TEEMU PUKKI PLUNDERS AGAIN FOR FINLAND AS DARWIN NUNEZ SUFFERS DEFEAT

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Norwich City striker Teemu Pukki’s hot streak continued with a fourth goal in four games earning Finland a 1-1 draw against Romania on Friday night in the Nations League.Pukki rifled home from the edge of the box to put the hosts in front in Helsinki but Florin Tanase equalised in the second half.  The Canaries’ sharp shooter was replaced in the 75th minute, after extending his lead at the top of his country’s goalscoring charts, with his 37th goal in 107 internationals. Pukki was also on target for his club in the recent Championship wins over Coventry City and Bristol City.


The 32-year-old was back on national duty for the first time since the transfer window closed. Pukki’s representative indicated earlier in the summer the forward wanted to stay in the Premier League, following the club’s relegation, but speaking to Finnish media in the build up the striker accepted that was a non starter. (more…)

HAGI: BRESCIA CAREER IN FOCUS

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Romanian football icon Gheorghe Hagi joined Italian team Brescia shortly before the start of the 1992/93 season. Brescia were still in the Italian top flight when Gheorghe Hagi signed for them from Real Madrid. In his first season at Brescia, Hagi was unable to save the club from demotion to the second division. In his second season at the Italian club, Gheorghe Hagi contributed his own quota in securing promotion to the Italian Serie A. Brescia finished third in the Italian Serie B and they were able to secure promotion to the top flight as a result. Also in the same season, Hagi helped Brescia win the Anglo-Italian Cup thanks to the 1-0 win over English team Notts County in the final played at the Wembley Stadium.

After two seasons at Brescia, Hagi returned to Spain to sign for Barcelona thereby joining the list of selected few to play for both Real Madrid and Barcelona. The Romanian star moved to Barcelona from Brescia shortly after impressing for his country at the 1994 FIFA World Cup tournament in the United States of America. He was one of the best players at the tournament as Romania reached the quarterfinals before they were beaten on penalties by Sweden. (more…)

HAGI: CLUB CAREER IN FOCUS

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Gheorghe Hagi began his career as a professional footballer at Farul Constanta in his native Romania before playing for the likes of SportulStudentesc and Steaua Bucharest in the same country. The Romanian football icon then had spells in Spain with Real Madrid and Barcelona. He also played for Brescia in the Italian league and Galatasaray in the Turkish league.


Hagi is one of the few players to represent both Real Madrid and Barcelona. He’s in the same situation as the likes of Luis Enrique and Michael Laudrup. Gheorghe Hagi won a lot of titles during his playing career. At Steaua Bucharest, he won three league titles, two Romanian Cups, the European Super Cup in addition to reaching the European Cup final during the 1988/89 season. (more…)

FRIENDLY: HAGI, WORLD XI BEATS RANGERS

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Romanian football icon Gheorghe Hagi was part of the World XI team that came from behind to beat Rangers XI at Ibrox in a Legends of the Game friendly as part of the 150th birthday celebrations of Scottish champions Rangers.


The Rangers XI team was made up of past players of the Scottish club including current manager Giovanni Van Bronckhorst. The Dutchman was joined in the team by the likes of Barry Ferguson, JorgAlbertz, Michael Mols, Paul Gascoigne, Ronald de Boer and many more. For the World XI team, 2000 Ballon d’Or winner Luis Figo led as skipper alongside Gheorghe Hagi, Robert Pires, Ricardo Quaresma, Claude Makelele, Nuno Gomes and Roy Makaay who’s a first-team coach at Rangers at the moment.
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HAGI: REAL MADRID CAREER EXAMINED

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Gheorghe Hagi is widely considered as the greatest football player in Romania and he enjoyed a very good club career in the colours of some big teams on the European football scene. Hagi played for both Real Madrid and Barcelona during an illustrious career.

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https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B8Xk4lpCEAAKQS8.jpg

Real Madrid signed Gheorghe Hagi after they were impressed with his performances at the 1990 FIFA World Cup tournament in Italy. He was at Steaua Bucharest in his native Romania before moving to Real Madrid. Spanish La Liga giants Real Madrid paid $3.5m to acquire his services from Steaua Bucharest. His signing was made official on June 27, 1990.
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HAGI REVEALS MADRID REGRET

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Romanian football icon Gheorghe Hagi has told Radio MARCA that he regrets leaving Real Madrid during his playing career. Gheorghe Hagi spent two years at Real Madrid before he moved to the Italian Serie A to sign for Brescia.

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https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EQCupIlWoAEbbN7.jpg

Gheorghe Hagi is one of a selected few players who have turned out for both Barcelona and Real Madrid. He admitted in his interview with the aforementioned media outlet that he left Real Madrid at the wrong time. Hagi is certain that he should not have left Madrid when he did twenty-nine years ago. The Romanian national team icon wanted a new experience and that prompted him to leave Real Madrid for the Italian league.
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HAGI AGREES ROMA SWITCH – REPORT

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Rangers winger Ianis Hagi has agreed a deal to join Italian Serie A club AS Roma when the transfer window reopens this summer. This is according to the report emanating from his native Romania. It was revealed that new Roma boss Jose Mourinho has been impressed with the player’s performances for Rangers and has decided to splash the cash on him.

Romanian media outlets Pro TV and SPORT say that Roma are ready pay £17m for Ianis Hagi, who’s the son of Romanian football icon Gheorghe Hagi. Gheorghe Hagi is seen as the best player in the history of Romania and he was one of the stars of the 1994 FIFA World Cup tournament in the United States of America. Gheorge Hagi led Romania to the quarterfinals before they paid the penalty against Sweden. The Romanians lost on penalties after they shared a four-goal thriller with the Swedes at the end of 120 minutes. (more…)

HAGI WEIGHS IN ON THE MOURINHO VS PEP DEBATE

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In football, there are already a lot of arguments that exist not only the ones that have to do with which team is the best, biggest, or richest in the world, but also about players and managers. The most popular topic of argument in football is the Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi debate – that is still topping the chart of football’s all-time arguments.

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https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cr_VrsRXYAA0nm4.jpg

However, another one that has drawn a lot of attention as well as the José Mourinho vs Pep Guardiola debate. The two managers, two of the best in the history of the game, have enjoyed a lot of success in their careers and fans are still engaging in arguments and debates about who is better than the other.
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HAGI: ROMANIAN FOOTBALL NEEDS MORE PUBLICITY

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Former Romanian international footballer Gheorghe Hagi has declared that the country’s football system is not getting enough publicity and attention while calling on the Romanian Football Federation to see to it that there are more investments in football because it is the most passionate sport in the world and that the country needs to be more actively involved in it. Hagi revealed this in a recent podcast where he talked about a couple of topics, including his career as a footballer, and what other leagues around the world are doing that Romania should be emulating.

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https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EQAb9dfX0AEvfCz.jpg

The former player said that football has continued to evolve over the years and that there are quite a lot of reasons why they should pay more attention to it now more than ever. According to him, football is no longer what it was during his playing days because there have been a lot of additions and subtraction that has now made the sport more modern than it used to be. He mentioned the introduction of the video assistant referee (VAR) as an example, citing that the technology was absent during his time and it further gives concrete proof that any country that does not move with the current trends will only be left behind.
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HAGI: ILLUSTRIOUS CLUB CAREER EXAMINED

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Gheorghe Hagi was considered one of the best footballers in the 1980s and 1990s in addition to being the greatest footballer to wear the Romanian national team jersey. The 56-year-old was a creative cum attacking midfielder renowned for his passing, technique, vision, shooting and dribbling.

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https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E1VnB9bXIAE_nAI.jpg

Hagi started his career at Farul Constanta in the early 80s where he spent one season with the senior team with an attacking output of seven goals in 18 games in the league. He played for the senior team at Farul Constanta during the 1982/83 season before moving to fellow Romanian club SportulStudentescwhere he developed into a real force on the Romanian football scene. Gheorghe Hagi scored 58 goals in 108 appearances in the league while he was at Sportul for four years. The Romanian football icon was at SportulStudentesc between 1983 and 1987.
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