Gheorghe Hagi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Gheorghe Hagi

Hagi in 2014
Personal information
Date of birth	(1965-02-05) 5 February 1965 (age 59)
Place of birth	Săcele, Romania
Height	1.74 m
Playing position	Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current club	Farul Constanța (manager)
Youth career
1975–1980	FC Constanța
1980–1981	Luceafărul București
1981–1982	FC Constanța
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1982–1983	FC Constanța	18	(7)
1983–1987	Sportul Studențesc	108	(58)
1987–1990	Steaua București	97	(76)
1990–1992	Real Madrid	64	(16)
1992–1994	Brescia	61	(14)
1994–1996	Barcelona	36	(7)
1996–2001	Galatasaray	132	(59)
Total		516	(237)
National team
1983–2000	Romania	124	(35)
Teams managed
2001	Romania
2003	Bursaspor
2004–2005	Galatasaray
2005–2006	Politehnica Timișoara
2007	Steaua București
2010–2011	Galatasaray
2014–2020	Viitorul Constanța
2021–	Farul Constanța
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Gheorghe Hagi (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈɡe̯orɡe ˈhadʒʲ]; born 5 February 1965) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the owner and manager 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, and is regarded by many as the greatest Romanian footballer of all time. 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. Nicknamed "The Maradona of the Carpathians", he was a creative advanced playmaker renowned for his dribbling, technique, vision, passing and shooting.

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 FC 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, 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. Hagi was nominated six times for the Ballon d'Or, his best performance being a 4th place in 1994. 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. In 2004, he was named by Pelé as one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards Ceremony. In 1999, he was ranked at number 25 in World Soccer Magazine's list of the 100 greatest players of the 20th century.

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.

Early life

Hagi was born by Chirata Hagi, his mother, and Iancu Hagi, his father. Hagi's grandfather was one of 40,000 ethnic Aromanians who fled Greece to Romania. His mother was born in Mesolakkia Serron and her original surname was Mega. 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.” He also said "ambition is the main quality of the Aromanians".

Club career

Hagi started his career playing for the youth teams of FC Constanța under the guidance of coach Iosif Bükössy in the 1970s. He was selected by the Romanian Football Federation to join the squad of Luceafărul București in 1980, where he remained for two years. In 1982, he returned to FC Constanța, making his Divizia A debut under coach Emanoil Hașoti in a 3–0 loss against SC Bacău, but one year later, aged 18, he was prepared to make the step up to play for a top team. He was originally directed to Universitatea Craiova, but chose Sportul Studențesc of Bucharest instead.

In late 1986, Hagi transferred to Steaua București as the team prepared for the European Super Cup final against Dynamo Kyiv. The original contract was for a one-game loan only, the final. 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. During his Steaua years (1987–1990), Hagi played 97 Liga I games, scoring 76 goals, and netted 98 goals in total in 107 appearances for the club across all competitions. With the club, he 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 also won three consecutive league and Cup doubles with Steaua between 1987 and 1989. His strong performances had him linked with Arrigo Sacchi's Milan, fellow Serie A club Juventus, and German side Bayern Munich, but Nicolae Ceaușescu's communist government rejected any offer.

After impressing at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, Hagi was signed by Spanish club Real Madrid on 27 June that same year; the La Liga side paid $3.5 million to Steaua București in order to acquire him. Hagi played two seasons with Real Madrid, which were largely unsuccessful, scoring 20 goals in 84 games, and only winning the Supercopa de España; some of his most memorable performances for the club included a hat-trick in a 5–0 home win over Athletic Bilbao at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, on match-day 22 of the 1991–92 season, and a 40-yard lob against Osasuna during the same campaign. He also helped Los Blancos to reach the 1991–92 UEFA Cup semi-finals, contributing with 3 goals scored in 10 appearances. He was subsequently sold to Italian side Brescia for 8 billion lira in 1992.

Hagi began the 1992–93 season with Brescia in Serie A, but after his first season, the club was relegated to Serie B. The following season, Hagi helped the club win the Anglo-Italian Cup, with Brescia defeating Notts County 1–0 in the final at Wembley, and also helped the team finish third in Serie B and earn promotion back to Serie A. After performing memorably during the 1994 World Cup, Hagi returned to Spain, and was signed by defending La Liga champions Barcelona for £2 million, where he immediately won his second Supercopa de España title; however, he later struggled to gain playing time at the club under manager Johan Cruyff, but managed to give his contribution by scoring 3 goals in 5 matches when Barça reached the semi-finals in the 1995–96 UEFA Cup season.

After two years at Barça, Hagi signed for Turkish club Galatasaray in 1996, at the age of 31. He had been the subject of a competing transfer offer from São Paulo FC. 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. Hagi was an important member of the Galatasaray team that went on to win four consecutive league titles between 1996 and 2000. In 2000, at age 35, Hagi had one of the best seasons of his career, winning every possible major title with Galatasaray that season. Most significantly, Hagi captained the club to win the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup after defeating Arsenal on penalties in the final, following a 0–0 draw; during the match, Hagi was sent off in extra-time for punching Arsenal captain Tony Adams. Consequently, Galatasaray became the first Turkish club to win a UEFA club competition title. The team's UEFA Cup triumph was immediately followed by the UEFA Super Cup title, with a historic 2–1 win against Hagi's former club Real Madrid in extra-time. The mass hysteria caused by these wins in Istanbul raised Hagi's popularity with the fans even further, and prompted former France international Luis Fernández to say, "Hagi is like wine, the older it gets, the better it is."

When he retired in 2001, Hagi was one of the most popular players in both Turkey and Romania. 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. While coaching Galatasaray in 2004, he briefly came out of retirement to play in the testimonial game for his former teammate Suat Kaya against Turkey XI. Hagi played the first half wearing his iconic shirt number 10 and helped Galatasaray win 2–1.

International career

Gheorghe 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 friendly which ended 0–0 against Norway, played on the Ullevaal stadium from Oslo. He scored his first international goal against Northern Ireland in 1984. The following year, he was made captain for the first time, in a World Cup qualifier against the same opponent.

Although Romania failed to qualify for the 1986 World Cup, Hagi later took part at the 1990 World Cup, where he helped the team reach the round of 16, before Republic of Ireland ended their run, after winning the resulting penalty shoot-out following a 0–0 draw, with Hagi netting Romania's first spot kick. Four years later, he led the Romanian team to its best ever international performance at the 1994 World Cup, as they reached the quarter-finals, only to lose to Sweden in a penalty shoot-out once again. 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, a 3–1 win against Colombia, Hagi provided two assists and scored one of the most memorable goals of the tournament, curling in a 40-yard lob over Colombian goalkeeper Óscar Córdoba who was caught out of position; the goal was later voted the fifth greatest World Cup goal in a FIFAworldcup.com poll. Hagi was named in the Team of the Tournament for his performances.

Four years later, he captained Romania at the 1998 World Cup; Hagi initially communicated that France '98 would be his final tournament. Romania topped their group, which featured England, Colombia, and Tunisia, and reached the round of 16, before being eliminated by Croatia. After the tournament, Hagi retired 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 2–0 quarter-final loss against eventual runners-up Italy; this was his final international appearance.

Hagi retired from professional football in 2001, at the age of 36; 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. At the time of his retirement, his 124 caps for his country were a national record, which has since been surpassed by Dorinel Munteanu. He currently still holds the record of most goals scored for the Romania national team, alongside Adrian Mutu, with 35.

Career as coach

Romania national team

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, Hagi was sacked. His only notable achievement during the six months as Romania's manager was the win in Budapest against Hungary.

Bursaspor

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

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

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.

FC Steaua București

From June to September 2007, Hagi coached FC 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 FC Steaua's first Champions League match away against Slavia Prague, a 2–1 loss.

Galatasaray return

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. 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

In September 2014, Hagi appointed himself manager of Viitorul Constanța, in addition to being the owner and chairman 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 be 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 FCSB, but on a better head-to-head record after a 3–1 home victory over FCSB. As a result, Hagi won his second Romania Coach of the Year award.

Style of play

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; as a youth, he was mainly inspired by compatriots Anghel Iordănescu and Ion Dumitru. 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. 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, 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. 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. 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.

Personal life

Hagi is currently married to Marilena Hagi, with whom he has two children. His son, Ianis Hagi, is also a footballer. His daughter, Kira Hagi, is an actress.

Hagi was chosen to dub in Romanian the character Dagda in the animated movie Epic.

Career statistics

Club

International

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hagi goal.

List of international goals scored by Gheorghe Hagi

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	12 September 1984	Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland	Northern Ireland	1–1	2–3	1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	30 January 1985	Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal	Portugal	3–2	3–2	Friendly
3	3 April 1985	Stadionul Central, Craiova, Romania	Turkey	1–0	3–0	1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
4	6 June 1985	Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland	Finland	1–0	1–1	1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	28 August 1985	Stadionul 1 Mai, Timișoara, Romania	Finland	1–0	2–0	1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	23 April 1986	Stadionul 1 Mai, Timișoara, Romania	Soviet Union	1–0	2–1	Friendly
7	20 August 1986	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway	Norway	2–0	2–2	Friendly
8	10 September 1986	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Austria	4–0	4–1	UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying
9	11 March 1987	Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece	Greece	1–1	1–1	Friendly
10	25 March 1987	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Albania	3–1	5–1	UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying
11	20 September 1988	Stadionul 1 Mai, Constanța, Romania	Albania	2–0	3–0	Friendly
12	2 November 1988	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Greece	2–0	3–0	1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
13	3 August 1990	Stadion Allmend, Lucerne, Switzerland	Switzerland	1–0	1–2	Friendly
14	25 April 1990	Kiryat Eliezer Stadium, Haifa, Israel	Israel	2–0	4–1	Friendly
15	27 March 1991	Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	1–0	3–1	UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying
16	16 October 1991	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Scotland	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying
17	6 May 1992	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Faroe Islands	2–0	7–0	FIFA World Cup 1994 qualification
18	20 May 1992	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Wales	1–0	5–1	FIFA World Cup 1994 qualification
19				5–1
20	29 November 1992	Neo GSZ Stadium, Larnaca, Cyprus	Cyprus	3–1	4–1	FIFA World Cup 1994 qualification
21	17 November 1993	Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff, Wales	Wales	1–0	2–1	FIFA World Cup 1994 qualification
22	14 June 1994	Trabuco Hills Stadium, Mission Viejo, United States	Sweden	1–1	1–1	Friendly
23	18 June 1994	Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States	Colombia	2–0	3–1	1994 FIFA World Cup
24	22 June 1994	Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, United States	Switzerland	1–1	1–4	1994 FIFA World Cup
25	3 July 1994	Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States	Argentina	3–1	3–2	1994 FIFA World Cup
26	12 November 1994	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Slovakia	2–0	3–2	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
27	15 October 1995	Všešportový areál, Košice, Slovakia	Slovakia	1–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
28	9 October 1996	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland	Iceland	2–0	4–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
29	29 March 1997	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Liechtenstein	4–0	8–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
30	10 September 1997	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Iceland	1–0	4–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
31				4–0
32	11 October 1997	Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Ireland	Republic of Ireland	1–0	1–1	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
33	3 June 1998	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Paraguay	3–2	3–2	Friendly
34	4 September 1999	Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia	Slovakia	2–1	5–1	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
35	8 September 1999	Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania	Portugal	1–0	1–1	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying

Managerial statistics

Team	From	To	Record
			G	W	D	L	Win %
Romania	1 September 2001	27 November 2001	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&04.&&&&&04	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&02.&&&&&02	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	&&&&&&&&&&&&&025.&&&&&025.00
Bursaspor	1 July 2003	15 November 2003	&&&&&&&&&&&&&012.&&&&&012	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&02.&&&&&02	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&04.&&&&&04	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&06.&&&&&06	&&&&&&&&&&&&&016.67000016.67
Galatasaray	22 March 2004	28 May 2005	&&&&&&&&&&&&&048.&&&&&048	&&&&&&&&&&&&&034.&&&&&034	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&05.&&&&&05	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&09.&&&&&09	&&&&&&&&&&&&&070.83000070.83
Politehnica Timișoara	7 November 2005	21 May 2006	&&&&&&&&&&&&&017.&&&&&017	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&05.&&&&&05	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&04.&&&&&04	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&08.&&&&&08	&&&&&&&&&&&&&029.41000029.41
Steaua București	1 July 2007	20 September 2007	&&&&&&&&&&&&&011.&&&&&011	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&06.&&&&&06	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&03.&&&&&03	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&02.&&&&&02	&&&&&&&&&&&&&054.55000054.55
Galatasaray	21 October 2010	24 March 2011	&&&&&&&&&&&&&024.&&&&&024	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&08.&&&&&08	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&06.&&&&&06	&&&&&&&&&&&&&010.&&&&&010	&&&&&&&&&&&&&033.33000033.33
Viitorul Constanța	15 September 2014	1 August 2020	&&&&&&&&&&&&0306.&&&&&0306	&&&&&&&&&&&&0153.&&&&&0153	&&&&&&&&&&&&&063.&&&&&063	&&&&&&&&&&&&&090.&&&&&090	&&&&&&&&&&&&&050.&&&&&050.00
Farul Constanța	21 June 2021	Present	&&&&&&&&&&&&0156.&&&&&0156	&&&&&&&&&&&&&069.&&&&&069	&&&&&&&&&&&&&038.&&&&&038	&&&&&&&&&&&&&049.&&&&&049	&&&&&&&&&&&&&044.23000044.23
Total			&&&&&&&&&&&&0578.&&&&&0578	&&&&&&&&&&&&0278.&&&&&0278	&&&&&&&&&&&&0125.&&&&&0125	&&&&&&&&&&&&0175.&&&&&0175	&&&&&&&&&&&&&048.10000048.10

Honours

See also

In Spanish: Gheorghe Hagi para niños

• List of top international men's football goalscorers by country
• The 100 Greatest Players of the 20th Century
• List of footballers with 100 or more caps