Campioni mondiali la fotbal: Carlos Dunga, căpitanul echipei Braziliei în 1994

Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri (born October 31, 1963 in Ijuí, Rio Grande do Sul), commonly known as Dunga (pronounced Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈdũɡɐ]), is a former Brazilian football defensive midfielder and a World Champion for Brazil in the 1994 World Cup. Dunga coached the national team in the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was dismissed by the Brazilian Football Confederation following the team's elimination in the quarter finals.

His nickname is derived from the Portuguese translation of Dopey, a dwarf from the Snow White tale, and was given to him by his uncle due to his short height during his childhood. It was believed that he would be a short adult and the nickname remained in use even after he grew up and became taller. He is of Italian and German descent.

At the club level, Dunga played for Internacional (1980–84, 1999–2000), Corinthians (1984–85), Santos (1985–87), Vasco da Gama (1987), Pisa (1987–88), Fiorentina (1988–92), Pescara (1992–93), VfB Stuttgart (1993–95), and Jubilo Iwata (1995–98).

Internationally, Dunga played 91 times for Brazil, scoring six goals. His international career began in 1983 at the u-20 World Cup. Dunga captained the young Brazilian squad, winning the tournament against Argentina in the final. A year later, he helped Brazil to win a silver medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. Dunga then started to get calls for Brazil's main squad, winning the 1989 Copa América by defeating Uruguay at the Maracanã Stadium.

In 1990, he was a starter for Brazil at the World Cup 1990. After a lackluster tournament and the subsequent elimination in the second round by arch rivals Argentina, Dunga was held responsible more so than his teammates for the worst campaign at a World Cup since 1966. In the following years, he would be consistently targeted by Brazilian press due to his supposedly thuggish style of playing. This period in Brazil's football history was called "Era Dunga," as according to fans and journalists he symbolized the less than thrilling, slow, and defensive style of the team. In spite of that, Brazil's new coach Carlos Alberto Parreira kept Dunga as one of the starting XI throughout the 1994 World Cup Qualifiers and Finals.

Raí actually started the 1994 World Cup as Brazilian captain but after being allegdly the responsible for Brazil's poor performances, he was dropped altogether for Mazinho. Dunga took the captaincy and went on to lift the trophy.

Four years later, although playing in the lower standard J. League in Japan, he captained Brazil once more to the final where they lost to France.

Dunga played the anchor role in midfield extremely effectively. Many other players in this position lunged into tackles and put themselves about, but Dunga rarely went to ground to make a tackle, instead using his anticipation and timing.

In 1994, he often served as the captain of the team. Dunga scored the third penalty kick in the finals against Italy. He assumed the captain role for the next four years until the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The 1998 tournament was notable for the lack of teamwork. It was often visible as Dunga got into a fight with teammate Bebeto in the first round match against Morocco, forcing the rest of the team to break them up. Dunga also scored in the fourth penalty kick in the shootout eventually won by Brazil against the Netherlands in the semi-finals.

Honours as a player

Internacional

* Rio Grande do Sul State League: 1982, 1983, 1984

Vasco da Gama

* Rio de Janeiro State League: 1987
* Guanabara Cup: 1986

Júbilo Iwata

* J. League: 1997

Brazil U-20

* FIFA U-20 World Cup: 1983
* South American Youth Championship: 1983

Brazil

* FIFA World Cup: 1994
* FIFA Confederations Cup: 1997
* South American Pre-Olympic Tournament: 1984

Succes 2011: Victor Wooten, american bass player, composer, author, and producer. Owner of five Grammy Awards

Victor Lemonte Wooten (born September 11, 1964) is an American bass player, composer, author, and producer, and has been the recipient of five Grammy Awards.

Wooten has won the "Bass Player of the Year" award from Bass Player magazine three times in a row, and was the first person to win the award more than once. In addition to a solo career and collaborations with various artists, Wooten has been the bassist for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since the group's formation in 1988.

In 2008, Wooten joined Stanley Clarke and Marcus Miller to record an album. The trio of bassists, under the name SMV, released Thunder in August 2008 and began a supporting tour the same month.

Wooten was also a judge for the 4th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.

Wooten is most often seen playing Fodera basses, of which he has a signature model. His most famous Fodera, a 1983 Monarch Deluxe which he refers to as "number 1", sports a Kahler Tremolo System model 2400 bridge. Fodera's "Yin Yang" basses (designed/created for Wooten) incorporate the Yin Yang symbol - which Wooten often uses in various media - as a main focal point of the top's design and construction. It is often mistakenly thought that the Yin Yang symbol is painted onto the bass, but in reality, the symbol is created from two pieces of naturally finished wood (Ebony and Holly, for example), fitted together to create the Yin-Yang pattern.

Though Wooten's basses receive much attention, his most frequent and consistent response when asked by his fans about his equipment (or equipment in general) is that "the instrument doesn't make the music ... you do". He'll often go on to state that the most important features to look for in a bass are comfort and playability. During a question and answer session at a 1998 concert, Wooten stated that "If you take a newborn baby and put them on the instrument, they're going to get sounds out of it that I can't get out of it, so we're all the best." This philosophy seems closely related to Wooten's approach to music in general, which is that music is a language. According to Wooten, while speaking or listening, one doesn't focus on the mouth as it is forming words; similarly, when a musician is playing or performing the focus shouldn't be on the instrument.

As well as playing electric bass (both fretted and fretless) and the double bass, Victor also played the cello in high school. He still plays cello occasionally with the Flecktones. This is the instrument to which he attributes his musical training.

Internaționali români de fotbal: Gheorghe Hagi

Gheorghe Hagi (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈɡe̯orɡe ˈhad͡ʒi]; born February 5, 1965 in Săcele) is a former Romanian footballer. He was famous for his passing, close control, long shots and was regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe during the 1980s and 1990s. Galatasaray fans called him 'Commandante' (The Commander).

Nicknamed "The Maradona of the Carpathians", he is considered a hero in his homeland as well as in Turkey. He has won his country's "Player of the Year" award six times, and is regarded as one of the best football players of the 20th century.

He played for the Romanian national team in three World Cups in 1990, 1994 and 1998, as well as in three European Football Championships in 1984, 1996 and 2000. He won a total of 125 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.[4] Hagi is one of the few footballers to have played for both the Spanish rival clubs Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.

In March 2004, he was named the 25th among the top 125 living footballers by Pelé.
He started his career playing for the youth teams of Farul Constanţa in the 1970s, before being selected by the Romanian Football Federation to join the squad of Luceafărul Bucureşti in 1980 for two years. In 1982 he returned to Constanţa, 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 Studenţesc of Bucharest instead.

In the winter of 1987 Hagi was transferred to Romanian giants Steaua Bucureşti as the team prepared for their European Super Cup final against FC 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 Studenţesc 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 Romania Cup 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 Bucureşti for him. Hagi played two seasons with Real Madrid and then was sold to Brescia Calcio.

Hagi started the season 1992–1993 with Brescia Calcio 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 FC Barcelona.

After two years at FC Barcelona, Hagi signed for Galatasaray S.K.. 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 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 the European Super Cup with a historic win against Hagi's former club Real Madrid. Both feats were firsts, and remain unmatched in Turkish soccer 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 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 the 24th of April. He still holds the record as Romanian national team top scorer.

Honours as player

Sportul Studenţesc

* Romanian League: Runner-up 1985–86

Steaua Bucureşti

* Romanian League: 1987–88, 1988–88, 1988–89
* Romanian Cup: 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89
* European Super Cup: 1986
* European Cup: Runner-up 1988–89

Real Madrid

* Supercopa de España: 1990
* La Liga: Runner-up 1991–92
* Spanish Cup: Runner-up 1991–92

Brescia

* Anglo-Italian Cup: 1993–94

FC Barcelona

* Supercopa de España: 1994
* Spanish Cup: Runner-up 1995–96

Galatasaray

* Turkish Super League: 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00
* Turkish Cup: 1998–99, 1999–00
* Turkish Super Cup: 1996, 1997
* UEFA Cup: 1999–00
* UEFA Super Cup: 2000

Individual

* Romanian League: Top Scorer 1985, 1986
* European Cup: Top Scorer 1988
* Romanian Footballer of the Year: 1985, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000
* FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1994
* FIFA 100

As manager

Galatasaray

* Turkish Cup: (2005)

--------------------------------------

Gheorghe Hagi (n. 5 februarie 1965, Săcele, Constanța, jud. Constanța) este un fost fotbalist român, de origine aromână, supranumit Regele fotbalului românesc și Maradona din Carpați. Este cel mai bun marcator din istoria naționalei României cu 35 de goluri înscrise.

Gheorghe Hagi a început să joace fotbal la vârsta de 10 ani, la Farul Constanța, echipă la care a și debutat în Divizia A, la 17 ani. În cariera sa, Hagi a mai evoluat la Sportul Studențesc, Steaua București (cu care a câștigat trei titluri de campion al României, două Cupe și Supercupa Europei, în perioada 1987-1990), Real Madrid, Brescia, Barcelona și Galatasaray (patru titluri de campion al Turciei, o Cupă UEFA și o Supercupă a Europei)[1]. La echipa națională, Hagi a reușit să bifeze 125 de prezențe, cu 35 de goluri marcate.

Ca jucător, Hagi a fost un purtător clasic de număr 10 (conducător de joc) care se remarca în teren prin claritatea paselor trimise către atacanți și șuturile nimicitoare la poartă, atunci când se afla el însuși în poziție de finalizare. Câteva din golurile sale au intrat în istoria fotbalului. Hagi își depășea ușor adversarii prin dribling și găsea deseori de unul singur soluția de rezolvare a unui meci. Deși nu excela la capitolul viteză, se orienta excelent în teren și reușea să fie prezent în cele mai bune poziții, care îi permiteau fie să paseze decisiv, fie să șuteze de la distanță.

Hagi era și un excelent executant de lovituri libere, înscriind numeroase goluri din poziții fixe.

Cariera lui Hagi ca jucător profesionist (sau semi-profesionist - în cazul regimului comunist) poate fi împărțită în mai multe perioade:

1. 1982-1983: debutul. Hagi este remarcat la nivel de juniori, debutează în Divizia A și la echipa Națională.
2. 1983-1988: consacrarea la nivel național, jucând la 2 echipe bucureștene de top. Mai ales la Sportul Studențesc, unde juca rol de "copil teribil", Hagi face câteva meciuri de-a dreptul senzaționale, contribuind decisiv în 1985 la câștigarea titlului de vicecampioni (cea mai bună performanță de până azi a clubului din Regie).

3. 1988-1990: consacrarea la nivel internațional. Hagi joacă o semifinală (în 1988) și o finală de Cupa Campionilor în 1989 (fiind desemnat al doilea jucător ca valoare din competiție, după Marco van Basten) și participă cu România la Cupa Mondială din 1990 - Italia.
4. 1990-1998: anii de maturitate. Hagi este liderul incontestabil al echipei României și contribuie decisiv la cele mai mari succese din istoria Naționalei.
5. 1998-2001: perioada târzie, marcată de o anumită labilitate psihică rezultată, probabil, și din stresul acumulat de-a lungul timpului. Din evenimentele "ciudate" ale acestei perioade putem aminti prima retragere din echipa națională din 1998), decizie asupra căreia Hagi va reveni în 1999 și conflictele tot mai dese cu arbitrii. Hagi a fost eliminat în 2 meciuri foarte importante, finala UEFA din 2000 (câștigată de Galatasaray) și sfertul de finală de la Campionatul European 2000 (pierdut de România, 0-2 cu Italia) și a provocat un scandal imens în Turcia, în 2001, când a fost pe punctul de a bate un arbitru, fiind suspendat 6 etape pentru acest lucru.

În ciuda finalului de carieră, în general Hagi a fost totuși un jucător fair-play, care era penalizat foarte rar de arbitri.

Hagi a debutat la echipa națională la vârsta de 18 ani, pe 10 august 1983 la Oslo, în meciul amical Norvegia - România. Până atunci jucase pentru România în echipa de juniori sub 16 ani (4 meciuri), echipa de juniori sub 17 ani (13 meciuri, 1 gol), echipa de juniori sub 18 ani (32 meciuri, 9 goluri) și echipa olimpică (4 meciuri).

În 1985, pe 16 octombrie, Mircea Lucescu, pe atunci antrenor al echipei naționale, l-a desemnat pentru prima oară pe Hagi căpitan al echipei naționale. Hagi avea doar 20 de ani și meciul, disputat pe stadionul 23 August împotriva Irlandei de Nord, era decisiv pentru calificarea la Campionatul Mondial de Fotbal din Mexic - 1986. Evoluția lui Hagi a fost foarte ștearsă și mulți au criticat la acea vreme decizia lui Lucescu. Cert este că vreme de câțiva ani căpitanul "de drept" al echipei naționale a devenit portarul Silviu Lung, un jucător mult mai matur și mai experimentat decât Hagi. Totuși, după retragerea lui Silviu Lung (în 1990), Hagi a devenit repede căpitanul de drept al naționalei. A fost de 65 de ori căpitanul echipei naționale, conducând din teren echipa României la 2 Cupe Mondiale (1994 - USA și 1998 - Franța) și la 2 Campionate Europene (1996 - Anglia și 2000 - Belgia și Olanda).

De asemenea, a mai participat cu România și la Campionatul European din 1984 - Franța (ca rezervă) și la Cupa Mondială din 1990 - Italia (ca titular). Pe 24 aprilie 2001 Gheorghe Hagi se retrage din echipa națională de fotbal României. La ultimul meci al lui Hagi pentru România au participat 80.000 de fani din toată țara.

Succes 2011: Gheorghe Hagi - perioada Galatasaray Istanbul

Gheorghe Hagi (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈɡe̯orɡe ˈhad͡ʒi]; born February 5, 1965 in Săcele) is a former Romanian footballer. He was famous for his passing, close control, long shots and was regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe during the 1980s and 1990s. Galatasaray fans called him 'Commandante' (The Commander).

Nicknamed "The Maradona of the Carpathians", he is considered a hero in his homeland as well as in Turkey. He has won his country's "Player of the Year" award six times, and is regarded as one of the best football players of the 20th century.

He played for the Romanian national team in three World Cups in 1990, 1994 and 1998, as well as in three European Football Championships in 1984, 1996 and 2000. He won a total of 125 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 FC Barcelona.

In March 2004, he was named the 25th among the top 125 living footballers by Pelé.
He started his career playing for the youth teams of Farul Constanţa in the 1970s, before being selected by the Romanian Football Federation to join the squad of Luceafărul Bucureşti in 1980 for two years. In 1982 he returned to Constanţa, 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 Studenţesc of Bucharest instead.

In the winter of 1987 Hagi was transferred to Romanian giants Steaua Bucureşti as the team prepared for their European Super Cup final against FC 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 Studenţesc 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 Romania Cup 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 Bucureşti for him. Hagi played two seasons with Real Madrid and then was sold to Brescia Calcio.

Hagi started the season 1992–1993 with Brescia Calcio 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 FC Barcelona.
After two years at FC Barcelona, Hagi signed for Galatasaray S.K.. 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 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 the European Super Cup with a historic win against Hagi's former club Real Madrid. Both feats were firsts, and remain unmatched in Turkish soccer 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.

Galatasaray

* Turkish Super League: 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00
* Turkish Cup: 1998–99, 1999–00
* Turkish Super Cup: 1996, 1997
* UEFA Cup: 1999–00
* UEFA Super Cup: 2000

Individual

* Romanian League: Top Scorer 1985, 1986
* European Cup: Top Scorer 1988
* Romanian Footballer of the Year: 1985, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000
* FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1994
* FIFA 100

Succes 2011: Gheorghe Hagi - perioada Barcelona CF

Gheorghe Hagi (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈɡe̯orɡe ˈhad͡ʒi]; born February 5, 1965 in Săcele) is a former Romanian footballer. He was famous for his passing, close control, long shots and was regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe during the 1980s and 1990s. Galatasaray fans called him 'Commandante' (The Commander).

Nicknamed "The Maradona of the Carpathians", he is considered a hero in his homeland as well as in Turkey. He has won his country's "Player of the Year" award six times, and is regarded as one of the best football players of the 20th century.

He played for the Romanian national team in three World Cups in 1990, 1994 and 1998, as well as in three European Football Championships in 1984, 1996 and 2000. He won a total of 125 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 FC Barcelona.

In March 2004, he was named the 25th among the top 125 living footballers by Pelé.
He started his career playing for the youth teams of Farul Constanţa in the 1970s, before being selected by the Romanian Football Federation to join the squad of Luceafărul Bucureşti in 1980 for two years. In 1982 he returned to Constanţa, 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 Studenţesc of Bucharest instead.

In the winter of 1987 Hagi was transferred to Romanian giants Steaua Bucureşti as the team prepared for their European Super Cup final against FC 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 Studenţesc 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 Romania Cup 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 Bucureşti for him. Hagi played two seasons with Real Madrid and then was sold to Brescia Calcio.

Hagi started the season 1992–1993 with Brescia Calcio 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 FC Barcelona.

After two years at FC Barcelona, Hagi signed for Galatasaray S.K.. 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 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 the European Super Cup with a historic win against Hagi's former club Real Madrid. Both feats were firsts, and remain unmatched in Turkish soccer 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.

FC Barcelona

* Supercopa de España: 1994
* Spanish Cup: Runner-up 1995–96

Succes 2011: Gheorghe Hagi - perioada Real Madrid

Gheorghe Hagi (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈɡe̯orɡe ˈhad͡ʒi]; born February 5, 1965 in Săcele) is a former Romanian footballer. He was famous for his passing, close control, long shots and was regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe during the 1980s and 1990s. Galatasaray fans called him 'Commandante' (The Commander).

Nicknamed "The Maradona of the Carpathians", he is considered a hero in his homeland as well as in Turkey. He has won his country's "Player of the Year" award six times, and is regarded as one of the best football players of the 20th century.

He played for the Romanian national team in three World Cups in 1990, 1994 and 1998, as well as in three European Football Championships in 1984, 1996 and 2000. He won a total of 125 caps for Romania, being ranked second after Dorinel Munteanu, and scored 35 goals, being ranked first.

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

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 FC Barcelona.

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

Real Madrid

* Supercopa de España: 1990
* La Liga: Runner-up 1991–92
* Spanish Cup: Runner-up 1991–92

-------------------------------------------------------------------


Gheorghe Hagi (n. 5 februarie 1965, Săcele, Constanța, jud. Constanța) este un fost fotbalist român, de origine aromână, supranumit Regele fotbalului românesc și Maradona din Carpați. Este cel mai bun marcator din istoria naționalei României cu 35 de goluri înscrise.
Gheorghe Hagi a început să joace fotbal la vârsta de 10 ani, la Farul Constanța, echipă la care a și debutat în Divizia A, la 17 ani[1]. În cariera sa, Hagi a mai evoluat la Sportul Studențesc, Steaua București (cu care a câștigat trei titluri de campion al României, două Cupe și Supercupa Europei, în perioada 1987-1990), Real Madrid, Brescia, Barcelona și Galatasaray (patru titluri de campion al Turciei, o Cupă UEFA și o Supercupă a Europei). La echipa națională, Hagi a reușit să bifeze 125 de prezențe, cu 35 de goluri marcate.

Ca jucător, Hagi a fost un purtător clasic de număr 10 (conducător de joc) care se remarca în teren prin claritatea paselor trimise către atacanți și șuturile nimicitoare la poartă, atunci când se afla el însuși în poziție de finalizare. Câteva din golurile sale au intrat în istoria fotbalului. Hagi își depășea ușor adversarii prin dribling și găsea deseori de unul singur soluția de rezolvare a unui meci. Deși nu excela la capitolul viteză, se orienta excelent în teren și reușea să fie prezent în cele mai bune poziții, care îi permiteau fie să paseze decisiv, fie să șuteze de la distanță.

Hagi era și un excelent executant de lovituri libere, înscriind numeroase goluri din poziții fixe.

Cariera lui Hagi ca jucător profesionist (sau semi-profesionist - în cazul regimului comunist) poate fi împărțită în mai multe perioade:

1. 1982-1983: debutul. Hagi este remarcat la nivel de juniori, debutează în Divizia A și la echipa Națională.
2. 1983-1988: consacrarea la nivel național, jucând la 2 echipe bucureștene de top. Mai ales la Sportul Studențesc, unde juca rol de "copil teribil", Hagi face câteva meciuri de-a dreptul senzaționale, contribuind decisiv în 1985 la câștigarea titlului de vicecampioni (cea mai bună performanță de până azi a clubului din Regie).
3. 1988-1990: consacrarea la nivel internațional. Hagi joacă o semifinală (în 1988) și o finală de Cupa Campionilor în 1989 (fiind desemnat al doilea jucător ca valoare din competiție, după Marco van Basten) și participă cu România la Cupa Mondială din 1990 - Italia.
4. 1990-1998: anii de maturitate. Hagi este liderul incontestabil al echipei României și contribuie decisiv la cele mai mari succese din istoria Naționalei.
5. 1998-2001: perioada târzie, marcată de o anumită labilitate psihică rezultată, probabil, și din stresul acumulat de-a lungul timpului. Din evenimentele "ciudate" ale acestei perioade putem aminti prima retragere din echipa națională din 1998), decizie asupra căreia Hagi va reveni în 1999 și conflictele tot mai dese cu arbitrii. Hagi a fost eliminat în 2 meciuri foarte importante, finala UEFA din 2000 (câștigată de Galatasaray) și sfertul de finală de la Campionatul European 2000 (pierdut de România, 0-2 cu Italia) și a provocat un scandal imens în Turcia, în 2001, când a fost pe punctul de a bate un arbitru, fiind suspendat 6 etape pentru acest lucru.

În ciuda finalului de carieră, în general Hagi a fost totuși un jucător fair-play, care era penalizat foarte rar de arbitri.

Succes 2011: Rafał Blechacz, the sole recipient of all five first prizes at the 15th International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition

Rafał Blechacz (born June 30, 1985 Nakło n. Notecią, Poland) is a Polish classical pianist.

On October 21, 2005, he became the sole recipient of all five first prizes at the 15th International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, taking First Prize and the polonaise, mazurka, sonata, and concerto prizes. According to ABC News, one of the judges, Professor Piotr Paleczny, said that Blechacz "so outclassed the remaining finalists that no second prize could actually be awarded." Another judge, the distinguished Irish pianist John O'Conor, said "He is one of the greatest artists I have had a chance to hear in my entire life," according to PBS. Blechacz was the first Pole to win the prize (given every five years) since 1975, when Krystian Zimerman won.

Blechacz completed his secondary education in the National Arthur Rubinstein Music School in Bydgoszcz and in May 2007 he graduated from the Feliks Nowowiejski Music Academy in Bydgoszcz with professor Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń. He is also a winner of second prize at the Artur Rubinstein in Memoriam Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz (2002), 4th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition (2003), and a winner of the Grand Prix at the International Piano Competition in Morocco in 2004.