[1][2] He reached with UTA the 1966 Cupa României final in which coach Nicolae Dumitrescu used him all the minutes, however they lost with 4–0 in front of Steaua București.
[3] Shortly afterwards Pantea went to play for Steaua, a team with whom he won the 1967–68 Divizia A title in which coach Ștefan Kovács used him in six matches, also helping the club win four Cupa României.
[1][4] During his period spent with The Military Men he also played 14 games in European competitions, taking part in the 1971–72 European Cup Winners' Cup campaign, playing six games as the team reached the quarter-finals by eliminating Hibernians and Barcelona, being eliminated after 1–1 on aggregate on the away goal rule by Bayern Munich.
[1] Nicolae Pantea played two games at international level for Romania, making his debut on 23 April 1972 under coach Gheorghe Ola in a friendly against Peru which ended 2–2.
[1] Nicolae Pantea first worked as a coach at Steaua's Center for Children and Juniors, in various age categories, in parallel, in certain periods also being an assistant at Romania's national youth team.