 On 18 September 2009, two hours after Cristiano Bergodi was sacked, he was announced by Steaua București's owner, Gigi Becali, as the new manager of the team.He resigned in May 2010, after finishing the 2009–10 season on the fourth position.In June 2010, Stoichiţă joined Astra Ploiești but was sacked after only a couple of months due to poor results.