Valentin Năstase

Gloria Bistrița and Argeș Pitești

Năstase was born on 4 October 1974 in Călinești, Romania and began playing football at Dacia Pitești at the age of 12. Three years later, he moved to CSȘ Aripi Pitești under coach Gabi Trandafirescu. He began his senior career at Gloria Bistrița, which paid 6 million lei for his transfer. Năstase made his Divizia A debut on 6 November 1993 under coach Constantin Cârstea in a 4–0 victory against Politehnica Timișoara. The team won the Cupa României at the end of the season, but Cârstea did not use him in the 1–0 win over Universitatea Craiova in the final.

In 1994, Năstase was transferred from Gloria to Argeș Pitești for a fee of 10 million lei. He helped the team earn a third place in the 1997–98 season. During the 1998–99 UEFA Cup, Năstase played five games, helping Argeș advance past Dinamo Baku and İstanbulspor through the qualifying rounds, before the team was defeated by Celta Vigo in the first round.

Dinamo București

In 1999, Năstase went to play for Dinamo București, which paid a total transfer fee of €540,000 to Argeș. He helped the club eliminate Mondercange in the qualifying round of the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup, but his side was defeated in the following round 2–1 on aggregate by Benfica, with him scoring a goal in the 1–0 away victory in the first leg. He finished his first season with the club by winning The Double, playing 27 league games under coach Cornel Dinu and the entire match in the 2–0 win over…

Năstase won four caps for Romania. He made his debut on 28 April 1999 under coach Victor Pițurcă in a 1–0 friendly win over Belgium. His last appearance took place on 9 February 2005 in a friendly that ended in a 2–2 draw against Slovakia.

In July 2015, Năstase was named head coach of Argeș 1953 Pitești in Liga IV, but was dismissed in November and replaced with Adrian Dulcea. From 2018 to 2019, he was the assistant coach to Emil Săndoi and then Nicolae Dică at Argeș Pitești. Subsequently, in the following years he worked as Săndoi's assistant at Chindia Târgoviște and Romania's under-21 team. In 2023, he became the assistant of Andrei Prepeliță at Gloria Buzău, moving one year later to work once again with Săndoi at Politehnica Iași. In 2025, Năstase was appointed as the assistant of Constantin Schumacher at SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea.

Player

Gloria Bistrița Cupa României: 1993–94

Dinamo București Divizia A: 1999–2000, 2001–02 Cupa României: 1999–2000, 2000–01

Palermo Serie B: 2003–04