Velea, nicknamed "Pelicanul" (The
Pelican), was born on 14 September 1947 in
Bucharest, Romania. However, the team was relegated at the end of the
season, but he stayed with them for one more year. However, the team did not qualify further, as they lost the second leg 3–0 without Velea playing. This outcome led poet
Adrian Păunescu to nickname Craiova as "Campioana unei mari iubiri" (The Champion of a great love). In the
same season, Velea was part of Craiova's team that won the league title, which was the club's first trophy, being used by coach
Constantin Cernăianu in 14 matches in which he scored once. In the middle of the
1974–75 season, Velea joined
FC Constanța. There, he made his last Divizia A appearance on 29 June 1975 in a 2–0 home victory against
CFR Cluj, totaling 136 matches with four goals in the competition. Velea ended his career after playing for
Pandurii Târgu Jiu during the
1977–78 Divizia B season. ==International career==