Romanian football legend Gica Hagi will once again coach his country’s national team a quarter of a century later, the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) announced this Sunday. His return was already planned earlier this week when the highest governing body of the king sport in this Eastern European country decided to start negotiations to incorporate him into the technical team after Mircea Lucescu’s departure. However, talks were postponed due to the death of the former coach on April 7, just days after the Romanian team was eliminated in the playoff phase for this summer’s North American World Cup. The former FC Barcelona and Real Madrid attacker will be officially presented on Monday alongside the federation’s president and technical director, Răzvan Burleanu and Mihai Stoichiță.
The King, also known as the Romanian Maradona, will begin his new role with two friendly matches in June: against Georgia, in Tbilisi on June 2; and against Wales, in Bucharest on June 6. He will also compete in the Nations League against Sweden, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Poland. Hagi, 61, was also the national team coach between September 2001 and November of the same year. He only commanded the Tricolors in four matches: two of the 2002 World Cup qualifiers in a 2-0 victory against Hungary in Budapest and a one-all draw with Georgia; and two of the qualifying playoffs which ended in a 2-1 defeat in Ljubljana and a 1-1 draw in Bucharest.
Between 1982 and 2001, the left-footed footballer who led the golden generation of Romanian football — he led the national team to the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup in the United States — won seven league titles — three in Romania and four in Turkey — three Romanian Cups, four Spanish Super Cups (two with Real Madrid and two with Barcelona), one Turkish Cup, one Turkish Super Cup, one UEFA Cup with Galatasaray and two European Super Cups, with Steaua Bucharest and Galatasaray. He wore the Romanian national team jersey 125 times and scored 35 goals, making him the top scorer alongside Adrian Mutu.
As a coach, he has twice been named the best Romanian coach of the year and has lifted five trophies: two SuperLiga titles, the Romanian Cup and the Romanian Super Cup with Farul Constanța, and the Turkish Cup with Galatasaray. Throughout his career, Gica Hagi also coached Bursaspor, Poli Timisoara, FCSB, and Viitorul (now Farul). Hagi’s last public appearance was during Lucescu’s funeral. Visibly distressed, he approached the National Arena stadium in Bucharest during the two days of vigil. “He was so important in my life! Such a beloved person who trusted me from the beginning. He always supported me when he had to,” he said.
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