A legendary star: Hagi

Let's take a look at the life story of Gheorghe Hagi, perhaps the greatest foreign footballer to come to Turkey.

In his prime, Gheorghe Hagi was considered one of the world's greatest number 10s. He was known for his vision, technique, passing and finishing that earned him the nickname "the Maradona of the Carpathians". In 124 appearances for Romania, he scored 35 goals, making him the country's top scorer. In 2004, Pelé named Hagi one of the 125 greatest living footballers in the world.

Besides the mark he left on world football, Gheorghe Hagi has a special place in Turkey. Here is the story of Hagi, who played a leading role in the only European Cup to come to the country...


He caught Ceausescu's attention
Hagi began his senior playing career at Farul Constanta and eventually transferred to Sportul Studenţesc in 1983. Over the next four years, he scored 58 goals in 108 games for Sportul and made a name for himself, attracting the attention of Romanian dictator Ceausescu.

In 1987, Ceausescu's government arranged Hagi's transfer to Steaua Bukreş. It was widely reported in the press that Sportul received no compensation for this transfer.


The government does not allow him to leave the country
Hagi had three great seasons with Steaua, scoring close to a goal a game on average, leading them to the European Cup semi-finals in 1988 and the final in 1989.

His eye-catching performances attracted interest from various European clubs. However, the government was quick to reject any offer and would not allow him to leave. This uncomfortable standoff lasted until December 1989, when Ceausescu was overthrown in the Romanian Revolution.

Finally, Hagi was free to leave the country altogether.


Real Madrid
After a solid 1990 World Cup showing, Hagi signed for Real Madrid. However, playing a big role in a small team for many years made Hagi a failure during his time at Real Madrid.

Years later, Hagi admitted that playing with other superstars like Hugo Sánchez and Emilio Butragueño left him in almost constant boredom. After two memorable seasons in Madrid, Real sent him to Brescia in 1992.


Seasons in Italy
His first season in Italy was mixed and he didn't make much impact for his team. That season, Brescia only found the net 36 times. This led to their relegation to Serie B.

Despite speculation that Hagi would leave, he decided to stay and help the club back to Serie A. And he succeeded on his first attempt.


1994 World Cup
Barely qualifying for the 1994 World Cup, Romania was not expected to succeed. But this squad had more talent than any other in its history. In their first game against Colombia, Hagi scored an iconic goal from 40 meters from the left touchline. They then lost 1-4 to Switzerland, but a 1-0 win over the USA was enough to qualify for the knockout round.

In the last 16 round, despite Maradona's expulsion from the tournament for drugs, Romania was not a favorite against Argentina. They upset expectations once again. Hagi and Ilie Dumitrescu combined to score three memorable goals and knock Argentina out of the tournament. Although Romania lost to Sweden in the quarterfinals, Hagi was named in the Team of the Tournament.


Transferred to Barcelona
In 1994, Hagi transferred to Barcelona and became one of the few players to play for both Spanish football giants. However, he joined the team in the last years of Cruyff's tenure as manager.

Unable to turn the situation around, Hagi left Barça after two seasons and signed for Galatasaray in 1996. He would spend the rest of his career in Turkey, scoring 59 goals in 132 games before retiring in 2001.


Second spring with Galatasaray
Hagi experienced a second spring with Galatasaray. In addition to leading the team to four consecutive league titles, he helped them win the UEFA Cup and Super Cup in 2000. These were the first international titles in Galatasaray's history and made Hagi a legendary figure among the club's fans. He was known as "Komandan" for his achievements and several anthems were written for him.


Technical director career
After retiring from the green pitch, Hagi continued his career as a coach. As a Romanian legend, of course his first experience would be with Romania.

Afterwards, he entered Turkey, the country where he was also a legend, with Bursaspor. Then he came to Istanbul for his first spell at Galatasaray.

In 2004, Hagi took over Galatasaray as technical director, replacing Fatih Terim, who resigned mid-season.

Although Galatasaray did not achieve the desired success in the league under Hagi's coaching, they won the Turkish Cup in the 2004-2005 season, defeating Fenerbahçe with a historic score of 5-1.

After Frank Rijkaard's departure from Galatasaray in the 2010-2011 season, Hagi took charge once again and left the club after finishing the season 8th.