Gheorghe "Gică" Hagi (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈɡe̯orɡe ˈhad͡ʒi] ( listen); born 5 February 1965)

is a Romanian former professional footballer, considered one of the best attacking midfielders in
Europe during the 1980s and '90s[1] and the greatest Romanian footballer of all
time.[2] Galatasaray fans called him "Comandante" ("The Commander") and Romanians call him
"Regele" ("The King").[3] He is currently the owner and manager of Viitorul Constanța.
Nicknamed "The Maradona of the Carpathians", Hagi is considered a hero in his homeland. He
was named Romanian Footballer of the Year seven times, and is regarded as one of the best
football players of his generation.[4][5] As a creative advanced playmaker, he was renowned for his
dribbling, technique, vision, passing and finishing.[3][6]
Hagi played for the Romanian national team in three FIFA World Cups, in 1990, 1994 (where he
was named in the World Cup All-Star Team) and 1998; as well as in three UEFA European
Championships, in 1984, 1996 and 2000. He won a total of 125 caps for Romania, ranked second
after Dorinel Munteanu, and is the joint leading goalscorer (alongside Adrian Mutu) with 35 goals.
In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, Hagi was selected as the Golden Player of
Romania by the Romanian Football Federation as their most outstanding player of the past 50
years.[7] In 2004, he was named by Pelé as one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at
a FIFA Awards Ceremony.[8] He was listed at number 25 in World Soccer Magazine's list of the
100 greatest players of the 20th century.[5] Hagi is one of the few footballers to have played for
both Spanish rival clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona FC.
In 2009, Hagi founded Romanian club Viitorul Constanța. He is currently both owner and
manager of the club. Hagi also established the Gheorghe Hagi Football Academy, one of the
largest and most successful football academies in Southeastern Europe.[9]

Born in Săcele, Hagi started his career playing for the youth teams of Farul Constanța in the
1970s, before being selected by the Romanian Football Federation to join the squad of
Luceafărul București in 1980 for two years. In 1982, he returned to Constanța, but one year later,
aged 18, he was prepared to make the step to a top team. He was originally directed
to Universitatea Craiova, but chose Sportul Studențesc of Bucharest instead.
In late 1987, Hagi transferred to Steaua București as the team prepared for their European Super
Cup final against Dynamo Kyiv. The original contract was for one game only, the final. However,
after winning the trophy, where Hagi scored the only goal of the match, Steaua did not want to
release him back to Sportul Studențesc and retained him. During his Steaua years (1987–1990),
Hagi played 97 Liga I games, scoring 76 goals. He and the team reached the European
Cup semi-final in 1988 and the final in the following year, while Hagi finished as one of the
competition's top scorers in the former edition of the tournament. Hagi and Steaua were the
champions of Romania in 1987, 1988 and 1989 and as well as winning the Cupa României in
1987, 1988 and 1989. His strong performances had him linked with Arrigo
Sacchi's Milan and Bayern Munich, but Nicolae Ceaușescu's communist government rejected any
offer.
After the 1990 FIFA World Cup, Hagi was signed by Real Madrid. The La Liga side paid
$4.3 million to Steaua București for him. Hagi played two seasons with Madrid, then was sold
to Brescia.
Hagi began the 1992–93 season with Brescia, but after his first season, the club was relegated
to Serie B. The next season, Hagi helped the club win Serie B and earn promotion back to Serie
A. After performing memorably during the 1994 World Cup, Hagi was signed by Barcelona.
After two years at Barça, Hagi signed for Turkish club Galatasaray. At Galatasaray, he was both
successful and highly popular among the Turkish supporters. Hagi was an important member of a
team that would win four consecutive league titles. In 2000, at age 35, Hagi had the best days of
his career winning every possible trophy with Galatasaray. Gala won the 1999–2000 UEFA
Cup after defeating Arsenal in the final, a match in which Hagi was sent off for punching Arsenal
captain Tony Adams.[10] This was followed by the capture of the UEFA Super Cup with a historic
win against Hagi's former club Real Madrid. Both feats were firsts, and remain unmatched in
Turkish football history. The mass hysteria caused by these wins in Istanbul raised Hagi's
popularity even further with the fans and prompted French ex-international Luis Fernández to say,
"Hagi is like wine, the older it gets, the better he is."
When he retired in 2001, Hagi remained one of the most beloved players in the Turkish and
Romanian championships. Hagi is highly praised by the Galatasaray supporters. The classic
chant "I Love You Hagi" was adopted by Gala fans since his arrival at Galatasaray.
Nicknamed "The Maradona of the Carpathians", Hagi is considered a hero in his homeland. He
was named Romanian Footballer of the Year seven times, and is regarded as one of the best
football players of his generation.[4][5] As a creative advanced playmaker, he was renowned for his
dribbling, technique, vision, passing and finishing.[3][6]
Hagi played for the Romanian national team in three FIFA World Cups, in 1990, 1994 (where he
was named in the World Cup All-Star Team) and 1998; as well as in three UEFA European
Championships, in 1984, 1996 and 2000. He won a total of 125 caps for Romania, ranked second
after Dorinel Munteanu, and is the joint leading goalscorer (alongside Adrian Mutu) with 35 goals.
In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, Hagi was selected as the Golden Player of
Romania by the Romanian Football Federation as their most outstanding player of the past 50
years.[7] In 2004, he was named by Pelé as one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at
a FIFA Awards Ceremony.[8] He was listed at number 25 in World Soccer Magazine's list of the
100 greatest players of the 20th century.[5] Hagi is one of the few footballers to have played for
both Spanish rival clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona FC.
In 2009, Hagi founded Romanian club Viitorul Constanța. He is currently both owner and
manager of the club. Hagi also established the Gheorghe Hagi Football Academy, one of the
largest and most successful football academies in Southeastern Europe.[9]