5 fantasisti who failed at Barcelona

Gheorghe Hagi: 1994-1996

Barcelona playmaker number 10
Appearances:
51 / Goals: 11

It’s quite easy to forget that Gheorghe Hagi once played for Barcelona, making his presence on this list somewhat surprising. What makes his presence even more surprising is that he joined the Blaugrana on the back of his wonderful performances during the USA ’94 World Cup, when he helped Romania to their unprecedented run to the quarter-finals. That Romania side should really have gone further (and who knows what they might have achieved if facing Brazil – who they would have met – having already dismantled Colombia and seen off Argentina) and Hagi was their undoubted star.

Even more baffling is that Hagi was actually plying his trade in Serie B with modest Brescia at the time, so it is of little wonder Barcelona thought they’d won the lottery by finding the perfect playmaker replacement for outgoing wizard, Michael Laudrup, who, with impeccable timing and anticipation as ever, had sensed that the Dream Team had run its course and would endure a difficult season, heavily influenced by a post World Cup hangover.

Hagi had options after his stellar World Cup including a tempting Premier League offer from Spurs, then managed by Ossie Ardiles, but once his idol Cruyff came calling there was only one destination. His first appearance in a Barca shirt was also the team’s first since their humiliating 4-0 loss to AC Milan in that year’s European Cup final – a friendly versus Groningen. Hagi scored twice (including a rare header) but comically the team had to come from four goals down to scrape a 5-5 draw with the minnows. It may only have been a friendly but it proved an omen, foretold by Laudrup, that all wouldn’t go well regardless of ability. Two defeats and a draw in their opening five Liga fixtures set the tone and the team finished fourth, outside of Champions League qualification, then third in his second and final season.

Though he ended up gaining more of a cult – scoring one of the greatest goals never seen (due to fog) from halfway line against Celta Vigo – rather than star man status during his time in Barcelona, Hagi feels his time under Cruyff was invaluable and influential for his own future in coaching. “Simple is best, that’s what Cruyff always said,” is now what Hagi imparts, as well as going on record to state that he’d fulfilled his potential under the Dutch master. Few could argue with his synopsis as Hagi moved on to Galatasaray to see out the rest of his club career in spectacular fashion with the Turkish giants.

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