Gheorghe Hagi cannot train Armenia’s Football Team: FFA

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. The Football Federation of Armenia commented on the circulating news about the future head coach of Armenia’s National Football Team. As reports “Armenpress” in particular it is mentioned that FFA officially announces that Gheorghe Hagi cannot become the Head Coach of the Armenian National Football Squad despite Hagi’s desires and dreams.

As the Chairman of the Football Federation of Armenia Ruben Hayrapetyan noted at the course of the recent press conference, the federation is currently engaged in the relevant activities and negotiations, and the official website of the FFA or the press conference will be the first to inform the public about the new agreement.

Previously the media spread news saying that Gheorghe Hagi can become the new head coach of the Armenian National Football Team. It was stated that former footballer Gheorghe Hagi, who played for Barcelona and Real Madrid, was among the main candidates to become the head coach of the Armenian National Football Squad.

Gheorghe Hagi is a Romanian former footballer. He was one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe during the 1980s and 1990s and is considered the greatest Romanian footballer of all time. Galatasaray fans called him 'Commandante' (The Commander) and the Romanians called him 'Regele' (The King).

Nicknamed "The Maradona of the Carpathians", he is considered a hero in his homeland. He has won his country's "Player of the Year" award seven times, and is regarded as one of the best football players of his generation. He was renowned for his excellent technique and vision, brilliant passing ability and fantastic finishing ability.

He played for the Romanian national team in three World Cups in 1990, 1994 and1998, as well as in three European Football Championships in 1984, 1996 and 2000. He won a total of 124 caps for Romania, being ranked second after Dorinel Munteanu, and scored 35 goals, being ranked first.

In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player of Romania by the Romanian Football Federation as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years. Hagi is one of the few footballers to have played for both the Spanish rival clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona.

In March 2004, he was named among the top 125 living footballers by Pelé.

He started his career playing for the youth teams of Farul Constanța in the 1970s, before being selected by the Romanian Football Federation to join the squad of Luceafărul București in 1980 for two years. In 1982 he returned to Constanța, but one year later, aged 18, he was prepared to make the step to a top team. He was originally directed to Universitatea Craiova, but chose Sportul Studențesc ofBucharest instead.

In the winter of 1987 Hagi was transferred to Romanian giants Steaua București as the team prepared for their European Super Cup final against Dynamo Kyiv. The original contract was for one game only, the final. However after winning the trophy, where Hagi scored the only goal of the game, Steaua did not want to release him back to Sportul Studențesc and retained him. During his Steaua years (1987–1990), Hagi played 97 Liga I games, scoring 76 goals. He and the team reached the European Cup semifinal in 1988 and the final in the following year. Hagi and Steaua were the champions of Romania in 1987, 1988 and 1989 and as well as winning the Cupa României in 1987, 1988 and 1989.

After the 1990 World Cup, he was signed by Real Madrid. The La Liga side paid $4.3 million to Steaua București for him. Hagi played two seasons with Real Madrid and then was sold to Brescia.

Hagi started the season 1992–1993 with Brescia but in the first season the club was relegated to Serie B; in the next season Hagi helped Brescia Calcio win the Italian Serie B and get promoted to Serie A. After performing memorably during the 1994 World Cup, Hagi was signed by Barcelona.

After two years at FC Barcelona, Hagi signed for Galatasaray. At Galatasaray, he was both successful and highly popular among the Turkish supporters. Hagi and manager Fatih Terim built a team that would win four consecutive league titles. Over the years, Galatasaray, led by Hagi, managed to win the UEFA Cup after defeating Arsenal in the finals. This was followed by the capture of theEuropean Super Cup with a historic win against Hagi's former club Real Madrid. Both feats were firsts, and remain unmatched in Turkish football history. The mass hysteria caused by these wins in Istanbul raised Hagi's popularity even further with the fans and made French ex-international Luis Fernández to say that "Hagi is like wine, the older it gets, the better it is". In 2000, at the age of 35, Hagi had the best days of his career winning every possible trophy with Galatasaray. When he retired in 2001, he remained one of the most beloved players in the Turkish and Romanian championships. Hagi is highly praised by the Galatasaray supporters and is feared greatly by Fenerbahce SK and their supporters. The classic chant "I Love You Hagi" was adopted by Gala fans since his arrival at Galatasaray SK.

Hagi made his debut for the Romania national team at the age of 18 in 1983 in a game against Norway played in Oslo. He was part of the Romanian team until 2000.

Hagi led the Romanian team to its best ever international performance at the 1994 World Cup, where the team reached the quarterfinals before Sweden ended their run after winning the penalty shoot-out. Hagi scored three times in the tournament, including a memorable goal in their 3–2 surprise defeat of South American powerhouse and previous runners-up Argentina. In the first of Romania's group stage matches, against Colombia, Hagi scored one of the most memorable goals of that tournament, curling in a 40-yard lob over Colombian goalkeeper Oscar Córdoba who was caught out of position. He was named in the Team of the Tournament.

Four years later, after the 1998 World Cup, Hagi decided to retire from the national team, only to change his mind after a few months and play at the 2000 European Football Championship, during which he was sent off in the quarter-final loss against Italy.

Hagi retired from professional football in 2001, age 36, in a game called "Gala Hagi" on 24 April. He still holds the record as Romanian national team top scorer.