Gheorghe Hagi

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Gheorghe Hagi
Lansarea candidaturii Gabrielei Szabo pentru Camera Deputatilor, Voluntari - 04.05 (48) (14270956179) (cropped).jpg
Hagi in 2016
Personal information
Date of birth (1965-02-05) 5 February 1965 (age 53)
Place of birth Săcele, Romania
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Viitorul Constanța
Youth career
1975–1980 Farul Constanța
1980–1981 Luceafărul București
1981–1982 Farul Constanța
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1982–1983 Farul Constanța 18 (7)
1983–1987 Sportul Studențesc 118 (65)
1987–1990 Steaua București 118 (88)
1990–1992 Real Madrid 84 (20)
1992–1994 Brescia 65 (16)
1994–1996 Barcelona 51 (11)
1996–2001 Galatasaray 192 (73)
Total 663 (283)
National team
1983–2000 Romania 125 (35)
Teams managed
2001 Romania
2003–2004 Bursaspor
2004–2005 Galatasaray
2005–2006 Politehnica Timișoara
2007 Steaua București
2010–2011 Galatasaray
2014– Viitorul Constanța
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Gheorghe "Gică" Hagi (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈɡe̯orɡe ˈhad͡ʒi] (About this soundlisten); born 5 February 1965) is a Romanian former professional footballer, considered one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe during the 1980s and '90s[1] and the greatest Romanian footballer of all time.[2] Galatasaray fans called him "Comandante" ("The Commander") and Romanians call him "Regele" ("The King").[3] He is currently the owner and manager of Viitorul Constanța.

Nicknamed "The Maradona of the Carpathians", Hagi is considered a hero in his homeland. He was named Romanian Footballer of the Year seven times, and is regarded as one of the best football players of his generation.[4][5] As a creative advanced playmaker, he was renowned for his dribbling, technique, vision, passing and finishing.[3][6]

Hagi played for the Romanian national team in three FIFA World Cups, in 1990, 1994 (where he was named in the World Cup All-Star Team) and 1998; as well as in three UEFA European Championships, in 1984, 1996 and 2000. He won a total of 125 caps for Romania, ranked second after Dorinel Munteanu, and is the joint leading goalscorer (alongside Adrian Mutu) with 35 goals.

In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, Hagi was selected as the Golden Player of Romania by the Romanian Football Federation as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years.[7] In 2004, he was named by Pelé as one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards Ceremony.[8] He was listed at number 25 in World Soccer Magazine's list of the 100 greatest players of the 20th century.[5] Hagi is one of the few footballers to have played for both Spanish rival clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona FC.

In 2009, Hagi founded Romanian club Viitorul Constanța. He is currently both owner and chairman of the club. Hagi also established the Gheorghe Hagi Football Academy, one of the largest and most successful football academies in Southeastern Europe.[9]

Club career[edit]

Born in Săcele, Hagi started his career playing for the youth teams of Farul Constanța in the 1970s, before being selected by the Romanian Football Federation to join the squad of Luceafărul București in 1980 for two years. In 1982, he returned to Constanța, but one year later, aged 18, he was prepared to make the step to a top team. He was originally directed to Universitatea Craiova, but chose Sportul Studențesc of Bucharest instead.

In late 1987, Hagi transferred to Steaua București as the team prepared for their European Super Cup final against Dynamo Kyiv. The original contract was for one game only, the final. However, after winning the trophy, where Hagi scored the only goal of the match, Steaua did not want to release him back to Sportul Studențesc and retained him. During his Steaua years (1987–1990), Hagi played 97 Liga I games, scoring 76 goals. He and the team reached the European Cup semi-final in 1988 and the final in the following year, while Hagi finished as one of the competition's top scorers in the former edition of the tournament. Hagi and Steaua were the champions of Romania in 1987, 1988 and 1989 and as well as winning the Cupa României in 1987, 1988 and 1989. His strong performances had him linked with Arrigo Sacchi's Milan and Bayern Munich, but Nicolae Ceaușescu's communist government rejected any offer.

After the 1990 FIFA World Cup, Hagi was signed by Real Madrid. The La Liga side paid $4.3 million to Steaua București for him. Hagi played two seasons with Madrid, then was sold to Brescia.

Hagi began the 1992–93 season with Brescia, but after his first season, the club was relegated to Serie B. The next season, Hagi helped the club win Serie B and earn promotion back to Serie A. After performing memorably during the 1994 World Cup, Hagi was signed by Barcelona.

After two years at Barça, Hagi signed for Turkish club Galatasaray. At Galatasaray, he was both successful and highly popular among the Turkish supporters. Hagi was an important member of a team that would win four consecutive league titles. In 2000, at age 35, Hagi had the best days of his career winning every possible trophy with Galatasaray. Gala won the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup after defeating Arsenal in the final, a match in which Hagi was sent off for punching Arsenal captain Tony Adams.[10] This was followed by the capture of the UEFA Super Cup with a historic win against Hagi's former club Real Madrid. Both feats were firsts, and remain unmatched in Turkish football history. The mass hysteria caused by these wins in Istanbul raised Hagi's popularity even further with the fans and prompted French ex-international Luis Fernández to say, "Hagi is like wine, the older it gets, the better he is."

When he retired in 2001, Hagi remained one of the most beloved players in the Turkish and Romanian championships. Hagi is highly praised by the Galatasaray supporters. The classic chant "I Love You Hagi" was adopted by Gala fans since his arrival at Galatasaray.

International career[edit]

Hagi made his debut for the Romania national team at age 18 in 1983 against Norway, in Oslo. He was part of the Romanian team until 2000.

Hagi took part at the 1990 World Cup and later led the Romanian team to its best ever international performance at the 1994 World Cup, where the team reached the quarterfinals before Sweden ended their run after winning the penalty shoot-out. Hagi scored three times in the tournament, including a memorable goal in their 3–2 surprise defeat of South American powerhouse and previous runners-up Argentina. In the first of Romania's group stage matches, against Colombia, Hagi scored one of the most memorable goals of that tournament, curling in a 40-yard lob over Colombian goalkeeper Óscar Córdoba who was caught out of position. He was named in the Team of the Tournament.

Four years later, after the 1998 World Cup, Hagi decided to retire from the national team, only to change his mind after a few months and participate in UEFA Euro 2000, during which he was sent off in the quarter-final loss against eventual runners-up Italy.[11]

Hagi retired from professional football in 2001, age 36, in a game called "Gala Hagi" on 24 April.[12] He still holds the record as Romanian national team top scorer.

Career as coach[edit]

Romania national team[edit]

In 2001, Hagi was named the manager of the Romania national team, replacing Ladislau Bölöni, who left the squad to coach Sporting Clube de Portugal. After failing to qualify the team for the World Cup, however, Hagi was sacked. His only notable achievement during the six months as Romania's manager was the win in Budapest against Hungary.

Bursaspor[edit]

In 2003, Hagi took over as coach of Turkish Süper Lig side Bursaspor, but left the club after a disappointing start to the season.

Galatasaray[edit]

Hagi then became manager of Galatasaray in 2004, leading the team to the Turkish Cup in 2005 final with 5–1 as a score against fierce rivals Fenerbahçe. His contract, however, was not renewed since his team was not able to win 2004–05 Süper Lig title over Fenerbahçe during the centennial of the club.

Politehnica Timișoara[edit]

Steaua București sought to hire Hagi in the summer of 2005, but Hagi's requested wage could not be met by the Romanian champions, and he became manager of Politehnica Timișoara instead. However, after a string of poor results and disagreements with management, he left the club after a few months. Constanța's main stadium used to bear his name, but the name was changed after Hagi signed with Politehnica Timișoara.[13]

Steaua București[edit]

From June to September 2007, Hagi coached Steaua București, had a mediocre start in the internal championship mainly due to the large number of unavailable injured players, and managed to qualify the team for the second time in line to the UEFA Champions League group stages, passing two qualifying rounds. He resigned due to a long series of conflicts with club owner Gigi Becali, which also happens to be his godson. The main reason for resigning was the owner's policy of imposing players, making the team's strategy and threats. Hagi's resigned mere hours after Steaua's first Champions League match away against Slavia Prague, a 2–1 loss.

Galatasaray return[edit]

After Frank Rijkaard was sacked as coach, Hagi signed a one and a half year contract with Galatasaray on 21 October 2010. His official presentation was held on 22 October.[14] His former teammate from Galatasaray Tugay Kerimoğlu assisted him in Istanbul, but he was sacked on 22 March 2011 after a series of poor results in the Süper Lig.

Viitorul Constanța[edit]

In September 2014, Hagi appointed himself manager of Viitorul Constanța, in addition to being the owner and charmain of the club. Successfully avoiding relegation in his first season, Viitorul went on to be the season's wonder in the 2015–16 season, finishing the first half of the regular season on 3rd place, which led Hagi to being named Romania Coach of the Year. Eventually, Viitorul finished the regular season on 4th place, earning their first play-off qualification. Viitorul finished the play-off on 5th place, but qualified for the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round due to Dinamo București's insolvency. In their first European match, Viitorul were defeated 0–5 by Gent at the Ghelamco Arena, and were eliminated after a 0–0 home draw.

Viitorul won their maiden league title, being 2016–17 Liga I champions after a 1–0 home victory over CFR Cluj; they finished the play-off with 44 points, same as Steaua București, but on a better head-to-head record after a 3–1 home victory over Steaua. As a result, Hagi won his second Romania Coach of the Year award.

Style of play[edit]

A talented left-footed attacking midfielder, Hagi's playing style was frequently compared with Diego Maradona's throughout his career, due to his technical ability as well as his temperamental character and leadership;[15][16][17][18][19] as a youth, he was mainly inspired by compatriots Anghel Iordănescu and Ion Dumitru.[16] A quick, highly creative, and mobile advanced playmaker, Hagi was also tactically versatile, and capable of playing in several midfield and offensive positions on either wing or through the middle, due to his ability with both feet, despite being naturally left-footed, although he had a preference for using his stronger foot; his preferred position was in a free role as a classic number 10, but he was also used as a second striker on occasion.[1][3][17][20][21][22][23] Hagi was renowned in particular for his first touch and speed on the ball, as well as his timing, interpretation of space, bursts of acceleration, and dribbling skills, which enabled him to get past defenders; he was also highly regarded for his vision and precise passing,[1][3][17][24] although he was capable of both scoring and assisting goals, and was also an accurate finisher and set-piece taker, who had a penchant for scoring goals from powerful, bending long range strikes.[1][3][16][17][20][25] In spite of his small stature, Hagi possessed significant upper body strength, which, along with his control, aided him in protecting the ball from opponents, and allowed him to create space for himself or his teammates.[16][20][26] Despite his skill and his reputation as one of the greatest number 10s of his generation, his career was marked by inconsistency at times, and he was also considered to be a controversial player, due to his rebellious and arrogant attitude, as well as his low work-rate and lack of discipline, which led him to have several disagreements with his managers, opponents, and officials.[16][22][27][28][29]

Personal life[edit]

His son Ianis, who is also a footballer was born in Istanbul, Turkey, when he was playing for Galatasaray SK.[30][31][32]

Career statistics[edit]

Club[edit]

[33][34][35][36][37]

Club performance League Cup Other Continental[nb 1] Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Romania League Cupa României Cupa Ligii Europe Total
1982–83 Farul Constanța Divizia A 18 7 – – 18 7
1983–84 Sportul Studențesc Divizia A 31 2 – 2 0 33 2
1984–85 30 20 – 2 0 32 20
1985–86 31 31 – 2 3 33 34
1986–87 16 5 – 4 1 20 6
1986–87 Steaua București Divizia A 14 10 – 1 1 15 11
1987–88 31 25 – 8 4 39 29
1988–89 30 31 – 9 6 39 37
1989–90 22 10 – 3 1 25 11
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa Europe Total
1990–91 Real Madrid La Liga 29 4 0 0 1 0 4 0 34 4
1991–92 35 12 5 1 – 10 3 50 16
Italy League Coppa Italia Supercoppa Europe Total
1992–93 Brescia Serie A 31 5 – – 31 5
1993–94 Serie B 30 9 – – 30 9
Spain League Copa del Rey Supercopa Europe Total
1994–95 Barcelona La Liga 17 4 2 1 2 0 2 0 23 5
1995–96 19 3 4 0 – 5 3 28 6
Turkey League Türkiye Kupası Presidential Cup Europe Total
1996–97 Galatasaray Süper Lig 30 14 1 2 2 0 3 1 36 17
1997–98 30 8 6 0 0 0 6 0 42 8
1998–99 28 14 4 1 – 8 3 40 18
1999–2000 19 12 3 1 – 15 4 37 17
2000–01 25 11 1 0 – 11 2 37 13
Country Romania 223 141 17 6 — 31 16 271 163
Spain 100 23 11 2 3 0 21 6 135 31
Italy 61 14 4 2 — — 65 16
Turkey 132 59 15 4 2 0 43 10 192 73
Total 516 237 47 14 5 0 95 32 663 283

International[edit]

[38][39]

Romania national team
Year Apps Goals
1983 5 0
1984 9 1
1985 10 4
1986 8 3
1987 8 2
1988 4 2
1989 8 0
1990 11 2
1991 6 2
1992 5 4
1993 5 1
1994 11 5
1995 3 1
1996 8 1
1997 6 4
1998 7 1
1999 4 2
2000 6 0
Total 124 35

International goals[edit]

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first

Managerial statistics[edit]

As of 2 August 2018
Team Nat From To Record
G W D L Win %
Romania Romania 2001 2001 4 1 2 1 025.00
Bursaspor Turkey 2003 2004 12 2 4 6 016.67
Galatasaray Turkey 2004 2005 47 32 6 9 068.09
Politehnica Timișoara Romania 2005 2006 16 5 4 7 031.25
Steaua București Romania 2007 2007 11 6 3 2 054.55
Galatasaray Turkey 2010 2011 24 8 6 10 033.33
Viitorul Constanța Romania 2014 present 158 76 28 54 048.10
Total 272 123 60 89 045.22

Honours[edit]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Super Cup (1986, 2000)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Gheorghe Hagi". Planet World Cup.com.
  2. ^ "Famous Romanians: Gheorghe Hagi". Romania Insider. 11 August 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Romania and Gala’s commander and king". FIFA.com. Retrieved 18 November 2013
  4. ^ "Hagi, pe locul 35 în topul celor mai buni fotbaliști ai secolului" (in Romanian). 7 November 2007.
  5. ^ a b c "World Soccer 100 Players of the Century". England Football Online.
  6. ^ "Gheorghe HAGI". FIFA.com. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  7. ^ "Golden Players take centre stage". UEFA.com. 29 November 2003. Archived from the original on 12 March 2004. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  8. ^ "Pele's list of the greatest". BBC Sport. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  9. ^ "Suma fabuloasă pe care Gică Hagi a investit-o în Academie şi facilităţile incredibile din complex" (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  10. ^ "BBC News - FOOTBALL - Penalty heartbreak for Arsenal". news.bbc.co.uk.
  11. ^ "Wall of Fame: Gheorghe Hagi". Infostrada Sports. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  12. ^ "Hagi takes an all-star bow". BBC Sport. 24 April 2001. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  13. ^ "Constanta s-a lepadat de Gheorghe Hagi". Gandul.info (in Romanian). 21 November 2005. Archived from the original on 1 July 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  14. ^ "Hagi Returns to Galatasaray!". Galatasaray.org. 21 October 2010.
  15. ^ Marino Bortoletti. "HAGI, Gheorghe" (in Italian). Treccani: Enciclopedia dello Sport (2002). Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  16. ^ a b c d e "Gheorghe Hagi: The Maradona of the Carpathians". ESPN FC. 21 May 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  17. ^ a b c d Alessandro Bezzi (24 January 2015). "GHEORGHE HAGI: STORIA IN TRE ATTI DEL MARADONA DEI CARPAZI" (in Italian). ZonaCesarini.net. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  18. ^ "Hagi and Tugay take Galatasaray helm". UEFA.com. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  19. ^ "Mondiali, -10: Pelè, Maradona e i grandi Dieci della storia" (in Italian). Sky.it. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  20. ^ a b c Jeff Prevost (22 March 2015). "Gheorghe Hagi creating a new legacy for Romanian football". World Soccer. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  21. ^ Adam Hurrey (20 June 2015). "Double trouble: why aren't there more two-footed footballers?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  22. ^ a b Michael Cox (17 December 2015). "Mesut Ozil is the rare No. 10 playing for his teammates, not individual honours". ESPN FC. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  23. ^ Paul-Daniel Zaharia (26 September 2015). "UEFA.com's weekly wonderkid: Ianis Hagi". UEFA.com. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  24. ^ Steven Goff (23 June 1998). "Romania Stuns England in Final Minutes, 2-1". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  25. ^ Rob Hughes (27 July 1994). "Barcelona Adds a 3d Virtuoso". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  26. ^ Jonathan Wilson (24 July 2017). "Why Gheorghe Hagi is a footballing icon". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  27. ^ "Hagi's step too far". BBC. 13 March 2001. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  28. ^ Emmet Gates. "The Unlikely Success Story of Gheorghe Hagi at Brescia". These Football Times. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  29. ^ Sefa Atay (3 September 2010). "My Perfect 10: Gheorghe Hagi". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  30. ^ "Tatăl-antrenor, fiul-jucător. Gică şi Ianis Hagi, lângă Cruyff, Zidane și Maldini" [Father-coach, son-player. Gică and Ianis Hagi, then Cruyff, Zidane and Maldini] (in Romanian). DigiSport. 6 December 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  31. ^ "Ianis, fiul lui Hagi, dezvăluire emoționantă: "Tata ..."" [Ianis, son of Hagi, moving revelation: "Father ..."] (in Romanian). Click. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  32. ^ Gladwell, Ben (4 October 2016). "Ianis Hagi sets sights on Fiorentina debut after adapting to 'beautiful' club". ESPN FC. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  33. ^ "Gheorghe Hagi career stats". Football Database.eu. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  34. ^ "Gheorghe Hagi". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  35. ^ "Spanish La Liga & Segunda stats". LFP. Archived from the original on 25 April 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  36. ^ "Gheorghe Hagi Turkey stats". TFF. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  37. ^ "Gheorghe Hagi – Matches in European Cups". RSSSF. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  38. ^ "Gheorghe Hagi – Century of International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  39. ^ Gheorghe HAGI Archived 20 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine.. FRF. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  40. ^ Cite error: The named reference FIFA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  41. ^ Romeo Ionescu; Razvan Toma; Simon Preston; Roberto Di Maggio (25 June 2015). "Romania - List of Topscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  42. ^ Roberto Di Maggio; Roberto Mamrud; Jarek Owsianski; Davide Rota (11 June 2015). "Champions Cup/Champions League Topscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  43. ^ Razvan Toma (6 January 2016). "Romania - Player of the Year Awards". RSSSF. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  44. ^ "WORLD CUP '94; Romario and Baggio Among First All-Star Cast". The New York Times. 16 July 1994. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  45. ^ "FIFA XI's Matches - Full Info". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  46. ^ Paul-Daniel Zaharia (19 January 2011). "Hagi at the heart of golden era". UEFA.com. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  47. ^ Christopher Davies (5 March 2004). "Pele open to ridicule over top hundred". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  48. ^ "Legends". Golden Foot. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  49. ^ "Hagi e antrenorul anului 2017 în ancheta Gazetei! Pentru că ne înveți să nu cedăm în meserie, mulțumim, Gică! » Iată și ceilalți 3 laureați". Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 20 December 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.

External links[edit]

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