Romania legend Gheorghe Hagi takes the helm of the national team again.
BUCHAREST, Romania — Gheorghe Hagi, a legendary figure in Romanian football, has been appointed as the national team coach for a second time. He takes over from Mircea Lucescu, who passed away two weeks ago.
The 61-year-old Hagi is often considered the finest soccer player in Romania’s history, having guided the national team to the World Cup quarterfinals in 1994. His career also included stints at Barcelona and Real Madrid, where he played as a creative attacking midfielder.
Hagi’s initial tenure as Romania’s coach began in 2001 and lasted three months, concluding after the team failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup playoffs.
Since then, he has managed clubs in Romania and Turkey, including Galatasaray and Steaua Bucharest, but he is now back at the helm of the No. 56-ranked national team, which will not participate in the World Cup taking place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Romania was eliminated by TΓΌrkiye in the UEFA playoffs, leading to Lucescu’s illness and subsequent resignation. He passed away on April 7, at the age of 80.
“It is an honor and a significant responsibility to represent Romania once again, as I did during my playing career,” Hagi stated in a release from Romania’s soccer federation.
“I am confident,” he continued, “that we can accomplish remarkable things. I hope to replicate the success I had as a player in my coaching role. I believe we can become the best.”
Romania’s last appearance at the World Cup was in 1998. The team reached the round of 16 at the European Championship in 2024, where they were defeated by the Netherlands.
Hagi’s first matches in charge will be friendly encounters against Georgia and Wales in June. Romania is set to compete in a Nations League group with Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Poland starting in September.
He has signed a contract that extends through the 2030 World Cup, with the objective of “returning the national team to the elite of world football,” according to the federation.
Federation president RΔzvan Burleanu mentioned that his organization has made “numerous attempts over time” to persuade Hagi to take on the coaching role again.
