Gheorghe Hagi

Gheorghe "Gică" Hagi (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈɡe̯orɡe ˈhad͡ʒʲ] (listen); 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,[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]

Gheorghe Hagi
Hagi in 2014
Personal information
Full name Gheorghe Hagi[1]
Date of birth (1965-02-05) 5 February 1965[1]
Place of birth Săcele, Romania
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 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[lower-alpha 1] (35)
Teams managed
2001 Romania
2003 Bursaspor
2004–2005 Galatasaray
2005–2006 Politehnica Timișoara
2007 FC Steaua București
2010–2011 Galatasaray
2014–2020 Viitorul Constanța
2021– Farul Constanța
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

After starting his playing career in Romania, with Farul 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; as such, 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 Romanian 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,[lower-alpha 1] 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 Romanian 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 Romanian 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 ones in Southeastern Europe.[14]

Club career

Hagi started his career playing for the youth teams of FC Constanța under the guidance of coach Iosif Bükössy in the 1970s.[15][16][17] He was selected by the Romanian Football Federation to join the squad of Luceafărul București in 1980, where he remained for two years.[18] 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.[18][19] He was originally directed to Universitatea Craiova, but chose Sportul Studențesc of Bucharest instead.[20][21]

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.[20] However, after winning the trophy, 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.[22][23] 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.[20][21][8] 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.[23][24][25] Hagi also won three consecutive league and Cup doubles with Steaua between 1987 and 1989.[6][26] 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.[20]

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.[6][27][28][29] 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.[6][27][30][31] He also helped Los Blancos to reach the 1991–92 UEFA Cup semi-finals, contributing with 3 goals scored in 10 appearances.[18][23] He was subsequently sold to Italian side Brescia for 8 billion lira in 1992.[6][30][32]

Hagi began the 1992–93 season with Brescia in Serie A, but after his first season, the club was relegated to Serie B.[6][30][32] 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.[30][32] 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.[18][23][6][30][33]

After two years at Barça, Hagi signed for Turkish club Galatasaray in 1996, at the age of 31.[6] He had been the subject of a competing transfer offer from São Paulo FC.[34] 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.[6] 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.[23][35][36] Consequently, Galatasaray became the first Turkish club to win a UEFA club competition title.[35] 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.[23][37] 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."[6]

When he retired in 2001, Hagi was one of the most popular players in both Turkey and Romania.[6] 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.[21] 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.[38]

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.[6][39][40] He scored his first international goal against Northern Ireland in 1984.[8] The following year, he was made captain for the first time, in a World Cup qualifier against the same opponent.[20]

Although Romania failed to qualify for the 1986 World Cup,[8] 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.[41] 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.[6] 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.[42] 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.[6] Hagi was named in the Team of the Tournament for his performances.[43]

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.[6][8][44] 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.[6][8][45][46]

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.[47][48] At the time of his retirement, his 124 caps[lower-alpha 1] 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 Romanian national team, alongside Adrian Mutu, with 35.[6][8][49]

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.[50]

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.[51] 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;[8][31][52][53][54] 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][52][55][56][57][58] 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, agility, quick feet, balance, flair and dribbling skills, which enabled him to get past defenders; he was also highly regarded for his vision and precise passing,[3][6][52][59] 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][52][55][60] 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][20][28][55] 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][20][28][30][57][61][62][63]

Personal life

Gheorghe Hagi was born to Chirata Hagi, his mother, and Iancu Hagi, his father.[64] He is of Aromanian descent.[65][66][67] Hagi’s grandfather was one of 40,000 ethnic Aromanians who fled Greece to Romania. 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.”[68][69][70] He also said "ambition is the main quality of the Aromanians".[71][72] Hagi is currently married to Marilena Hagi, with whom he had two children, Ianis and Kira.[73]

His son, Ianis Hagi, who is also a footballer, was born in 1998 in Istanbul, Turkey, when he was playing for Galatasaray SK.[74][75][76] Ianis currently plays for Scottish club Rangers.

His daughter, Kira Hagi, who was born in 1996, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, when he was playing for Barcelona, is an actress.[77]

Hagi was chosen to dub in Romanian the character Dagda in the animated movie Epic, produced by 20th Century Fox according to Cinemagia.[78]

Career statistics

Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[79][80][81][82][83]
Club Season League Cup Continental[lower-alpha 2] Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
FC Constanța 1982–83 Divizia A 187––187
Sportul Studențesc 1983–84 Divizia A 31220–332
1984–85 302020–3220
1985–86 313123–3334
1986–87 16541–206
Total 108581040011862
Steaua București 1986–87 Divizia A 141011–1511
1987–88 312584–3929
1988–89 303196–3937
1989–90 221031–2511
Total 977621120011888
Real Madrid 1990–91 La Liga 29400401[lower-alpha 3]0344
1991–92 351251103–5016
Total 641651143108420
Brescia 1992–93 Serie A 31521––336
1993–94 Serie B 30921––3210
Total 611442——6516
Barcelona 1994–95 La Liga 17421202[lower-alpha 3]0235
1995–96 1934053–286
Total 3676173205111
Galatasaray 1996–97 1.Lig 301410312[lower-alpha 4]03617
1997–98 308606100428
1998–99 28144183–4018
1999–2000 191231154–3717
2000–01 251110112–3713
Total 1325915243102019273
Career total 516237306953350646276

International
Appearances and goals by national team and year[2][84]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Romania 198350
198491
1985104
198683
198782
198842
198980
1990112
199162
199254
199351
1994115
199531
199681
199764
199871
199942
200060
Total124[lower-alpha 1]35
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
112 September 1984Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland1–12–3FIFA World Cup 1986 Qualifying
230 January 1985Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal Portugal3–23–2Friendly
33 April 1985Stadionul Central, Craiova, Romania Turkey1–03–0FIFA World Cup 1986 Qualifying
46 June 1985Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland Finland1–01–1FIFA World Cup 1986 Qualifying
528 August 1985Stadionul 1 Mai, Timișoara, Romania Finland1–02–0FIFA World Cup 1986 Qualifying
623 April 1986Stadionul 1 Mai, Timișoara, Romania Soviet Union1–02–1Friendly
720 August 1986Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway Norway2–02–2Friendly
810 September 1986Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania Austria4–04–1UEFA Euro 1988 Qualifying
911 March 1987Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece Greece1–11–1Friendly
1025 March 1987Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania Albania3–15–1UEFA Euro 1988 Qualifying
1120 September 1988Stadionul 1 Mai, Constanța, Romania Albania2–03–0Friendly
122 November 1988Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania Greece2–03–0FIFA World Cup 1990 Qualifying
133 August 1990Stadion Allmend, Lucerne, Switzerland Switzerland1–01–2Friendly
1425 April 1990Kiryat Eliezer Stadium, Haifa, Israel Israel2–04–1Friendly
1527 March 1991Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino San Marino1–03–1UEFA Euro 1992 Qualifying
1616 October 1991Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania Scotland1–01–0UEFA Euro 1992 Qualifying
176 May 1992Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania Faroe Islands2–07–0FIFA World Cup 1994 Qualifying
1820 May 1992Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania Wales1–05–1FIFA World Cup 1994 Qualifying
1920 May 1992Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania Wales5–05–1FIFA World Cup 1994 Qualifying
2029 November 1992Neo GSZ Stadium, Larnaca, Cyprus Cyprus3–14–1FIFA World Cup 1994 Qualifying
2117 November 1993Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff, Wales Wales1–02–1FIFA World Cup 1994 Qualifying
2214 June 1994Trabuco Hills Stadium, Mission Viejo, United States Sweden1–11–1Friendly
2318 June 1994Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States Colombia2–03–1World Cup 1994 Group A
2422 June 1994Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, United States Switzerland1–11–4World Cup 1994 Group A
253 July 1994Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States Argentina3–13–2World Cup 1994 Round of 16
2612 November 1994Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania Slovakia2–03–2UEFA Euro 1996 Qualifying
2715 October 1995Všešportový areál, Košice, Slovakia Slovakia1–02–0UEFA Euro 1996 Qualifying
289 October 1996Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík, Iceland Iceland2–04–0World Cup 1998 Qualifying
2929 March 1997Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania Liechtenstein4–08–0World Cup 1998 Qualifying
3010 September 1997Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania Iceland1–04–0World Cup 1998 Qualifying
3110 September 1997Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania Iceland4–04–0World Cup 1998 Qualifying
3211 October 1997Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Ireland Republic of Ireland1–01–1World Cup 1998 Qualifying
333 June 1998Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania Paraguay3–23–2Friendly
344 September 1999Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia Slovakia2–15–1UEFA Euro 2000 Qualifying
358 September 1999Stadionul Ghencea, Bucharest, Romania Portugal1–01–1UEFA Euro 2000 Qualifying

Managerial statistics
As of 28 October 2022
Team From To Record
GWDLWin %
Romania 1 September 2001 27 November 2001 4 1 2 1 025.00
Bursaspor 1 July 2003 15 November 2003 12 2 4 6 016.67
Galatasaray 22 March 2004 28 May 2005 48 34 5 9 070.83
Politehnica Timișoara 7 November 2005 21 May 2006 17 5 4 8 029.41
FC Steaua București 1 July 2007 20 September 2007 11 6 3 2 054.55
Galatasaray 21 October 2010 24 March 2011 24 8 6 10 033.33
Viitorul Constanța 15 September 2014 1 August 2020 306 153 63 90 050.00
Farul Constanța 21 June 2021 Present 58 27 13 18 046.55
Total 480 236 100 144 049.17

Honours

See also
  • 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

Notes
    1. 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]
    2. Includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Super Cup (1986, 2000)
    3. Appearance(s) in Supercopa
    4. Appearances in Presidential Cup

    References
    1. "Gheorghe Hagi". Turkish Football Federation. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
    2. "Gheorghe Hagi – Century of International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
    3. "Gheorghe Hagi". Planet World Cup.com.
    4. "Famous Romanians: Gheorghe Hagi" Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Romania Insider. 11 August 2010.
    5. "Gheorghe Hagi". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
    6. "Romania and Gala's commander and king". FIFA. 17 August 2013. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
    7. "Gheorghe HAGI". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
    8. "Gheorghe Hagi: The Maradona of the Carpathians". ESPN FC. 21 May 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
    9. "Hagi, pe locul 35 în topul celor mai buni fotbaliști ai secolului" (in Romanian). 7 November 2007.
    10. "World Soccer 100 Players of the Century". England Football Online.
    11. Pierrend, José Luis (1 February 2006). "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or") 1994". RSSSF. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
    12. "Golden Players take centre stage". UEFA.com. 29 November 2003. Archived from the original on 12 March 2004. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
    13. "Pele's list of the greatest". BBC Sport. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
    14. "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.
    15. "A decedat Iosif Bukossy, antrenorul care l-a descoperit pe Hagi" [Joseph Bukossy, the coach who discovered Hagi, died] (in Romanian). Romanialibera.ro. 1 November 2006. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
    16. "Iosif Bukossy, cel mai bun antrenor, pentru Hagi" [Joseph Bukossy, the best coach, for Hagi] (in Romanian). Ziuaconstanta.ro. 11 May 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
    17. "Hagi, cutremurat de decesul lui Bukossy" [Hagi, shaken by Bukossy's death] (in Romanian). 9am.ro. 1 November 2006. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
    18. Gheorghe Hagi at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian) and StatisticsFootball.com
    19. ""Diavolul Negru" care a promovat de doua ori Farul in Divizia A" ["The Black Devil" who promoted Farul twice in the Divizia A] (in Romanian). Ziuadeconstanta.ro. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
    20. Wilson, Jonathan (24 July 2017). "Why Gheorghe Hagi is a footballing icon". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
    21. Stratmann, Edward (27 August 2016). "Gheorghe Hagi: The Maradona of The Carpathians". footballwhispers.com. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
    22. "Hagi style stirs Steaua". UEFA. Archived from the original on 31 March 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
    23. "Hagi în cupele europene! De la Sportul la victoria în finala Cupei UEFA!" [Hagi in the European cups! From Sportul to victory in the UEFA Cup final!] (in Romanian). Ziuadeconstanta.ro. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
    24. Zaharia, Paul-Daniel (7 May 2016). "Steaua's miracle of 1986, 30 years on". UEFA.com. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
    25. Di Maggio, Roberto; Mamrud, Roberto; Rota, Davide; Owsianski, Jarek (8 June 2017). "Champions Cup/Champions League Topscorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 2 November 2017.
    26. "Steaua, Romania's bright star". FIFA.com. 19 June 2009. Archived from the original on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
    27. "In the 1991/1992 season, the Romanian midfielder scored a hat-trick against Athletic at the Santiago Bernabéu". Real Madrid. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
    28. Dwyre, Bill Times (19 June 1994). "WORLD CUP USA '94 / THE FIRST ROUND : Hagi: A Romanian Version of Gretzky : Group A: Soccer star sparks his team just like the hockey player, only with a few more rough edges". The Los Angeles. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
    29. "Hagi firmò el Blanco" (PDF). El Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 28 June 1990. p. 24. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
    30. Emmet Gates (2 April 2018). "How Gheorghe Hagi rebuilt his career in Serie B with Brescia". These Football Times. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
    31. Marino Bortoletti. "HAGI, Gheorghe" (in Italian). Treccani: Enciclopedia dello Sport (2002). Retrieved 10 September 2015.
    32. Hall, Richard (15 September 2016). "How Gheorghe Hagi went from Real Madrid to Barcelona ... via Serie B". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
    33. "Happy Birthday to you!". FIFA.com. 2 February 2014. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
    34. Time faz proposta pelo meia romeno Hagi Folha de S.Paulo, 20 March 1996
    35. Tozar, Türker (17 May 2015). "Snap shot: Galatasaray win historic UEFA Cup". UEFA.com. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
    36. "BBC News – FOOTBALL – Penalty heartbreak for Arsenal". news.bbc.co.uk.
    37. "2000: Jardel doubles up for Galatasaray". UEFA.com. September 2000. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
    38. "Galatasaray Suat'ı galibiyetle uğurladı: 2-1". NTV. 4 August 2004. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
    39. "Gheorghe Hagi". European Football. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
    40. "Norway 0-0 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
    41. Dunne, Noel (25 June 2015). "O'Leary and Bonner the heroes as Ireland make history and qualify for World Cup quarter-final". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
    42. McCracken, Craig (26 June 2018). "The best ever World Cup match? Romania 3–2 Argentina at USA 94". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
    43. "WORLD CUP '94; Romario and Baggio Among First All-Star Cast". The New York Times. 16 July 1994. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
    44. Lazăr, Mihnea (11 June 2018). "The Inside Story of Why the Entire Romania '98 Team Bleached Their Hair". Vice News. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
    45. "Euro 2000: Italia-Romania (2–0) – Azzurri in semifinale" (in Italian). Rai Sport. 24 June 2000. Archived from the original on 12 November 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
    46. "Wall of Fame: Gheorghe Hagi". Infostrada Sports. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
    47. "Hagi takes an all-star bow". BBC Sport. 24 April 2001. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
    48. Raynor, Dominic (24 April 2001). "Hagi takes final Romania bow". ESPN FC. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
    49. "Soccer-Former goal hero Mutu returns to Dinamo as general manager". in.reuters.com. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
    50. "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.
    51. "Hagi Returns to Galatasaray!". Galatasaray.org. 21 October 2010.
    52. Alessandro Bezzi (24 January 2015). "GHEORGHE HAGI: STORIA IN TRE ATTI DEL MARADONA DEI CARPAZI" (in Italian). ZonaCesarini.net. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
    53. "Hagi and Tugay take Galatasaray helm". UEFA.com. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
    54. "Mondiali, −10: Pelè, Maradona e i grandi Dieci della storia" (in Italian). Sky.it. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
    55. Jeff Prevost (22 March 2015). "Gheorghe Hagi creating a new legacy for Romanian football". World Soccer. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
    56. Adam Hurrey (20 June 2015). "Double trouble: why aren't there more two-footed footballers?". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
    57. 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.
    58. Paul-Daniel Zaharia (26 September 2015). "UEFA.com's weekly wonderkid: Ianis Hagi". UEFA.com. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
    59. Steven Goff (23 June 1998). "Romania Stuns England in Final Minutes, 2–1". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
    60. Rob Hughes (27 July 1994). "Barcelona Adds a 3d Virtuoso". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
    61. "Hagi's step too far". BBC. 13 March 2001. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
    62. Sefa Atay (3 September 2010). "My Perfect 10: Gheorghe Hagi". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
    63. Storey, Daniel (5 February 2020). "10 of the best playmakers of the 90s: Zizou, Laudrup, Baggio, Bergkamp..." Planet Football. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
    64. "A decedat si mama lui Gica Hagi". Ziarul de Iași (in Romanian). 27 February 1999.
    65. "Gheorghe Hagi". FAMOUS SOCCER PLAYERS. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
    66. "Romanian people of Aromanian descent - FamousFix.com list". FamousFix.com. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
    67. "List of Aromanians". www.hellenicaworld.com. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
    68. "Why Gheorghe Hagi is a footballing icon". fourfourtwo.com. 24 July 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
    69. "SportMob – Top facts about Gheorghe Hagi, Maradona of the Carpathians". SportMob. 14 October 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
    70. "Gheorghe Hagi: Maradona of the Carpathians". Football Makes History. 15 August 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
    71. "Din galeria personalităților aromâne din România: Gheorghe Hagi". Forza România (in Romanian). 29 January 2018.
    72. Ghering, Silviu (23 May 2020). "23 mai este ziua Simonei Halep și a lui Gică Hagi. Și a tuturor aromânilor din lume. Ce machedoni mai avem în sportul românesc". Fanatik.ro (in Romanian).
    73. "Cum a început povestea de dragoste dintre Gică Hagi și soția sa, cu care e căsătorit de 24 de ani: "Eram studentă în anul II și venea să mă ia de la facultate"". VIVA (in Romanian). 11 July 2019.
    74. "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.
    75. "Ianis, fiul lui Hagi, dezvăluire emoționantă: "Tata ..."" [Ianis, son of Hagi, moving revelation: "Father ..."] (in Romanian). Click. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
    76. Gladwell, Ben (4 October 2016). "Ianis Hagi sets sights on Fiorentina debut after adapting to 'beautiful' club". ESPN FC. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
    77. "Romanian actress receives distinctions at Los Angeles festival". Romania Insider. 11 January 2018.
    78. "20 de ani de magie de la primul film Disney dublat în limba română - CineMagia.ro". m.cinemagia.ro. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
    79. Gheorghe Hagi at FootballDatabase.eu
    80. "Gheorghe Hagi". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
    81. "Spanish La Liga & Segunda stats". LFP. Archived from the original on 25 April 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
    82. "Gheorghe Hagi Turkey stats". TFF. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
    83. "Gheorghe Hagi – Matches in European Cups". RSSSF. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
    84. Gheorghe HAGI Archived 20 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine. FRF. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
    85. Romeo Ionescu; Razvan Toma; Simon Preston; Roberto Di Maggio (25 June 2015). "Romania – List of Topscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
    86. Razvan Toma (6 January 2016). "Romania – Player of the Year Awards". RSSSF. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
    87. "FIFA World Cup All-Star Team – Football world Cup All Star Team". Football.sporting99.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
    88. "FIFA XI's Matches – Full Info". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
    89. Paul-Daniel Zaharia (19 January 2011). "Hagi at the heart of golden era". UEFA.com. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
    90. Christopher Davies (5 March 2004). "Pele open to ridicule over top hundred". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
    91. "Legends". Golden Foot. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
    92. "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.
    Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gheorghe Hagi.
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.