Ovidiu Stângă

Universitatea Craiova and Jiul IELIF Craiova

Stîngă was born on 5 December 1972 in Craiova, Romania and began playing junior-level football at Viitorul. He made his Divizia A debut by playing for Universitatea Craiova on 28 November 1990 under coach Sorin Cârțu in a 8–1 win over Corvinul Hunedoara. That was his only appearance for the club that season, during which Universitatea won The Double. In the middle of the campaign, he was loaned to Divizia C club Jiul IELIF Craiova, helping them secure promotion to the second league. In the 1992–93 season, Stîngă scored a career-best 12 league goals for Universitatea, and played the entire match under coach Marian Bondrea in the 2–0 victory against Dacia Unirea Brăila in the 1993 Cupa României final. The team reached another cup final in 1994, where he played the full 90 minutes under Bondrea in the 1–0 loss to Gloria Bistrița.

Salamanca

In summer 1995, Stîngă went abroad to Spain to play for Salamanca which paid a $500,000 fee to "U" Craiova. He debuted in Primera División on 3 September, when coach Juan Manuel Lillo sent him in the 60th minute to replace Joan Barbarà in a 3–1 win against Espanyol. He scored his first goal in the competition on 5 November in a 4–1 victory against Barcelona. During the 1995–96 season, he netted 11 goals, including a hat-trick in a 5–0 success over Racing Santander, but the club finished last and were relegated to Segunda División. In the middle of the 1996–97 season, PSV acquired…

Early years and 1994 World Cup

Stîngă played 24 matches for Romania, making his debut on 31 January 1993 under coach Cornel Dinu in a 3–0 friendly loss to Ecuador. Subsequently, he played in a 2–1 win over Cyprus in the successful 1994 World Cup qualifiers. He was selected by coach Emerich Jenei to be part of the squad for the final tournament where the team reached the quarter-finals, but he did not play in any games in the campaign.

Euro 1996 and 1998 World Cup

Stîngă was part of the Euro 1996 final tournament, where the team lost all three group stage games against France, Bulgaria and Spain. Coach Anghel Iordănescu used him only in the 2–1 loss to the Spanish side in which Stîngă provided the assist to Florin Răducioiu's goal. During the 1998 World Cup qualifiers, Stîngă made two appearances in wins over Lithuania and Macedonia. He played under coach Iordănescu in the victories against Colombia and England in the group stage of the final tournament, but suffered a knee injury in the latter game, causing him to miss the other matches. The victories against the Colombians and the English secured the mathematical qualification before the last group match against Tunisia. To celebrate, the team dyed their hair blonde and showed up on the pitch with their new look. The campaign ended as they were defeated 1–0 by Croatia in the round of 16 after Davor Šuker scored from a penalty.

Final years

Stîngă's last two matches for Romania were away victories…

Stîngă began his managerial career in 2005, as a player-coach for Divizia B club Universitatea Craiova, helping them achieve promotion to the first league by the end of the 2005–06 season. Following only one victory in the first nine rounds of the 2006–07 season, he was dismissed. He came back to the team in August 2007, but his tenure lasted just two games, which were losses. From 2009 to 2010, Stîngă coached a youth squad of PSV Eindhoven. In the following years, he worked for Romania's under-18 and under-19 national teams, teaching players such as Nicolae Stanciu, Florin Andone and Steliano Filip. In October 2013, Stîngă was appointed the head coach of second-tier club CS Universitatea Craiova, but he terminated his contract by mutual agreement in March 2014. Between 2015 and 2020, he worked as an assistant for PSV Women's team. In December 2020, he was named the head coach of Liga II side FC U Craiova. He was dismissed in March 2021, after the team failed to win any of the three matches under his charge. In September 2021, Stîngă went back to working with juniors, signing with Al Sadd.

In 1994, Stîngă was named Honorary Citizen of Bucharest.