing controversially on goal difference. This outcome led poet Adrian Păunescu to nickname Craiova as "Campioana unei mari iubiri" (The Champion of a great love). In the first round of the 1973–74 UEFA Cup season, "U" Craiova got past Fiorentina, being eliminated in the following one by Standard Liège, with Niță playing three games in the campaign. In the same season, Niță was part of Craiova's team that won the league title, which was the club's first trophy, being used by coach Constantin Cernăianu in 29 matches in which he scored two goals. In the last round of that season, he played as a starter and was replaced in the 56th minute with Iulian Bălan in the 0–0 draw against Petrolul, as the team earned the point that mathematically secured the championship. Niță received a grade 7 in the Sportul newspaper for his performance in that match.
In the middle of the 1974–75 season, Niță left Universitatea to join Steagul Roșu Brașov. There, he made his last Divizia A appearance on 29 June 1975 in a 2–1 home win over Dinamo București, totaling 193 matches with 16 goals in the competition. However, Steagul Roșu was relegated at the end of that season, but he stayed with the club for two more seasons. Niță ended his career after playing for Tractorul Brașov during the 1979–80 Divizia B season.
International career From 1966 to 1968, Niță played two games for Romania's under-23 national team.
Personal life In 2023, Niță received the Honorary Citizen of Craiova title.
Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsDinamo Pitești1965–66Divizia A1000–10Total1000–10Dinamo București1966–67Divizia A14110–1511967–6822220–2421968–6925610–2661969–7014000–1401970–71243102Appearances in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup02731971–7223000–2301972–7321100–2111973–74292103Appearances in the UEFA Cup03321974–7530310–355Total17815605018915Steagul Roșu Brașov1974–75Divizia A14100–1411975–76Divizia B–1976–77–Total141–141Tractorul Brașov1979–80Divizia B–Career total19316605020416
Honours Universitatea Craiova Divizia A: 1973–74
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