Hagi Ianis Ready To Eliminate His Name At Euro 2024, Following In The Footsteps Of His Father

Hagi's son, the Romanian legend Gheorghe Hagi. (photo: eufa.com)

JAKARTA - Hagi's tennis has been around for a long time compared to his father who is one of Romania's best players of all time, Gheorghe Hagi. However, in the 2024 European Cup in Germany, he had the opportunity to make a name for himself.

The 25-year-old attacking midfielder played an important role in bringing Romania to a 1-1 draw with Slovakia in their final Group E match on Wednesday, June 26, winning a penalty that Razvan Marin executed to equalize.

Romania won the group and will now face the unstable Netherlands in the round of 16, opening up opportunities for a similar achievement to the one his father made. Senior Hagi thanks to his brilliance brought Romania to the 1994 World Cup quarter-finals, where they narrowly lost to Sweden.

"I am proud of what we have accomplished tonight. We made a promise and succeeded in fulfilling that promise. It was a big responsibility for me to play in the starting XI, but I did my best and showed what I could do," said Ianis Hagi.

"It was very difficult for me to recover after injury and absence from the field for a year, so being at EURO is a dream come true. This is a historic moment for us and for Romania. I am very happy to be able to follow in my father's footsteps," he added.

Thirty years ago, Gheorghe was coached by Anghel Iordanescu, and in Germany, Ianis worked under the tactics of Edward Iordanescu, Anghel's son, connecting two of Romania's most famous football families.

Two generations, three decades apart, hope to make history for Romania.

"Kami mencapai tujuan pertama kami, semua orang tahu bahwa kami ingin lolos dari kelompok, dan selain itu kami juga memiliki tujuan untuk membawa orang-orang ke jalan, membuat mereka bahagia, bangga dengan generasi ini, tim kami," kata Ianis Hagi kepada PRO TV.

"We are not afraid of any opponents, but we are in the first final tournament at the senior level (for this group of players). We have good experience and then there are us, the young, with a lot of enthusiasm and quality," said Ianis Hagi, who also wears his father's sacred back number, 10.

Gheorghe Hagi has the honor of playing for Real Madrid and Barcelona in his club's brilliant career, and bringing Steaua Bucharest to the 1989 European Cup final where they lost to AC Milan.

His son's path is more of a struggle. Heanis grew up in his father's academy and was made his debut by his 16-year-old father at a Romanian club formed by Gheorghe in 2009, Viitorul Constant.

He then joined Fiorentina in Italy, Genk in Belgium, and now Rangers in Scotland.

After a long-term injury, Hagi went through an unsatisfactory season when he was loaned to Spanish club Alaves, in 2023-24, where 22 of his LaLiga performances, including eight starters, resulted in only two assists and no goals.

However, at Euro 2024, he created a sensation, not because of his last name, but because of his achievements on the field.