HAGI: I TOOK RISKS BECAUSE OF PASSION

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Viitorul Constanta, the club Hagi formed eight years ago, have won the Romanian title and are about to enter the Champions League. So how has he done it?


Viitorul Constanta’s Under-17 and Under-19 squads were going through their paces under the late-afternoon sun and Hagi who was watching from the corner of his eye, was having to restrain himself from looking across to correct certain imperfections. “Look at this,” he said, waving an arm out into the heat. “This is not about money; that’s the last thing for me. This is about work and dedication.”

About eight years from that time, the fruits of Hagi’s work are about to be displayed to the entire world. Viitorul’s senior team played their first Champions League fixture on the 26th of July when the Cypriot side Apoel visited for a third qualifying round first leg; they earned that right through winning Romania’s Liga I last season despite having one of the smallest budgets in the league. It was regarded a remarkable feat that outstripped every projection Hagi had made for his club when he founded it in 2009. (more…)

MARSEILLE TO MEET FENERBAHCE AFTER VIITORUL VICTORY

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French side Olympique Marseille are poised to meet with Turkish Super Liggiants Fenerhahce in their next fixture on Saturday July 15th after they went past Romanian side Viitorul.


They met their opponents in Lausanne on Wednesday and it ended in four wins in four games for the Phocaeans.

The third choice keeper of the Ligue 1 side was called to question a few times when the game started. Their opponents started with a heavy press that they had to handle. Lucas Ocampos scored the first goal in the 25th minute before the Romanian side levelled proceedings through Aurelian Chitu after the break.

The 52-year old Gheorghe Hagi could not do anything as his side crumbled effortlessly. The coach of the club he founded years back is known for tongue lashing and encouraging his young players. He was limited as the superior French side ripped them apart as the game wore on. (more…)

HULL MAY BE DONE BUT CERTAINLY NOT MARCOS SILVA

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Hull city would “need a miracle” to stay up. That was current coach Marcos Silva speaking on the day he was given the baton to lead then rock bottom Hull out of the shadows of the EPL’s relegation zone.


And a miracle it almost was from turning a team that won just thrice in the 21 preceding fixtures to the one that won 6 out of the 7 succeeding home fixtures including a 2-0 win over Liverpool who was by the way chasing the title at that time; Marcos Silva definitely came close.

People who knew the Portuguese prior to his appointment won’t be as surprised as the rest of us given what he did with Portuguese side Estoril, a club where he retired as a player in 2011 and took up the mantle of leadership steering them away from the 2nd tier of the Portuguese league to the premier championship and even qualifying them for Europe. (more…)

ROMANIA SIGNS MOU WITH IRAN FA

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Iran and Romania have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as both countries plan increased cooperation between them. The nations signed the MoU at the headquarters of the Iran Football Federation in Tehran.


The head of the Iranian Football Federation Mehdi Taj and the head of Romanian Football Razvan Burleanu were present during the landmark agreement. During the signing, Taj said: “Iran and Romania football have so many common characteristics, and the European country is available to travel for our teams. To develop football in the various areas focusing on the area of girls and women’s football development, coaching and referring are our priorities”.

While Romania could be helping them with their goals, Iran would help the European side in beach soccer and futsal – competitions that Iran have won medals in recently.

“I would like to congratulate the Iranian football federation for being the best Asian team in FIFA rankings. Furthermore, Team Melli has a great chance to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. We are happy due to cooperation with Iran as a European country. (more…)

VIOLA CONSIDERS BID FOR RAZVAN MARIN

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Over the past few months of 2016, several reports of interest in Razvan Marin by Viola had been on the rise.


With the opening of the January window, the rumors are back on which may likely see Viola place a bid for the player.

At the moment, Marin plays for Vitorul Constanta, an outfit managed by Gheorghe Hagi. Putting the obvious Fiorentina connection into consideration, it is quite sensible that Corvino would try tapping into this source of talent.

The 20 year old Romanian midfielder is just more of a prospect for the team than an immediate reinforcement. However, if he holds his lines well, he could turn out to become a star.

Marin has shown his ability in creating rather than destroying. He is more notable for his willingness and ability to shoot from a wide distance. He also has an eye for clever passes and with the ball at his feet, he plays a tidy football. (more…)

Gheorghe HagiPleased to See Three Points againstCFR Cluj

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Viitorul managed to recover from the loss against ACS PoliTimişoara last weekend to claim a crucial 2-1 win over CFR Cluj.


Manager Gheorghe Hagi was pleased with the outcome of the game, but he admitted that the opponents could have certainly equalised the match for they had numerous chances over the course of 90 minutes.Viitorul have been in dominant force in the Romanian league this season and they are only four points behind leaders Steaua Bucharest.

Even though there is still a long way to go, the presence ofHagi could motivate the team towards a title challenge.

The possibilities of being in the hunt for the title took a hit after the shock 1-0 loss againstACS PoliTimişoara in the previous match. A team at the bottom of the table, ACS PoliTimişoara managed to resist all the attacks from the away team in order to hang on to the win.

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Gheorghe Hagi Happy with Son’s Progress at Fiorentina

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Ianis Hagi is a potential Romanian superstar and he recently joined Fiorentina in the hope of making it big in European football.


He is the son of legendary Romanian footballer Gheorghe Hagi. Many regardGheorghe Hagi as the greatest ever Romanian footballer. Currently working as a manager, he recently spoke about his son’s move to Fiorentina. After having worked with the youth teams at Steaua Bucharest, the youngster made his debut forViitorulConstanța in 2014. It did not take long for clubs to take notice and it has not been just because of the last name.

Following a lot of interest from clubs across Europe, the 17-year-old decided to sign for Fiorentina. The Italian club may not stay to be offering the ability to win trophies, butIanis requires regular first-team football at this moment in order to continue his development.

Furthermore, he needs to be alongside the top professionals in order to acquire their ways and learn the game as he goes along. When asked about his son’s choice of signing for Fiorentina,Gheorghe Hagi claimed that he had no say in the transfer and that his son was completely free to make the decision for himself. The former Romanian superstar says that he is happy with the progress made by his son at the Italian club.
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Gheorge Guides The Romania Team In Euros

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Gheorghe Hagi is a former footballer from Romania who was well known for the attacking midfield positions he used to assume during the eighties when he used to play.


In the eighties and nineties he assumed a great reputation for his football playing skills. Galatasaray fans had several nicknames for him like the King or the Commander. He was also nicknamed as the Maradona of the Carpathians. Hagi is considered a hero in Romania. He was named Romanian Footballer of the Year about seven times, which makes him one of the greatest football players of his generation. Hagi played for the national team till 1994 for three consecutive World Cup tournaments. Hagi was also part of the European football championship that was played in 1984, 1996 as well as in 2000. He had won about 125 caps for his country and ranked second as well as a lead goal scorer with a total of 35 goals.
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Gheorge Gives His Opinion About Romania

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With the Euro games going on, most countries see their champion players and former legends, offering advice on how their country is performing, what strategies they need to take, how to improve and so forth.

For Romania Gheorge Hagi is a revered name. He has stated that Romania has definitely fallen behind the kind of performance that they used to put up on the international front before. This comment was made when his country ended the last game with a draw against Switzerland. The game was played in a fair manner, but Gheorghe had a lot to say. He stated that the game that Romania played needed to be structured well in the offensive side. The personality that the team projected through their game was important and it has an impact on the opposing team.
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ROMANIA BEAT GEORGIA AHEAD OF EURO 2016

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Romania ran riot over Georgia in their final warm up on Friday ahead of the Euro 2016 tournament. The team had the stingiest defence in qualification as they conceded only two goals in their 10 matches. Their success has been attributed to their core of underrated, hard-working and hungry players in a disciplined 4-2-3-1 system.

They scored two early goals on their way to the 5-1 demolition of Georgia at the National Arena. Coach Anghel Iordanescu was pleased with the performance but was calm as his team would take on the hosts of the tournament France next week Friday in the opening game. Romania took the lead after 68 seconds when Adrian Popa took advantage of a defensive error and dribbled past the Georgian goalie Roin Kvashvadze. (more…)