Adrian Dante Ursea (born 14 September 1967) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who most recently was manager of Challenge League club Yverdon Sport.
Early life
Born in Slobozia, Romania, Ursea completed his schooling in Ploiești.
Playing career
Ursea began his youth career at Petrolul Ploiești in 1982 and made his senior debut for the club in 1986. He played 102 games in the Romanian top flight for Petrolul Ploiești, with a brief loan spell at Victoria București during the 1988–89 season. In 1991, he moved to Switzerland, where he played for several clubs including Locarno, Chênois, Étoile Carouge, Bulle, Vevey, Stade Nyonnais, and Fribourg. He also had a short stint with Rapid București in 1994. He retired as a player in 2001.
Coaching career
After retiring, Ursea transitioned into coaching. He served as an assistant and later as caretaker manager at Servette in 2003 and 2004. He managed Meyrin in 2005. From 2007 to 2016, he worked at Neuchâtel Xamax as technical director and later as academy manager. He then joined OGC Nice as an assistant coach in 2016, a role he held until 2018 and again from 2019 to 2020.
On 4 December 2020, Ursea was appointed manager of OGC Nice in Ligue 1 following the dismissal of Patrick Vieira, managing the club until the end of the 2020–21 season. He later managed Étoile Carouge from 2023 to 2025, leading them to the Swiss Promotion League title in 2023–24. In July 2025, he became head coach of Yverdon Sport in the Swiss Challenge League.
Honours
- Swiss Promotion League: 2023–24 (with Étoile Carouge)
