Valentin Năstase

Vasile Valentin Năstase (born 4 October 1974) is a former Romanian professional footballer who played as a defender, currently assistant coach at Liga III club SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea.

Club career 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. 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.

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 Universitatea Craiova in the Cupa României final. Subsequently, he played the full 90 minutes under Dinu in the 2001 Cupa României final, as Dinamo defeated Rocar București 4–2. In the first half of the 2001–02 season, Năstase made 13 league appearances and scored two goals under coach Marin Ion. There, they became teammates with their compatriots Paul Codrea and Marius Sava. In 2002, Năstase was signed by Palermo, which was then run by the former owner of Venezia, Maurizio Zamparini. The transfer was a player swap, as Genoa sent him and Massimo Mutarelli to Palermo in exchange for Pierluigi Brivio, Mauro Bressan and Mario Cvitanović.

In 2004, Palermo exchanged Năstase to Bologna for Cristian Zaccardo. He made his Serie A debut on 19 September 2004 under coach Carlo Mazzone in a 2–0 loss to AC Milan. Bologna suffered relegation at the end of the season, but Năstase stayed with the club for one more season in Serie B. Subsequently, he returned to Serie A football in 2006, joining Ascoli. He played regularly during the 2006–07 season, but could not avoid the team's relegation to Serie B. Năstase played a total of 45 matches in Serie A and 71 games with two goals in Serie B. In the second leg, while his side was leading 1–0, Năstase fouled Simone Del Nero, and a penalty was awarded to Lazio from which Tommaso Rocchi scored, initiating a comeback that resulted in a 3–1 victory.

In January 2008, Năstase joined the German Regionalliga Nord club Eintracht Braunschweig for a two-season spell. Subsequently, he went back to Romania to join Gloria Bistrița, 17 years after his first stint with the club.

International career 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. 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.

International stats

Honours 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