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Gheorghe Hagi
Romanian footballer and manager (born 1965) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Gheorghe Hagi (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈɡe̯orɡe ˈhadʒʲ] ⓘ; born 5 February 1965) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the owner of Liga I club Farul Constanța. Deployed as an attacking midfielder, Hagi was considered one of the best players in the world during the 1980s and '90s,[3] and is regarded by many as the greatest Romanian footballer of all time.[4][5] Fans of Turkish club Galatasaray, with whom Hagi ended his career, called him Comandante ("[The] Commander"), while he was known as Regele ("The King") to Romanian supporters.[6] Nicknamed "The Maradona of the Carpathians", he was a creative advanced playmaker renowned for his dribbling, technique, vision, passing and shooting.[6][7][8]
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After starting his playing career in Romania, with FC Constanța, and subsequently featuring for Sportul Studențesc and Steaua București, he later also had spells in Spain with Real Madrid and Barcelona, Italy with Brescia, and Turkey, with Galatasaray. Hagi is one of the few footballers to have played for both Spanish rival clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona. Throughout his club career, he won numerous titles while playing in four different countries: he won three Romanian League titles, two Cupa României titles, and the European Super Cup with Steaua București – also reaching the final of the 1988–89 European Cup –, a Supercopa de España title with Real Madrid, the Anglo-Italian Cup with Brescia, another Supercopa de España title with Barcelona, and four Süper Lig titles, two Turkish Cups, two Turkish Super Cups, the UEFA Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup with Galatasaray.
At international level, Hagi played for the Romania national team in three FIFA World Cups, in 1990, 1994 (where he was named in the World Cup All-Star Team after helping his nation to the quarter-finals of the tournament) and 1998; as well as in three UEFA European Championships, in 1984, 1996 and 2000. He won a total of 124 caps for Romania between 1983 and 2000,[a] making him the second-most capped Romanian player of all time, behind only Dorinel Munteanu; he is also the joint all-time leading goalscorer of the Romania national side (alongside Adrian Mutu) with 35 goals.
Hagi is considered a hero both in his homeland and in Turkey. He was named Romanian Footballer of the Year a record seven times, and is regarded as one of the best football players of his generation.[9][10] Hagi was nominated six times for the Ballon d'Or, his best performance being a 4th place in 1994.[11] 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.[12] In 2004, he was named by Pelé as one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards Ceremony.[13] In 1999, he was ranked at number 25 in World Soccer Magazine's list of the 100 greatest players of the 20th century.[10]
Following his retirement in 2001, Hagi pursued a managerial career, coaching the Romania national team, as well as clubs in both Romania and Turkey, namely Bursaspor, Galatasaray, Politehnica Timișoara, Steaua București, Viitorul Constanța and Farul Constanța. In 2009, he founded Romanian club Viitorul Constanța, which he has coached between 2014 and 2020. Hagi also established his namesake football academy, one of the largest in Southeastern Europe.[14]
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Early life
Hagi was born to Iancu and Chirata Hagi on 5 February 1965.[15] Hagi's grandfather was one of 40,000 ethnic Aromanians who fled Greece to Romania. His mother was born in Mesolakkia, Greece, and her original surname was Mega.[16] He set up home in the village of Săcele, near Constanța on the Black Sea coast. Hagi has fond memories of his grandfather who, like many Aromanians, was a shepherd. According to him, "I was proud when he, who was called Gheorghe like me, asked me to go and spend the whole day with him minding the sheep," he said. "I loved to eat cheese and tomatoes with him, and that is still my favorite food today."[17][18][19] He also said "ambition is the main quality of the Aromanians".[20][21]
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Club career
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FC Constanța
"I knew he would soon be one of the best players in the world. He could do everything with the ball. To watch him was like watching a fairytale."
–Iosif Bükössy, Hagi's first coach[17]
Hagi started his career playing for the youth teams of FC Constanța under the guidance of coach Iosif Bükössy in 1978.[22][23] He was selected by the Romanian Football Federation to join the squad of Luceafărul București in 1980, where he remained for two years.[22][24] In 1982, he returned to FC Constanța, making his Divizia A debut on 11 September at age 17, being a starter under coach Emanoil Hașoti in a 3–0 away loss to SC Bacău.[22][25] On 6 November he scored his first goal when he defeated goalkeeper Vasile Iordache with a 35-meters shot, closing the score in the 2–2 against Steaua București.[26][27][28] In the Sportul newspaper, the chronicle of the match was signed by Stelian Trandafirescu, under the title "A junior (Hagi) stops the Bucharest team!" in which the journalist described the goal as:"Hagi scored sensationally (what an effective shot!), from distance".[26][27] Until the end of the season he would score six more goals, including two doubles against CS Târgoviște and Politehnica Timișoara, however the team finished on the last place, relegating to Divizia B.[22][26][28]
Sportul Studențesc
He was originally directed to Universitatea Craiova, but chose Sportul Studențesc of Bucharest instead where he would form a successful offensive couple with Marcel Coraș.[17][22][29] The highlights of his years with Sportul were becoming the top-scorer of the league for two consecutive seasons, in the first one with 20 goals scored, then in the second with 31 which include six in a 7–5 win over Olt Scornicești in the last round, at both times having a hard competition with Steaua's Victor Pițurcă, also those 31 goals scored in the 1985–86 season, helped the team finish runner-up in the league.[22][30] During his period spent with The Students, Hagi started playing in European competitions, making 10 appearances with four goals scored in the UEFA Cup over the course of four seasons, most notably playing in a historical 1–0 victory against Inter Milan from the first round of the 1984–85 season, then in the same round from the following edition he scored a hat-trick in a 4–4 against Neuchâtel Xamax, however on both occasions the team did not manage to qualify further, losing on the aggregate result.[22][31]
Steaua București
In late 1986, Hagi transferred to Steaua București as the team prepared for the European Super Cup final against Dynamo Kyiv.[17] The original contract was for a one-game loan only, the final.[17] However, after winning the final, in which Hagi scored the only goal of the match from a free kick, Steaua did not want to release him back to Sportul Studențesc and retained him.[17][32][33] By the end of his first season he helped The Military Men win The Double, coach Anghel Iordănescu giving him 14 league appearances in which he scored 10 goals, also appearing the full 90 minutes in the 1–0 victory from the Cupa României final over rivals Dinamo București.[22][34][35]
In the next season, Hagi was used by Iordănescu in 31 league games in which he scored 25 goals which helped the club win another title, and made another continental performance as they reached the semi-finals of the European Cup where they lost in favor of Benfica, Hagi contributing with two doubles scored against MTK Budapest and Omonia Nicosia in the eight matches played, being the competition's top-scorer alongside six other players.[22][32][34][36][37]
In the 1988–89 season, the team won another Double, Hagi managing to score 31 goals in the 30 league matches he was played by Iordănescu, also scoring the only goal in another 1–0 victory in the Cupa României final over Dinamo and made another European performance by playing nine games in the European Cup campaign, including all the minutes from the 4–0 loss to AC Milan from the final, scoring three goals against Spartak Prague, two against Spartak Moscow and one in the semi-finals against Galatasaray.[22][32][34][38][39] In addition to his goal scored in the Cupa României final, he also scored four league goals in the derby with Dinamo which helped his side earn one victory and two draws.[40][41] On 6 May 1990, Hagi made his last appearance for Steaua, a Divizia A match in which he scored once in the 4–0 success over Corvinul Hunedoara, having a total of 222 matches with 141 goals scored in the competition, also in December 1988 he netted five goals against the same opponent in a 11–0 win which is the biggest goal difference victory for Steaua in its first division history.[22][40]
His strong performances had him linked with Arrigo Sacchi's AC Milan, fellow Serie A club Juventus, and German side Bayern Munich, but Nicolae Ceaușescu's communist government rejected any offer.[17]
Real Madrid
After impressing at the 1990 World Cup, Hagi was signed on 27 June that same year by Spanish club Real Madrid who paid a sum estimated by the press in between 3.5 – 4.3 million$ to Steaua in order to acquire him.[6][42][43][44] He made his La Liga debut on 1 September, being used all the minutes by coach John Toshack in a 1–0 home win over Castellón which was the club's 1000th victory in the competition.[45][46] On 21 September he netted his first goal by closing the score in a 3–1 away victory against Real Zaragoza.[45][47] During his first season, Toshack got replaced with Alfredo Di Stéfano and under his command he managed to win the Supercopa de España, playing in the final minutes of the 1–0 win from the first leg with rivals Barcelona, being unable to play in the second because of an injury.[48][49][50]
In the following season under the guidance of Radomir Antić, Hagi scored more often, most notably managing a hat-trick in a 5–0 home win over Athletic Bilbao and a double in another victory against Osasuna, one of the goals being scored from a folha seca from the center of the field.[6][48][51][52][53] In 2013, the Marca newspaper organized a poll for the most beautiful long-distance goal in Real Madrid's history and Hagi's folha seca with Osasuna came on the first place.[54] He also helped Los Blancos reach the 1991–92 UEFA Cup semi-finals, making 10 appearances in the campaign, scoring against FC Utrecht, Neuchâtel Xamax and in the lost semi-final with Torino.[32][48][55] With one round before the end of the season, Real was on first place, needing a victory against Tenerife to win the title but after leading 2–0 at half-time with one goal netted by Hagi, they ended up losing 3–2 and Barcelona won the championship.[48][56] The team would eventually also lose the Copa del Rey final with 2–0 in a derby against Atlético Madrid in which coach Leo Beenhakker used Hagi as a starter.[48][57]
Brescia
In 1992 he was transferred for 8 billion lira (2.4 million$) by Mircea Lucescu's "Brescia Romena" as during around that period his fellow Romanians Florin Răducioiu, Ioan Sabău, Dorin Mateuț and Dănuț Lupu also played for the club.[6][43][51][58][59][60] He made his Serie A debut on 5 September 1992 in a 0–0 draw against Napoli in which he received a red card, one month later scoring his first goal in a 4–1 home win over Foggia.[61] At the end of his first season, the team was relegated to Serie B.[6][51][58] After the relegation, Hagi was wanted by Napoli who needed a replacement for Diego Maradona but Brescia denied his transfer.[62][63]
In his second season with Brescia, he helped them win the Anglo-Italian Cup, after defeating Notts County 1–0 in the final at Wembley and also they finished third in Serie B and earned promotion back to Serie A.[51][58]
Barcelona
After performing memorably during the 1994 World Cup, Hagi returned to Spain, and was signed by Barcelona from Brescia for 3.2 million$ where he was coached by his childhood idol Johan Cruyff.[6][43][59][51][64][65] His first performance was winning the Supercopa de España against Real Zaragoza where in the first leg, Hristo Stoichkov opened the score after a free kick executed by him and defended by the goalkeeper, then in the second leg Hagi played in the first 10 minutes but was replaced after suffering an injury.[49][64] He made his league debut for Barça on 16 September 1994 in a goalless draw in the derby against Espanyol, then in the following round he netted a double in a 4–0 win over Compostela.[66] In December 1994 he scored from the center of the field a goal in an away victory against Celta Vigo which in 2007 was nominated by the Mundo Deportivo newspaper for the most beautiful goal in Barcelona's history.[67]
In the following season he was teammate with compatriot Gheorghe Popescu.[68] Hagi scored three goals in five matches from the 1995–96 UEFA Cup campaign against Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Sevilla and in the lost semi-final with Bayern Munich.[32][69] Barcelona reached the 1996 Copa del Rey final where they lost 1–0 after extra time against Atlético Madrid in which Cruyff used Hagi all the minutes.[70]
Galatasaray
"Hagi is like wine, the older it gets, the better it is."
–Luis Fernández, former French international[6]
In 1996, 31-year-old Hagi signed for Turkish club Galatasaray who paid 3.5 million$ to Barcelona for his transfer, during this spell reuniting with Popescu, Romanians Adrian Ilie and Iulian Filipescu also being at the club.[6][43][71] He had been the subject of a competing transfer offer from São Paulo.[62][72] He made his Turkish league debut on 9 August under coach Fatih Terim, scoring a brace in a 4–0 win over Vanspor.[73] Although in the twilight of his career, at Galatasaray, he was extremely successful and became highly popular among the Turkish supporters, due to his excellent performances for the club as in his first four seasons, domestically he won four league titles, two Turkish Cups and two Turkish Super Cups.[6][22] His highest success was when at age 35 he captained the club to win the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup, scoring two goals in the campaign against Borussia Dortmund and in the semi-finals against Leeds United, defeating Arsenal on penalties in the final, following a 0–0 draw and during the match, Hagi was sent off in extra time for punching Arsenal captain Tony Adams.[22][32][74][75] Consequently, Galatasaray became the first Turkish club to win a UEFA club competition title.[74]
In June 2000, Romanian Mircea Lucescu replaced Fatih Terim at the Cim Bom Bom side, together winning the 2000 UEFA Super Cup, after a 2–1 victory against Real Madrid.[32][76][77] They also reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League during the 2000–01 season where in the first group stage, Hagi netted a goal with a spectacular long-distance shot in a win over AS Monaco, then in the second group stage he scored his last goal in an European competition following a deep launch from Capone, then succeeding a lob over goalkeeper Dida in a 2–0 victory against AC Milan.[43][78][79] In the quarter-finals they earned a 3–2 victory in the first leg against Real Madrid but lost with 3–0 in the second one.[76][80] In 2014, UEFA placed his goal with Monaco in a top 60 all-time best goals scored in European club and national teams competitions, while in 2020, the journalists of France Football ranked it on the 19th place of most beautiful goals scored in the Champions League.[43][78][81][82]
On 26 May 2001, Hagi played his last game as a professional footballer, managing to score a brace and provide an assist in Galatasaray's 4–0 win over Trabzonspor in the Turkish league.[83][84] Hagi drew praise from the Galatasaray supporters for his performances during his time with the club, who adopted the chant "I Love You Hagi" in his honour.[83][85]
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International career
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Early years and Euro 1984
Hagi made his debut for Romania on 10 August 1983 at the age of 18, under coach Mircea Lucescu who used him in all the minutes of a friendly which ended 0–0 draw against Norway, played at the Ullevaal stadium from Oslo.[6][86][87][88] After the game, the Sportul newspaper wrote:"Hagi is the main win of the match with Norway".[86]
He was selected by Lucescu to be part of the squad that went at Euro 1984 as the team needed a replacement for injured Ilie Balaci.[87][89][90] In the first game which was a 1–1 against Spain he was sent in the 76th minute in order to replace Romulus Gabor, then in the 2–1 loss to West Germany he was a starter but replaced at half-time with Ion Zare and in the 1–0 loss against Portugal he did not play as Romania did not manage to get past the group stage.[87][89][90] The 19-year-old Hagi's performance at the final tournament was criticized by Lucescu:"Țicleanu and Hagi failed to make a real contribution after entering. Hagi, especially, isolated himself on the wing, he was not able to make up for the great absence of Balaci".[89]
He scored his first international goal against Northern Ireland in a 3–2 loss at the 1986 World Cup qualifiers.[8][86][87] In the second leg with the Northern Irish he was made captain for the first time, the game ending with another loss which mathematically erased their chances to qualify at the final tournament.[17][86][87]
1990 World Cup
He played six matches and scored once from a penalty in a 3–0 victory against Greece at the 1990 World Cup qualifiers.[87][91] At the final tournament, coach Emeric Jenei could not use him in the first match which was a victory against Soviet Union as he was suspended for receiving a red card in the last qualifier match with Denmark.[87][92] He played in the following two which were a loss to Cameroon and a draw against Argentina as Romania got past the group stage, reaching the round of 16 where the journey ended in favor of Republic of Ireland at the penalty shoot-out following a 0–0 draw, with Hagi netting Romania's first spot kick.[87][93]
1994 World Cup
Hagi scored five goals at the 1994 World Cup qualifiers, including a brace in a 5–1 home win over Wales.[87][94] In the last group game of the qualifiers, which was also against Wales, he opened the score, the first half ending 1–0.[94] Then Hagi, feeling that his teammates were too relaxed, asked coach Anghel Iordănescu to leave the dressing room and let him talk to them, afterwards he started punching the closet and held a motivational speech.[94] The match finished with a 2–1 victory which earned Romania the mathematical qualification to the final tournament, also this game is considered by Romanian journalists as the birth of Romania's "Golden Generation".[94][95]
Hagi captained The Tricolours at the final tournament, in the first match against Colombia he provided the assists for both of Florin Răducioiu's goals in the 3–1 win and he defeated goalkeeper Óscar Córdoba with a spectacular 35-meters lob from the side of the field in which the ball was not spinning in the air.[87][96] After getting past the group stage, they eliminated Argentina with a 3–2 score in which Hagi gave an assist to one of Ilie Dumitrescu's goals, then scored himself after Dumitrescu returned the favor.[87][97] In the quarter-finals, Romania faced Sweden, the score was 2–2 after extra time, reaching the penalty shoot-out where Hagi netted his shot but two of his teammates missed, while all the Swedes scored, thus the campaign ended.[6][87][98]
Hagi was named in the Team of the Tournament for his performances.[99] His goal with Columbia was listed in 2010 as one of the most beautiful ten goals scored in the World Cup by the Agence France-Presse news agency, then in 2014 Diario AS placed it on the third place and L'Équipe on the 16th.[100]
Euro 1996
At the successful Euro 1996 qualifiers he played six games and scored two goals in two victories against Slovakia.[87][101] At the final tournament, Iordănescu used him all the minutes in all the games from the group stage but Romania lost all of them to France, Bulgaria and Spain.[87][102]
1998 World Cup
At the 1998 World Cup qualifiers he made six appearances, scoring three goals against Iceland, one against Liechtenstein and a spectacular one in Dublin with a shot from a 35-meters free kick in a 1–1 draw against the Republic of Ireland.[43][87][103] Hagi was used as captain by Iordănescu in all four games at the final tournament as in the group stage they earned victories in the first two rounds against Colombia and England, thus mathematically being qualified before the last group match with Tunisia where in order to celebrate, they all dyed their hair blonde and presented themselves like that at the game.[87][104] They were defeated with 1–0 by Croatia in the round of 16 after a goal scored from a penalty by Davor Šuker.[87][105]
Euro 2000
After World Cup 1998, Hagi retired from the national team.[106][107][108] Before a game with rivals Hungary at the Euro 2000 qualifiers, Hagi was invited by Adrian Păunescu at his "Meciul Meciurilor" (The Match of Matches) TV show.[106][107][108] During the show, Păunescu and all his guests which were names from Romanian football but also from politics tried over the course of about five hours to convince Hagi to come back to the national team, also over 100 fans spontaneously came in front of the TV station's headquarters to cheer him even do it was past midnight.[106][107][108] Seeing all of this happening, Hagi recalls saying to himself in those moments:"Who are you, for an entire country to beg for you?!"[106] He played in the 2–0 victory against the Hungarians, having a praised evolution by the press even do coach Victor Pițurcă used him only in the first half as he injured his shoulder.[106][107][108] At the end of the game he was carried on the arms of his colleagues to tour the stadium, although his shoulder was immobilized in a splint.[106][107][108] In these qualifiers he would go on to score his last two goals for the national team in a win over Slovakia and a draw against Portugal.[87]
At the final tournament, coach Emerich Jenei used him as a starter in the first two group stage matches, receiving a yellow card in each of them which got him suspended for the decisive game against England but his teammates managed to win it without him and qualify to the quarter-finals.[87][109] There they lost with 2–0 to eventual runners-up Italy in which Hagi received a red card in the 59th minute.[87][109][110]
Retirement
Hagi retired from professional football in 2001, at the age of 36 and that year he was given a send-off in a testimonial game on 24 April, called "Gala Hagi," featuring a team of Romanian All-Stars against a team of international All-Stars.[111] At the time of his retirement, his 124 caps[a] for his country were a national record, which has since been surpassed by Dorinel Munteanu.[112] He currently still holds the record of most goals scored for Romania, alongside Adrian Mutu, with 35.[6][8][113]
For representing his country at six final tournaments, Hagi was decorated by President of Romania Traian Băsescu on 25 March 2008 with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" – (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class II.[114] In 2013 he was Decorated at the Romanian Royal House with the "Nihil Sine Deo" medal by Margareta of Romania, Hagi saying at the event:"It's an important moment for me, I'm happy, I'm glad because all the sacrifices I've made in life were worth it, and right now I feel even more honored and responsible and I have more ambition to keep going, to keep working and giving my best for football, for children".[115] On 12 March 2025, Hagi was decorated by President Ilie Bolojan with the Order of the Star of Romania in the rank of Knight, the highest distinction of the Romanian state.[116]
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Managerial career
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Romania
In 2001, Hagi was named the head coach of Romania, replacing Ladislau Bölöni, who left the squad to coach Sporting Lisbon.[117][118] He led the team in the final matches of the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, the first match being a 2–0 away win over Hungary, followed by a 1–1 against Georgia.[117][119] Afterwards the team reached a play-off where they faced Slovenia, losing 2–1 in the first leg and in the second the result was a 1–1 where by the end of the game Hagi was using five forwards.[117][119][120]
Bursaspor
In July 2003, Hagi took over as coach of Turkish Süper Lig side Bursaspor, transferring Romanian players Ionel Ganea, Bogdan Vintilă, Iulian Miu and Cornel Frăsineanu to the club.[117][121][122] However his spell was unsuccessful, earning just two victories out of 12 games, leaving in November.[117][121]
Galatasaray
Hagi then became manager of Galatasaray in March 2004, replacing Fatih Terim, having fellow Romanian players Florin Bratu and Ovidiu Petre in the squad, finishing the season on the sixth place.[117][123][124][125] In the following season, the team finished third in the league and won the Turkish Cup after a 5–1 victory in the final with fierce rivals Fenerbahçe, also he promoted young Arda Turan to the first team.[117][123][124][126] Afterwards he was replaced with Eric Gerets.[123][124]
Politehnica Timișoara
Hagi was hired by Politehnica Timișoara in November 2005, managing to win his first two matches, a 2–0 over Oțelul Galați and a 1–0 against Pandurii Târgu Jiu.[127] During this spell, he gave the first league debut to Gabriel Torje.[117][127][128] However, after a string of poor results and disagreements with the management, he left the club in May 2006 after a 2–0 loss to Oțelul.[117][127] His decision to coach Politehnica Timișoara did not go well with Farul's fans, as Constanța's main stadium used to bear his name since 2000, asking for the name to be changed.[129]
Steaua București
From June to September 2007, Hagi coached Steaua București, managing to get past Zagłębie Lubin and BATE Borisov in the Champions League qualifying rounds, reaching the group stage where they were defeated 2–1 by Slavia Prague in the first match.[117][130][131] After the defeat with Slavia he resigned due to a long series of conflicts with club owner Gigi Becali, who also happens to be his godson.[117][130][131] The main reason for resigning was the owner's policy of imposing players, making the team's strategy and threatening him that he would be fired if he won't comply.[117][131][132]
Return to Galatasaray
After Frank Rijkaard was sacked as coach, Hagi signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with Galatasaray on 21 October 2010.[117][123][124] He brought to the team Bogdan Stancu, Emmanuel Culio and Róbinson Zapata from the Romanian league.[133] Under his guidance, the team's results did not improve, so by the end of March 2011 his contract was terminated after a series of poor results.[117][134]
Viitorul Constanța
In 2009, Hagi created a football academy in Constanța which he named after himself and also a senior football club named Viitorul Constanța which he registered in the third league, being its president.[117][135][136] In a few years the team managed to promote to the first league, then in 2014 he installed himself as head coach.[117][135] On 5 December 2014, he gave the senior debut to his son, Ianis.[137] He had a good season in the 2015–16 edition, finishing on the fifth place and qualifying to the Europa League, also being named Romania Coach of the Year in 2015.[138] In their first European match, Viitorul were defeated 5–0 by Gent at the Ghelamco Arena, being eliminated from the Europa League third qualifying round after a 0–0 in the second leg.[139]
Viitorul won their first league title in the 2016–17 season after a 1–0 home victory over CFR Cluj in the last round, finishing on equal points with FCSB but on a better head-to-head record and as a result, Hagi won his second Romania Coach of the Year award.[117][140] Hagi would go on to win two more trophies with Viitorul, first the 2018–19 Cupa României after a 2–1 victory against Astra Giurgiu in the final and shortly afterwards the 2019 Supercupa României when they defeated CFR Cluj with 1–0.[117][141]
Farul Constanța
At a press conference from 21 June 2021, Hagi, together with club president Gheorghe Popescu and Farul Constanța's owner Ciprian Marica announced that Viitorul and Farul had merged into one team which would have the name of the latter and Hagi would be head coach.[142]
Led by Hagi, Farul won their first league title in the 2022–23 season, earning the points that mathematical made them champions with one round before the end of the season, after a 3–2 win against FCSB, coming back from 0–2.[117][143]
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Style of play
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Perspective
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;[8][52][144][145][146] as a youth, he was mainly inspired by compatriots Anghel Iordănescu and Ion Dumitru.[8] A quick, agile, 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.[3][6][144][147][148][149][150] 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,[3][6][144][151] 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.[3][6][8][144][147][152] Despite his small stature and slender build, 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.[8][17][42][147] 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, aggression, unsportsmanlike behaviour, and lack of discipline, which led him to have several disagreements and confrontations with his managers, opponents, and officials.[8][17][42][51][149][153][154][155]
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Publications
On 5 February 2025, with the occasion of his 60th birthday, Hagi published his autobiography:[156]
- Hagi - Drumul meu (Hagi - My road)
Several books about Hagi were written by various authors:[157]
- Samba lui Romario și perinița lui Hagi (Romario's Samba and Hagi's Perinița) - written by George Mihalache (1994)
- Cu Hagi&Co de la Roma la New York (via Cardiff) (With Hagi&Co from Rome to New York (via Cardiff)) - written by Gheorghe Nicolaescu (1994)
- Hagi, magicianul (Hagi, the magician) - written by George Șeitan (1995)
- Hagi, stăpânul miracolelor (Hagi, the master of miracles) - written by Gheorghe Nicolaescu (1998)
- Hagi - written by Grigore Cartianu (2000 - first edition; 2000 - second edition; 2001 - third edition; 2014 - fourth edition)
- Hagi, unic într-un secol (Hagi, unique in a century) - written by Gheorghe Nicolaescu (2000 - first edition; 2001 - second edition)
- La răscruce de Hagi (At the crossroads of Hagi) - written by Mircea M. Ionescu (2005)
- Cei doi Hagi (The two Hagi) - written by Adrian Rachieru (2007)
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Personal life
Hagi is currently married to Marilena Hagi, with whom he has two children.[158] His son, Ianis Hagi, is also a footballer.[159] His daughter, Kira Hagi, is an actress.[160] He is the brother-in-law of fellow Romanian international Gheorghe Popescu who married Hagi's wife's sister.[161]
Hagi was chosen to dub in Romanian the character Dagda in the animated movie Epic.[162]
Career statistics
Club
International
- Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hagi goal.[87]
Managerial statistics
- As of 16 May 2025
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Honours
Summarize
Perspective
See also
Notes
- 125 appearances according to some sources, although, as of 2007, the FRF no longer recognises Romania's unofficial 3–1 friendly away win against the Ecuador U23 side on 22 January 1984[2]
- Appearances in the UEFA Cup
- Appearance in the European Super Cup
- Appearances in the UEFA Champions League
- Appearance(s) in the Supercopa
- Appearances in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
- Appearance in the Presidential Cup
- Seven appearances and two goals in the UEFA Champions League and eight appearances with two goals in the UEFA Cup
- 10 appearances and two goals in the UEFA Champions League and one appearances in the UEFA Super Cup
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References
External links
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