I know this will make some people very angry - I'm prepared for lots of excuses and youtube videos - but could someone explain to me how one of the (supposedly) top 100 footballers OF ALL TIME - "The Maradona of the Carpathians" failed not once, not twice, but three out of three times at different clubs in major leagues?
I said it in the past, Hagi was a ‘luxury’ player, when on form he was a handful to handle but his clashes with teammates/coaches and management was a problem. And he was viewed as extremely intermittent, you’d get only the best out of him 1 out of 5 games and his work rate was seen as deficient.
I agree with Vegan10 his comments. Would add however Hagi was imho good in 1991-92 for Real Madrid. That he was offloaded wasn't fair. He did well in Europe and was important in letting them progress to the semi final. I and others (leadleader) have seen some of his major games and he had some good ones. Would give this season a pass, the season before (1990-91) he was adapting to his new club. The 1991-92 ratings shows him as the best creative Real Madrid player. Wouldn't say he failed at Brescia. He has some decent/good ratings it seems, okay productivity. Harsh to be relegated. When he was in Serie B he was still playing fine with Romania. Is this significantly worse than Baggio at Brescia, a better Brescia? Merits further thought. At Barcelona he struggled with injuries too, but Vegan10 says it right. That a fit Hagi couldn't get into this poorly equipped team, with underwhelming names, while his countryman Popescu did in a 3-0 win against a (in names) much stronger Real Madrid doesn't look nice. He struggled with injury and finding rhythm. On the plus side there are performances like this (UEFA Cup semi final): It seems he has now some success as a coach, with him winning domestically, helped the Romanian under-21 team doing well and his son starting a career. Hagi was someone who impressed for his national side (not exclusively the 1994WC), less so at clubs, but there are some sporadic gems in 'big' games (as late as vs Real Madrid in 2000, and then also some gems in the 1980s). Despite being ditched at Barcelona, it seems he likes his former coach regardless: https://www.fourfourtwo.com/news/messi-and-barcelona-have-changed-football-forever-hagi https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...torul-constanta-champions-league-johan-cruyff
You're right that those seasons might not be considered failures in an absolute sense, but if you look at them and compare it to some of the players who are ranked behind him? Good and decent/good doesn't really cut it.... I don't know about the exact state of Brescia other than both of them joining when they got freshly promoted. Hagi was 27 when he joined, Baggio was 33 and ended up getting his number retired.
Yes I see. Did he "fail"? Ultimately yes for Barcelona (injuries didn't help), maybe for Brescia, no at Real Madrid (10+ goals and 10+ assists in the league as attacking midfielder is very good, the ratings are good). It's not my intention to make excuses but a good question would be: what made him so highly rated? Combination of his skill, being nominated and voted for the most prestigious awards (voted for four different teams at BdO), tokenism, appearing in tournaments during three different decades, appearing in european club finals in the 1980s and the 2000s. It's also a matter of what people see and watch. Journalists, people and 'experts' are probably swayed by some tournament matches (not only 1994WC, also a great game vs Argentina in 1990), the odd El Clasico where he played well (it wasn't as big a match worldwide as later, but already televised around the world), various good to excellent continental matches. He has some good semi final and final games throughout the years, and also the Supercup (running circles around Real Madrid with Galatasaray is nice). There were set times where people could see him. It doesn't make me angry OK - found now Hagi had only 5 goals and 3 assists in his 1992-93 Serie A season. That's disappointing and could/should have been better. Brescia only scoring only 36 team goals. So that's probably a 'no', despite not playing with an Appiah, Guardiola or Pirlo.
Hagi before Real Madrid played for Steaua. With them he reached a Champions Cup final and a semi-final. He also played well at WC Italy 1990. That's how he got on the map.
His numbers for Steaua were very good both in the Romanian championship and in Europe. He said that he needed a challenge after Steaua, so a big team was a logical step.
In fairness, he was a forward and striker at Bucharest while his role and position changed abroad. He wasn't supposed to be the main goalscorer at Real Madrid and Barcelona, and yet when it clicked he still met the 10 league goals and 10 league assists benchmark as a midfielder. His output in international games (for club and country; against strong and small teams alike) didn't drop as much. That shows a more steady baseline, but it is true he was nevertheless inconsistent. A man of certain games and moments rather than steady influence and providing a steady platform throughout.
Yeah Hagi was so good, they sold him to a side promoted from Serie B. Of course he's better than Henry or Nedved. No doubt. Agreed I understand what made him highly rated for some people, my OP was a bit of a rhetorical question. I just strongly disagree and the reason I brought it up is because Hagi is the only player in Top 100 lists where I'm 99% certain that he gets regularly ranked above players who were superior.
He was Real's best player in the second season. They could have won the title. In the last game Hagi scored 2 goals and the coach subbed him. After that Real lost the game.
Now you name two of the most consistent players of their time. Usually they are ranked lower below magicians of their own generations (Ronaldinho for example, not a benchmark of consistency or great numbers) as well.
Hagi was never a striker for bucharest A forward yes like Maradona in 81 The correct terminology has to be used in this case as there is a clear distinction between a forward with play making duties and a striker reliant mostly on service Hagi became a "God" in Turkey during his veteran years This is when he became a more traditional playmaker (playing deeper when he lost his pace) and his vision became more utilised and noticeable
I can't see the comparison. Ronaldinho had great numbers and was a massive success overall when he played for the biggest club.
Without the luxuries of being a primary set piece/penalty taker Ronaldinho at Barcelona didn't actually have that much better goalscoring numbers than zidane at real Madrid Like riquelme(villarreal)and Maradona(napoli) Ronaldinhos Barcelona tally consisted of a disproportionate amount of "luxury" goals compared to open play ones
The comparison is with Henry and Nedved (btw, Voetbal International placed Henry considerably higher than Hagi, and they mention Hagi his volatile nature). Ronaldinho, even at his very best, was an inconsistent player and he was a steady fixture at a top team for a much shorter time. His goals and assists numbers in 2004-05, when he won the Ballon d'Or, do not compare favorably to either the handful best seasons of Henry or Nedved. Each to his own but I'd personally say Hagi his 1991-92 for Real Madrid (and really, that sell to Brescia was strange) compares well to any Ronaldinho season bar 2005-06 and maybe 2006-07 (when he was more static but still produced). Of course Ronaldinho had the higher peak than Hagi at club level, but the comparison is about Henry and Nedved (and you naming two paragons of consistency). Regardless of what the ratings and international fame says, the 1991-92 effort compares fine to all but one Ronaldinho season.
Why was Hagi transfered to Brescia after the 1991/92 season? For a loss to make it even worse. Barca never in a billion years would have sold Ronaldinho after 03/04. This is a sincere question - do you know the circumstances of the transfer?
Firstly you need to bring Ronaldinho "back to earth" When you remove the rose tinted glasses and realise he was in fact never a statistically great player at least not in terms of what he offered in open play goals and assists Than a comparison with Hagi 91/92 doesn't seem so far fetched In his most productive prime season R10 scored 10 penalties out of 26 total goals(2005/06) Hagi was never inflated as this Neither was Zidane What separated R10 from his contemporaries was his ability to conjure up magic in the most unlikely of scenarios His end product relative to others in his generation and more pertinently compared to Hagi wasn't remarkable
Ronaldinho had better club seasons at Barcelona from 2003 till 2006 then Hagi ever had. It shouldn't be a discussion. I don't know the circumstances of his transfer. A big part why he choose Brescia was because Mircea Lucescu wanted him. It is odd that he left Real Madrid after a very good season.
Yes they sold him at a loss (unlike for example Bergkamp to Arsenal a few seasons later). It is not always easy to say this with many factors playing a role, including agents, nationality considerations and other reasons. This is roughly my idea, with some mild uncertainty. Hagi was in 1990 bought for a club record. He was the most expensive Real Madrid player ever. Real Madrid had just won 5 league championships in a row, two UEFA Cups followed by three EC semi finals. They were however comfortably beaten by an emerging Barcelona in the Copa del Rey, with Barcelona winning half of the recent Clasicos. Thus the president Mendoza bought Hagi for a club record and also liked it to sign a starting player of Barcelona (Luis Milla). Problem for Hagi was that the manager Toshack didn't want him. "Hagi had great qualities, there was no doubting that, but he had been the star of the show at Steaua Bucharest and he could be a bit anarchic. He was an itinerant and undisciplined type of footballer and he seemed to just play wherever he wanted. He'd had all sorts of offers before joining Madrid, including advances from Arrigo Sacchi." To accommodate him Hagi was moved to the wings. Unfortunately for him, Toshack was sacked, went through three other managers (including Di Stefano, also sacked) and Real Madrid had a poor season. The ageing Hugo Sanchez could be destabilizing for a team and now there was also Hagi. It can be argued Hagi did not make it easier but the issues went wider. Hagi lost his starting place under the next managers. He wasn't a starting player against Barcelona and also not against Atletico Madrid. The next season (1991-92) was much better, with also good games against Barcelona really. The managers Antic and Beenhakker made him more central, resulting in 15+ goals and 10+ assists without a penalty. There were issues with Hagi his durability and stamina (he only completed 17 of his 48 games), and he had two red cards, but he was central to reaching the Copa del Rey final, had a good European campaign (scored in the semis) and the title was lost on the last day against tricky Tenerife. On the island - also a tricky opponent for the other Spanish top teams at the time - Hagi had an assist and a wonderful free kick in the match but the title was lost. The manager was, again, sacked and the new manager (Benito Floro) did not want him. Hagi with his #10 shirt was a scapegoat, in my opinion quite unfair. This urge to sell by the new manager lowered of course the price. The president Mendoza, who himself had bought him as a trophy signing, started looking around and Brescia was because of the Romanian connection (other Romanians were playing there, the manager Lucescu had given Hagi his debut) an option. Even better was that Brescia would go on to pay the same wages to Hagi, a testament to the financial supremacy of the Serie A at the time. Stars as Francescoli and Abedi Pele played for sides as Cagliaria and Torino. I've read in the newspaper archives there were complaints that Hagi played so much better in a (skilled) Romanian team. Hagi his stamina didn't seem to be a massive problem when well into his 30s he caused his (sporadic!) damage against the Real Madrid's, AC Milan's and Arsenal's of this world. Well there are many differences but one crucial is Barcelona ending on a positive note (coming close to the title, after a weak first half of the season and weak previous years). Real Madrid in 1991-92 ended the season on a sour note with the manager being sacked. Comparisons are tricky but perhaps it's more like Barcelona (for example losing the 'game of the century' against Real Madrid etc.) selling Rivaldo after he won the World Cup. Again, not to give excuses. I'm not sure whether I would have Hagi in a top 100 all-time, well possibly top 20 of the 1990s. At the same time there are aspects I have sympathy for and also try to be conscious about potentially being too harsh (next to 'bigger' names).