*An "Activ Spirit" invitation to know the values given by the Romanians to humanity *O invitaţie marca "ACTIV SPIRIT", pentru cunoaşterea valorilor oferite de români umanităţii
(most of the materials in this blog are the source data from Wikipedia and are filled with pictures and video links from other sources)
Angela Gheorghiu “the world’s most glamorous opera star” (New York Sun).
Angela Gheorghiu (Romanian pronunciation: born Angela Burlacu) (born September 7, 1965) is a Romanian soprano opera singer. The most famous soprano of our days. Since her professional debut in 1990, she has sung as soprano leading roles at New York's Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden's Royal Opera House, the Vienna State Opera, Milan's La Scala, and many other opera houses in Europe and the United States. She has a substantial discography primarily with EMI Classics and Decca.
Biography
Gheorghiu was born in 1965 in Adjud, Romania. Along with her sister Elena Dan, she sang opera music from an early age. At age 14, Gheorghiu began to study singing at the National University of Music Bucharest, primarily under Mia Barbu. Her graduation in 1990 coincided with the overthrow of Nicolae Ceauşescu, enabling her to seek an international career immediately. Her professional opera debut took place at the Cluj Opera as Mimì in La bohème in 1990, the same year she won the Belvedere International Competition.
Gheorghiu made her international debut in 1992 at the Royal Opera House as Zerlina in Don Giovanni.She debuted at the Vienna State Opera as Adina in L'elisir d'amore and at the Metropolitan Opera as Mimi in La bohème. In 1994, she was auditioned by the conductor Sir Georg Solti for a new production of La traviata at the Royal Opera House. Her debut as Violetta led her to international stardom.
Gheorghiu has concentrated her repertoire on several different roles: Violetta, Mimì, Magda, Adina, and Juliette. In 2003, she debuted as Nedda in Pagliacci and as Marguerite in Faust. A soprano with a large range and a dark coloured voice, Gheorghiu is also able to sing spinto roles. She has recorded Tosca (also made into a film directed by the French Benoît Jacquot) and Leonora in Il trovatore for EMI and sang in her first Tosca at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 2006. Her performance was an overall success, although because the famous Zeffirelli production of 1964 was replaced by a new production (which premiered with her), there was comparison between the Toscas of Gheorghiu and Maria Callas, for whom the Zeffirelli production was designed.
She has recorded many recital albums and complete opera recordings and often appears on television and in concerts. The EMI recording of Massenet's Manon with Angela Georghiu in the title role won the 2001 Gramophone Award for "Best Opera Recording", was nominated for "Best Opera Recording" in the 2002 Grammy Awards.
Gheorghiu at the Met and elsewhere
On occasion, Gheorghiu has had difficult relationships with opera house managements and directors. Some, but not all, of them have stemmed from her opposition to directors who, as she put it in an interview with ABC "want to express their own fantasies, forgetting about the characters. At times, she says, what they put on stage goes against both the story and the music."She has attributed her outspokenness to her upbringing in Romania under the totalitarian regime of Nicolae Ceausescu:
"Because I grew up in a country where there was no possibility of having an opinion, it makes me stronger now. Lots of singers are frightened about not getting invited back to an opera house if they speak out. But I have the courage to be, in a way, revolutionary. I want to fight for opera, for it to be taken seriously. Pop music is for the body, but opera is for the soul.".
Gheorghiu had a problematic relationship with former Metropolitan Opera General Manager Joseph Volpe after her debut there as Mimi in 1993. In 1996, Gheorghiu was cast as Micaela in a new production of Carmen, opposite Waltraud Meier and Plácido Domingo. The production by Franco Zeffirelli called for Micaela to wear a blonde wig, a nuance to which the soprano refused to wear it. Volpe famously declared, "The wig is going on, with you or without you". Gheorghiu eventually accepted and appeared in ten performances of Carmen that season, including the Met's tour to Japan, although she kept the hood of her cloak up to cover the wig as much as possible[citation needed]. She appeared at the Met again in 1998 for six performances of Roméo et Juliette with her husband, tenor Roberto Alagna as Roméo. Volpe had planned to engage Gheorghiu in Violetta Valery for a new production of La traviata, to premiere in November 1998 and directed by Zeffirelli. Alagna was to sing the role of Violetta's lover, Alfredo Germont. According to Volpe, Gheorghiu and Alagna argued with the staff and the director over production details and continually delayed signing the contract. They eventually signed their contracts, and faxed them to the Met one day past their deadline. Volpe refused to accept them. The production opened with Patricia Racette and Marcelo Álvarez as the lovers.
In September 2007, Gheorghiu was dismissed from Lyric Opera of Chicago's production of La bohème by General Manager William Mason, for missing rehearsals and costume fittings, and generally "unprofessional" behavior. Gheorghiu said in a statement that she had missed some rehearsals to spend time with her husband, who was singing at the Met in Roméo et Juliette and rehearsing for Puccini's Madama Butterfly and added "I have sung 'Boheme' hundreds of times, and thought missing a few rehearsals wouldn't be a tragedy. It was impossible to do the costume fitting at the same time I was in New York. .
Six weeks later, Gheorghiu made her debut at San Francisco Opera receiving favorable reviews for her Magda in that company's new production of La rondine.The San Francisco Opera production originated with London's Royal Opera House, where it premiered on May 7, 2002 with Gheorghiu and Alagna as Magda and her lover Ruggiero. It is one which she particularly admires:
"When the curtain opened on La rondine at Covent Garden, the audience gasped and applauded. People want to dream. If directors want to do something new with operas, why not do something beautiful?"
Despite these issues, Gheorghiu and Alagna returned to the Metropolitan Opera for five performances of L'elisir d'amore in 1999 and for four performances of Faust in 2003. Gheorghiu also performed at the Met as Liu in Turandot in 2000; as Violetta in La traviata opposite Jonas Kaufmann in 2006 and 2007; as Amelia in Simon Boccanegra in 2007; as Mimì in La bohème in 2008; as Magda in the 2008-09 season in the ROH/SFO production of La rondine, the Met's first performance of the opera since 1936; and for the 2009-10 season she will be seen as Violetta, replacing her previous engagement as Marie Antoinette in a rare revival of John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles replaced due to the recession.
In August, 2009, Gheorghiu canceled all her scheduled 2010 Met performances of Carmen, for "personal reasons".It was to be her first public performance of the title role (normally sung by mezzo-sopranos). She also cancelled other Met performances scheduled near the end of 2010.
Personal life
Divorced from her first husband, from whom she retained her surname, Gheorghiu married tenor Roberto Alagna in 1996. The couple have sung together often on stage and on studio recordings. She was once chosen the 74th "most beautiful" woman in the world by the magazine FHM. In October 2009, Alagna said in an interview in Le Figaro that he and Angela Gheorghiu had separated. This has been confirmed on Gheorghiu's website where she has made it clear that she and Alagna have not been in a relationship for over two years. Following the separation, she declined to appear opposite Alagna in Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera in December 2009.
Recordings
La traviata (Verdi) Decca 1994 CD/DVD
The Puccini Experience RCA 1995
L'elisir d'amore (Donizetti) Decca 1996 CD/DVD
Arias Decca 1996
La rondine (Puccini) EMI 1996
Carmen (Bizet) Teldec 1996
Duets and Arias EMI 1996
Roméo et Juliette (Gounod) EMI 1998
My World Decca 1998
Verdi per Due EMI 1998
La bohème (Puccini) Decca 1999
Il trittico (Puccini) EMI 1999
Werther (Massenet) EMI 1999
Verdi Heroines Decca 2000
Manon (Massenet) EMI 2000
Verdi: Messa da Requiem (Verdi) EMI 2001 CD/DVD
Casta Diva EMI 2001
Mysterium - Sacred Arias Decca 2001
Tosca soundtrack (Puccini) EMI 2001 CD/DVD
Live From Covent Garden EMI 2002 CD/DVD
Il trovatore (Verdi) EMI 2002
Proms at the Palace Opus Arte 2002 DVD
Roméo et Juliette (Gounod) Arthaus Musik 2003
Carmen (Bizet) EMI 2003
The Essential Angela Gheorghiu Decca 2004
Diva EMI 2004
Puccini EMI 2005
Art of Angela Gheorghiu Decca 2004 DVDx2
Live From La Scala EMI 2007
La traviata (Verdi) Arthaus Musik 2007 DVD/Blu-ray
Marius et Fanny Larghetto 2008
Angela & Roberto Forever" EMI 2008
My Puccini EMI 2008
Madama Butterfly (Puccini) EMI 2009
La traviata (Live from La Scala) (Verdi) Arthaus-musik 2007 DVD
La bohème (Live from the Met) (Puccini) EMI 2008 DVD
Angela Gheorghiu (n. 7 septembrie 1965 la Adjud, judeţul Vrancea) este o soprană română, una dintre cele mai renumite cântăreţe de operă din lume.
Familia
Numele de fată este Burlacu. Sora ei, decedată foarte tânără, se numea Elena Dan (n. Burlacu). Angela a fost căsătorită cu Andrei Gheorghiu, fiul violonistului şi profesorului Ştefan Gheorghiu. Actualmente este măritată cu tenorul Roberto Alagna.
Cariera
Elevă a Miei Barbu, absolvă Conservatorul din Bucureşti în anul 1990. În străinătate cântă pentru prima dată la Basel în Elixirul dragostei de Gaetano Donizetti. Debutează în 1992 la Royal Opera House din Londra cu rolul Zerlina, în Don Giovanni, urmată de Mimì din Boema de Giacomo Puccini, apoi în Adina la Opera de Stat din Viena şi la Opera din Hamburg. În 1993 debutează la Metropolitan Opera în Boema. La Covent Garden a debutat în mult aplaudata Traviata, dirijată de Sir Georg Solti, în 1994, spectacol pentru care, ca să poată fi transmis în direct, au fost anulate programele de la BBC. Spectacolul a fost înregistrat de casa de discuri Decca.
Interpretează rolul protagonistei în filmul "Romeo şi Julietta" publicat de EMI Classics. În anul 2001 interpretează Floria Tosca alături de soţul ei, tenorul francez Roberto Alagna, în rolul Cavaradossi în filmul-operă Tosca de Jacquot, film prezentat în afara concursului la Festivalul de Cinema de la Veneţia.
Vocea ei este considerată de către critica internaţională drept o combinaţie între vocile a doua celebre cântareţe de operă, Maria Callas şi Renata Tebaldi.
În anul 2002 participă cu spectacolul "Prom at the Palace" la celebrarea Jubileului Reginei Elisabeta II. Este premiată cu “La Medaille Vermeille de la Ville de Paris” şi devine “Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres”.
Cu compania Metropolitan Opera a cântat deja în peste 70 de reprezentaţii, dintre cântăreţele românce fiind depăşită doar de marea solistă clujeancă Stella Roman care a cântat 126 de spectacole, între anii 1941 - 1951.
Discografie selectivă
Arias Decca 1996
L'elisir d'amore (Donizetti) Decca 1997
Mysterium - Sacred Arias Decca 2001
La Bohème (Puccini) Decca
La Traviata (Verdi) Decca
La Rondine (Puccini) EMI
Werther (Massenet) EMI
Manon (Massenet) EMI
Tosca soundtrack (Puccini) EMI
Il Trittico (Puccini) EMI
Verdi: Requiem (Verdi) EMI
Il Trovatore (Verdi) EMI
Romeo et Juliette (Gounod) EMI
Live From La Scala EMI 2007
Primul contract exclusiv l-a semnat cu Decca în 1995, unde a înregistrat Traviata de la Covent Garden, Elixirul dragostei de la Lyon, Boema cu Orchestra de la Scala din Milano, recitalurile Arias cu orchestra teatrului Regio din Torino, Verdi Heroines cu orchestra „Giuseppe Verdi” din Milano, My World şi Misterium cu orchestra filarmonicii din Londra.
Al doilea contract exclusiv l-a semnat cu EMI în 1998, unde a înregistrat Duets and Arias cu Roberto Alagna şi orchestra ROH Covent Garden, La Rondine de Puccini cu orchestra filarmonicii din Londra, Romeo şi Julieta cu orchestra Capitol din Toulouse, Verdi per due cu Roberto Alagna şi orchestra din Berlin, Gianni Schicchi de Puccini, Werther de Massenet cu orchestra din Londra, Manon de Massenet, Trubadurul cu orchestra filarmonicii din Londra şi Carmen cu orchestra Capitol din Toulouse. După recitatul Casta Diva au urmat Classics on a Summer's Evening, Verdi Requiem şi recitalul Live from Covent Garden din 2001.
În proiect se află Amicul Fritz de Mascagni pentru Deutsche Grammophon, cu George Petean şi Roberto Alagna în rolurile principale.
Discurile sale au fost premiate în nenumărate rânduri cu premii ca: Premiul Grammy, Dyapason D'or, Choc du Monde de la Musique, Premiul Cecillia, Deutsche Schallplattenkritik, Musica e dischi, USA Critics Award, „Premio Zenatello” sau „Echo Klassik”.
Sergiu Celibidache June 28, 1912 – August 14, 1996) was a Romanian conductor.
Biography
Celibidache was born in Roman, Romania, and began his studies in music with the piano, after which he studied music, philosophy and mathematics in Bucharest, Romania and then in Paris. One of the most important influences in his life was his introduction to Martin Steinke, who, being knowledgeable about Buddhism, heavily affected Celibidache's outlook for the rest of his life.
Career
He studied in Berlin and, from 1945 to 1952, he was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. He later worked with radio orchestras in Stockholm, Stuttgart and Paris. He also worked in Britain in the late 1940s and 1950s, due partly to the promotional efforts of the pianist Eileen Joyce and her partner, an artists' agent. Joyce said that Celibidache was the greatest conductor she had ever worked with - "he was the only one who got inside my soul".In 1970 he was awarded Denmark's Sonning Award. From 1979 until his death he was music director of the Munich Philharmonic. He regularly taught at Mainz University in Germany and in 1984 taught at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Teaching was a major focus throughout his life and his courses were frequently open to all without fee.
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Celibidache's approach to music-making is often described in terms of what he did not do instead of what he did. For example, much has been made of Celibidache's "refusal" to make recordings even though almost all of his concert activity actually was recorded with many released posthumously by major labels such as EMI and Deutsche Grammophon with consent of his family. Nevertheless, Celibidache did pay little attention to making these recordings, which he viewed merely as by-products of his orchestral concerts.
Celibidache's focus was instead on creating, during each concert, the optimal conditions for a what he called a "transcendent experience". Aspects of Zen Buddhism, such as ichi-go ichi-e, were strongly influential on him. He believed that musical experiences were extremely unlikely to ensue when listening to recorded music, so he eschewed them. As a result, some of his concerts did provide audiences with exceptional and sometimes life-altering experiences, including, for example, a 1984 concert in Carnegie Hall by the Orchestra of the Curtis Institute that New York Times critic John Rockwell touted as the best of his twenty-five years of concert-going.
Sergiu Celibidache giving a conducting lesson at the Curtis Institute in 1984 to Curtis Student David Bernard
Celibidache was well known for his demands for extensive rehearsal time with orchestras. An oft-mentioned feature of many of his concerts, captured in the live recordings of them, is a slower tempo than what is considered the norm, while, in fast passages, his tempos often exceeded expectations.In Celibidache's own view, however, criticism of a recording's tempo is irrelevant, as it is not (and cannot be) a critique of the performance but rather of a transcription of it, without the ambience of the moment – for him, a key factor in any musical performance. As Celibidache explained, the acoustic space in which one hears a concert directly affects the likelihood of the emergence of his sought-after transcendent experience. The acoustic space within which one hears a recording of one of his performances, on the other hand, has no impact on the performance, as it is impossible for the acoustic features of that space to provide feedback to the musicians that might impel them to, for example, play slower or faster.
That his recorded performances differ so widely from the majority of other recordings has led them to be seen by some as collectors' items rather than mainstream releases, 'one-offs' rather than reference recordings. The reality is that the recordings and their relationship to other recordings are the arena within which his artistic importance is now judged, while the contributions he made in the concert hall fade along with the memories of those who were there.
Notable releases have been his Munich performances of Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Anton Bruckner, Robert Schumann, Johann Sebastian Bach, Gabriel Fauré and a series of live performances with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra.
One controversial incident during his tenure with the Munich Philharmonic was a protracted legal battle to oust principal trombonist Abbie Conant that lasted 12 years, with Conant ultimately prevailing. Ms. Conant alleged sexism in an internet article published by her husband, William Osbourne. The controversy is discussed in Malcolm Gladwell's book Blink.
Celibidache died in La Neuville-sur-Essonne, arrondissement Pithiviers near Paris in 1996 at 84.
Sergiu Celibidache (n. 28 iunie 1912, Roman, judeţul Neamţ, România; d. 14 august 1996, La Neuville-sur-Essonne, departamentul Loiret, Franţa) a fost un dirijor şi compozitor român, membru de onoare al Academiei Române.
Biografie
S-a născut la Roman. Primii ani după liceul absolvit în oraşul natal şi i-a petrecut la Iaşi, unde ia lecţii de pian şi compoziţie, apoi se înscrie la cursurile de filosofie şi matematică ale Universităţii din Bucureşti.
În 1936 pleacă la Berlin unde studiază la Academia de Muzică, având ca profesori pe Walter Gmeindl şi Heinz Tiessen (compoziţie), Fritz Stein (arta dirijatului). În acelaşi timp audiază cursurile de filosofie ale lui Eduard Spranger (psihologie) şi Nicolai Hartmann (metafizică).
Abia sfârşite studiile, devine în 1945 dirijor pro tempore al faimoasei Orchestre Filarmonice din Berlin, întrucât directorul acesteia, Wilhelm Furtwängler, fusese suspendat din funcţie, fiind suspectat de a fi colaborat cu regimul nazist. Până în 1952, când Furtwängler, reabilitat, redevine şef al orchestrei, Celibidache dirijează peste 400 concerte cu orchestra filarmonică din Berlin, impunându-se ca personalitate muzicală de o excepţională exigenţă artistică, nu totdeauna comodă pentru componenţii unei orchestre. Suferă o mare deziluzie când aceştia, în 1954, îl aleg pe Herbert von Karajan dirijor pe viaţă, ca succesor al lui Furtwängler.
Pentru un timp, nu mai are o funcţie permanentă, fiind invitat cu regularitate la pupitrul unor renumite orchestre simfonice europene: Orchestra Radio din Stuttgart (Germania), Orchestra Naţională din Paris (Franţa), Orchestra Simfonică Radio din Stockholm (Suedia). Între 1960 şi 1962 ţine cursuri de perfecţionare în arta dirijorală la Accademia Musicale Chigiana din Siena (Italia), iar mai târziu la Fontainebleau (Franţa) şi la München (Germania) pentru tineri dirijori selecţionaţi cu multă severitate.
În 1979 primeşte funcţia de director muzical general al oraşului München şi de dirijor permanent al orchestrei filarmonice din acest oraş. Sub conducerea sa, Filarmonica din München devine una din cele mai bune orchestre simfonice din lume.
Sergiu Celibidache cu David Bernard în cursul unei lecţii de dirijat la "The Curtis Institute of Music", Philadelphia (1984). David Bernard este în prezent director muzical al "Lawyers Orchestra", New York
Pentru activitatea sa artistică, Sergiu Celibidache a primit diverse distincţii, printre care: cetăţean de onoare al oraşului München (1992), membru de onoare al Academiei Române (1992), doctor honoris causa al Universităţii din Iaşi (1992), Ordinul Maximillian pentru Ştiinţă şi Artă (Germania, 1993).
A murit la 14 august 1996, la reşedinţa sa din comuna La Neuville-sur-Essonne, departamentul Loiret (în apropiere de Paris).
Nadia Elena Comăneci ( born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian gymnast, winner of three Olympic gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and the first ever gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. She is also the winner of two gold medals at the 1980 summer Olympics. She is one of the best-known gymnasts in the world and, along with Olga Korbut, is credited with popularizing the sport around the world.
Early life
Comăneci was born in Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (now Oneşti), Romania, as the daughter of Gheorghe and Ştefania-Alexandrina. Her pregnant mother was watching a Russian film in which the heroine's name was Nadya, the diminutive version of the Russian name Nadyezhda (which means, literally, "Hope"). She decided that her daughter would be named Nadia, too. Comăneci also has a younger brother named Adrian.
Early gymnastics career
Nadia began gymnastics in kindergarten with a local team called "Flame", with coaches Duncan and Munteanu. At age 6 she was chosen to attend Béla Károlyi's experimental gymnastics school after Karolyi spotted her and a friend turning cartwheels in a schoolyard.
Nadia was training with the Károlyis by the time she was 7 years old, in 1969. She was one of the first students at the gymnastics school established in Oneşti by Béla and his wife, Marta, who would later defect to the United States and become coaches of many prominent American gymnasts. Unlike many of the other students at the Károlyi school, Comăneci was able to commute from home for many years because she lived in the area.
Nadia placed 13th in her first Romanian National Championships in 1969. A year later, in 1970, she began competing as a member of her hometown team and became the youngest gymnast ever to win the Romanian Nationals. In 1971, she participated in her first international competition, a dual junior meet between Romania and Yugoslavia, winning her first all-around title and contributing to the team gold. For the next few years, she competed as a junior in numerous national contests in Romania and additional dual meets with nearby countries such as Hungary, Italy and Poland. At the age of 11, in 1973, she won the all-around gold, as well as the vault and uneven bars titles, at the Junior Friendship Tournament (Druzhba), an important meet for junior gymnasts.
Nadia first major international success came at the age of 13, when she nearly swept the 1975 European Championships in Skien, Norway, winning the all-around and gold medals on every event but the floor exercise, in which she placed second. She continued to enjoy success in other meets in 1975, winning the all-around at the "Champions All" competition and placing first in the all-around, vault, beam, and bars at the Romanian National Championships. In the Pre-Olympic test event in Montreal, Comăneci won the all-around and the balance beam golds, as well as silvers in the vault, floor, and bars behind accomplished Soviet gymnast Nellie Kim, who would prove to be one of her greatest rivals over the next five years.
In March 1976, Comăneci competed in the inaugural edition of the American Cup at Madison Square Garden in New York. She received unprecedented scores of 10.0, which signified a perfect routine without any deductions, on vault in both the preliminary and final rounds of competition and won the all-around. Comaneci also received 10s in other meets in 1976, including the prestigious Chunichi Cup competition in Japan, where she posted perfect marks on the vault and uneven bars.
The international community took note of Comăneci: she was named the United Press International's "Female Athlete of the Year" for 1975.
Montreal Olympics
At the age of 14, Comăneci became one of the stars of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. During the team portion of the competition, her routine on the uneven bars was scored at a 10.0. It was the first time in modern Olympic gymnastics history that the score had ever been awarded. The scoreboards were not even equipped to display scores of 10.0—so Nadia's perfect marks were reported on the boards as 1.00 instead. Over the course of the Olympics, Comăneci would earn six additional 10s, en route to capturing the all-around, beam, and bars titles and a bronze medal on the floor exercise. The Romanian team also placed second in the team competition.
Comăneci was the first Romanian gymnast to win the all-around title at the Olympics. She also holds the record as the youngest Olympic gymnastics all-around champion ever; with the revised age-eligibility requirements in the sport (gymnasts must now turn 16 in the calendar year to compete in the Olympics; in 1976 gymnasts had to be 14 by the first day of the competition), it is currently not possible to legally break this record.
Comăneci's achievements at the Olympics generated a significant amount of media attention. The theme song from the American soap opera The Young and the Restless became associated with her after cinematographer/feature reporter Robert Riger used it against slow-motion montages of Nadia on the television program ABC's Wide World Of Sports. The song became a top ten single in the fall of 1976, and the composer, Barry De Vorzon, renamed it to "Nadia's Theme" after her.However, Comăneci never actually performed to "Nadia's Theme." Her floor exercise music was a medley of the songs "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" and "Jump in the Line" arranged for piano.
She was the 1976 BBC Sports Personality of the Year in the overseas athletes category and the Associated Press's 1976 "Female Athlete of the Year". She also retained her title as the UPI Female Athlete of the Year. Back home in Romania, Comăneci's success led her to be named a "Hero of Socialist Labor;" she was the youngest Romanian to receive such recognition during the administration of Nicolae Ceauşescu.
1977–1980
Comăneci successfully defended her European all-around title in 1977, but when questions about the scoring were raised, Ceauşescu ordered the Romanian gymnasts to return home. The team followed orders and controversially walked out of the competition during the event finals.
Following the 1977 Europeans, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation removed Comăneci from her longtime coaches, the Károlyis, and sent her to Bucharest to train at the 23 August sports complex. The change was not positive for Comăneci. Grappling with both the stress of her parents' divorce and the new training environment, she was extremely unhappy and her gymnastics and overall fitness suffered. An overweight and out-of-shape Comăneci showed up at the 1978 World Championships. A fall from the uneven bars resulted in a 4th place finish in the all-around behind Elena Mukhina, Nellie Kim, and Natalia Shaposhnikova, but Comăneci won the beam title.
After the 1978 Worlds, Comăneci was permitted to return to Deva and to the Károlyis. In 1979, a newly slim and motivated Comăneci won her third consecutive European all-around title, becoming the first gymnast, male or female, to achieve the feat. At the World Championships that December, Comăneci led the field after the compulsory competition but was hospitalized before the optional portion of the team competition for blood poisoning caused by a cut in her wrist from her metal grip buckle. Against doctors' orders, she left the hospital and competed on the beam, where she scored a 9.95. Her performance helped give the Romanians their first team gold medal. After her performance, Comăneci spent several days recovering in All Saints Hospital and underwent a minor surgical procedure for the infected hand, which had developed an abscess.
Comăneci participated in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, where she placed second, by a small margin, to Yelena Davydova. She defended her Olympic title in the balance beam and tied with Nellie Kim for the gold medal in the floor exercise. The Romanian team finished second overall.
Comăneci retired from competition in 1981. Her official retirement ceremony took place in Bucharest in 1984 and was attended by the International Olympic Committee Chairman.
Post retirement
In 1981, Comăneci participated in a gymnastics exhibition tour in the United States.During the tour, her coaches, Béla and Marta Károlyi, along with the Romanian team choreographer Géza Pozsár, defected.[Upon her return to Romania, Comăneci's actions were strictly monitored. She was granted leave to attend the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles but was supervised for the entire trip. Aside from that journey, and a few select trips to Moscow and Cuba, Comăneci was forbidden to leave the country for any reason." "Life..." she wrote in her autobiography, "took on a new bleakness."
In Romania, between 1984 and 1989, Comăneci was a member of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation and helped coach the Romanian junior gymnasts. In November 1989, a few weeks before the Revolution, she defected with a group of other young Romanians. Her overland journey took her through Hungary, Austria, and finally, to the United States.Her initial arrival in the United States generated some negative press, focusing on her penchant for heavy makeup and trashy clothes, the fact that Constantin Panait (a Romanian exile who helped her escape from Romania and was her constant companion) was a married father of 4, and hinted at an eating disorder and an unsavory life left behind in Romania.
Comăneci initially settled in Montreal. With the help of friends, she successfully distanced herself from Panait and the image problems of her initial arrival from Romania. Comăneci spent most of her time touring and promoting lines of gymnastics apparel and aerobic equipment. She also dabbled in modeling, appearing in advertisements for wedding dresses and Jockey underwear.[
While she was living in Montreal, Bart Conner, whom she had met for the first time in 1976 at the American Cup, contacted her and invited her to live in Oklahoma. They became engaged in 1994. Together with Conner, she returned to Romania for the first time since her defection (and since the fall of Communism and Ceauşescu's death), and the couple were married in Bucharest on April 27, 1996. The ceremony was broadcast live in Romania, and the reception was held in the former presidential palace.
On June 29, 2001, Comăneci became a naturalized citizen of the United States. She has also retained her Romanian passport, making her a dual citizen.
In December 2003, Comăneci's book Letters To A Young Gymnast was published, a combination of mentoring book and memoir. The book answered questions that she has received in letters from fans. She has also been the subject of several unofficial biographies, television documentaries and a made-for-television film, Nadia, that was broadcast in the United States shortly before the 1984 Olympics.
Comăneci and Conner welcomed their first child, a son named Dylan Paul Conner, on June 3, 2006 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Recent activities
Comăneci is active in many charities and international organizations. In 1999, she became the first athlete to be invited to speak at the United Nations to launch the Year 2000 International Year of Volunteers. She is currently the Vice-Chair of the Board Of Directors of the International Special Olympics and Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. She has also personally funded the construction and operation of the Nadia Comăneci Children's Clinic, a clinic in Bucharest that provides low-cost and free medical and social support to Romanian children.
In 2003, the Romanian government appointed her as an Honorary Consul General of Romania to the United States to deal with bilateral relations between the two nations. She performs this function based out of her Norman, Oklahoma, office.
In the world of gymnastics, Comaneci is the Honorary President of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation, the Honorary President of Romanian Olympic Committee, Ambassador of Sports of Romania and a member of the International Gymnastics Federation Foundation. She and her husband own the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy, the Perfect 10 Production Company and several sports equipment shops. They are also the editors of International Gymnast magazine. Additionally, Comăneci and Conner have provided television commentary for many gymnastics meets, most recently the 2005 World Championships in and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. In 2004, her 10.0 Montreal uneven bars routine was featured in a commercial for Adidas which ran during the Athens Olympics.
On August 10, 2007, Nadia was a "mob" participant on the American version of the game show 1 vs 100, and was not eliminated until the last 20 members of the mob were left. In January 2008, she was one of the contestants in the celebrity edition of Donald Trump's television program The Apprentice.
Awards
Comăneci received the Olympic Order, the highest award given by the International Olympic Committee, in 1984 and 2004. She is the only person to receive this honor twice, and was also the youngest recipient. She has also been inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
Special skills
Comăneci was known for her clean technique, innovative and difficult original skills, and her stoic, cool demeanor in competition.
On the uneven bars, Comaneci performed her own release move, a kip to front salto. The skill is named after her in the women's Code of Points and, as of 2005, was rated as an 'E' element and a 'Comaneci dismount' a half twist to back salto.
On balance beam, Comăneci was the first gymnast to successfully perform an aerial walkover and an aerial cartwheel-back handspring flight series. She is also credited as being the first gymnast to perform a double-twist dismount.
Comăneci's skills on the floor exercise included a double back salto and a double twist.
Pop culture references
Nadia is a 1984 made-for-television biopic of Nadia Comăneci.
When Joanne Charis states that the girls need to stay and practice their routines in the movie Stick It, Meena responds: "Who died and made you Nadia?"
In the ABC hit television show, Lost season 3 episode 11, the character Mikhail Bakunin (named after the Russian anarchist Mikhail Bakunin) has a cat named Nadia, named after Nadia Comăneci, whom he calls "the greatest athlete the world has ever known." He also reveals that they share a birthday. In addition, the station Mikhail works in is called the "Flame", which is also the name of Comăneci's first gymnastics team.
In the CBS TV series, Dallas the character Nicholas Pearce (Jack Scalia) states he knows Romania so well since he's a good friend of Nadia Comăneci.
Gilda Radner played Comăneci on several episodes of Saturday Night Live, as well as in an extended skit in her 1979 stage show Gilda Live.
Nadia Turner, singer and actress, and American Idol Season 4 Finalist was named after Nadia Comăneci.
Swimmer Anita Nall, who won three Olympic medals including a relay gold, was named Nadia as her father was watching television awaiting her birth.
In the 1979 Film Love at First Bite, Dracula is evicted from his castle when the Romanian state claims it as a gymnastic training facility. Dracula, played by George Hamilton is informed that they will be coming with "parallel bars, swings and Nadia Comăneci. Don't be here".
In the Japanese drama Honey and Clover, Shinobu Morita makes a reference to Comăneci's signature stance during episode two.
In the anime Sohryuden, Matsuri Toba makes a reference to Comăneci as she uses her body's flexibility to free herself from ropes. Her quote was, "Fortunately, the thugs didn't know that when I was in grade school, I had aspired to becoming Japan's answer to Comăneci".
Nadia Elena Comăneci (n. 12 noiembrie 1961, Oneşti, judeţul Bacău) este o gimnastă română, prima gimnastă din lume care a primit nota zece într-un concurs olimpic de gimnastică. Este câştigătoare a cinci medalii olimpice de aur. Este considerată a fi una dintre cele mai bune sportive ale secolului XX şi una dintre cele mai bune gimnaste ale lumii, din toate timpurile, "ZEITA DE LA MONTREAL", prima gimnasta a epocii moderne care a luat 10 absolut (adevarul e ca 10-le l-a luat in 1975 la campionatele europene (Norvegia) iar la olimpiada din 1976 a repetat acel ceva de neuitat, adica 10).".
Viaţa
Nadia s-a născut la Oneşti, fiică a lui Gheorghe şi Ştefania-Alexandrina Comănici; a fost botezată după "Nadejda" ("Speranţă"), eroină a unui film.
A concurat pentru prima dată la nivel naţional în România, în 1970, ca membră a echipei oraşului său. Curând, a început antrenamentele cu Béla Károlyi şi soţia acestuia, Márta Károlyi, care au emigrat mai târziu în Statele Unite, devenind antrenori ai multor gimnaste americane. La vârsta de 13 ani, primul succes major al lui Comăneci a fost câştigarea a trei medalii de aur şi una de argint la Campionatele Europene din 1975, de la Skien, Norvegia. În acelaşi an, agenţia de ştiri Associated Press a numit-o "Atleta Anului în România".
La 14 ani, Comăneci a devenit o stea a Jocurilor Olimpice de Vară din 1976 de la Montreal, Québec. Nu numai că a devenit prima gimnasta care a obţinut scorul perfect de zece la olimpiadă (de şase ori), dar a şi câştigat trei medalii de aur (la individual compus, bârnă şi paralele), o medalie de argint (echipă compus) şi bronz (sol). Acasă, succesul său i-a adus distincţia de "Erou al Muncii Socialiste", fiind cea mai tânără româncă distinsă cu acest titlu.
Comăneci şi-a apărat titlul european în 1977, dar echipa României a ieşit din competiţie în finale, în semn de protest contra arbitrajului. La Campionatele Mondiale din 1978 a concurat o Nadia Comăneci cu greutate peste medie şi ieşită din formă. Căderea la paralele a trimis-o pe locul 4, însă a câştigat titlul la bârnă.
În 1979, Comăneci, din nou la greutate normală, a câştigat cel de-al treilea titlu suprem (devenind primul sportiv din istoria gimnasticii care a reuşit această performanţă). La Campionatele Mondiale din decembrie, ea a câştigat concursul preliminar, dar a fost spitalizată înainte de a participa la concursul pe echipe, din cauza unei infectări a sângelui în urma unei tăieturi la încheietura mâinii, cauzată de o cataramă din metal. În ciuda recomandărilor doctorilor, ea a părăsit spitalul şi a concurat la bârnă, unde a obţinut nota 9,95. Performanţa sa a conferit României prima medalie de aur în concursul pe echipe.
A participat şi la Jocurile Olimpice din 1980 de la Moscova, clasându-se a doua după Elena Davîdova la individual compus, când a fost nevoită să aştepte pentru notă până ce Davîdova şi-a încheiat exerciţiul. Nadia şi-a păstrat titlul la bârnă, dar a câştigat şi o nouă medalie de aur, la sol, şi una de argint, împreună cu echipa.
Comăneci s-a retras din activitatea competiţională după aceste Jocuri. Între 1984 şi 1989 ea a fost membră a Federaţiei Române de Gimnastică şi a ajutat la antrenarea gimnaştilor juniori români. În noaptea de 27/28 noiembrie 1989 a trecut ilegal graniţa româno-maghiară, stabilindu-se în cele din urmă ca emigrantă în Statele Unite. Acest gest dramatic a avut un efect major asupra opiniei publice, chiar asupra familiei conducătoare a Romaniei. Nadia şi-a petrecut următorii ani promovând linii vestimentare pentru gimnastică, lenjerie Jockey, echipament de aerobic şi rochii de mireasă. În 1994, s-a logodit cu gimnastul american Bart Conner şi s-a întors în România pentru prima dată de la plecare. Comăneci şi Conner s-au căsătorit în România în luna aprilie a anului 1996.
În 1999, Comăneci a devenit primul sportiv invitat să vorbească la Naţiunile Unite, pentru a lansa Anul 2000, Anul Internaţional al Voluntariatului. Nadia este în prezent ocupată cu gimnastică şi muncă de caritate în întreaga lume. Ea şi soţul său sunt propietarii Academiei de Gimnastică Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy, Perfect 10 Production Company şi ai câtorva magazine de echipamente sportive, precum şi editori ai Magazinului de Gimnastică Internaţională.
Nadia Comăneci este vice-preşedinte al Consiliului Director al Special Olympics, Preşedinte Onorific al Federaţiei Române de Gimnastică, Preşedinte Onorific al Comitetului Olimpic Român, Ambasadorul Sporturilor Româneşti, Vice-Preşedinte în Consiliul Director al Asociaţiei Distrofiei Musculare, şi membră a Fundaţiei Federaţiei Internaţionale de Gimnastică. A fost distinsă de două ori cu Ordinul Olimpic, acordat de CIO.
În decembrie 2003, i s-a publicat prima sa carte, Scrisori către o tânără gimnastă (în engleză: Letters To A Young Gymnast). Nadia a creat o clinică de caritate în Bucureşti pentru a ajuta copii orfani din România
Gheorghe Hagi ( born February 5, 1965 in Săcele), is a Romanian former football player of Aromanian origin. 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.
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 was recently named Romanian football player of the 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.[1] 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.
In a 2006 poll conducted by Romanian Television to identify the "greatest Romanians of all time", Hagi came in 15th.
Club career
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 helped Brescia Calcio win the Italian Serie B and get promoted to Serie A, but in the next season the club was relegated back to Serie B. 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. 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.
National team
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 few months and play at the 2000 European Football Championship.
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.
Career as coach
In 2001 Hagi was named the manager of Romania, replacing Ladislau Bölöni, who left the squad to coach Sporting Clube de Portugal. However, after failing to qualify the team for the World Cup, Hagi was sacked. His only notable achievement during the six months as Romania's manager was the win in Budapest against Hungary, the first of this kind for the Romania national football team.
In 2003, Hagi took over as coach of Turkish first division side Bursaspor, but left the club after a disappointing start to the season. He then became manager of Galatasaray in 2004, leading the team to the Turkish Cup in 2005 final with 5-1 as a score vs. their rivals Fenerbahçe SK
Romanian team Steaua Bucureşti wanted to hire him in the summer of 2005, but Hagi's requested wage could not be met by the Romanian champions. Hagi became manager of FCU Politehnica Timişoara instead, and after a string of bad results and disagreements with the management, he left the club after a few months. Constanţa's main stadium used to bear his name, but the name was changed after Hagi signed with FCU Politehnica Timişoara.[2]
From June 2007 to September 20, Hagi coached Steaua Bucureşti, had a mediocre start in the internal championship mainly due to the large number of unavailable injured players, managed to qualify the team for the second time in line to Champions League Groups passing two qualifying rounds. He resigned due to a long series of conflicts with the team's owner Gigi Becali, which also happens to be his godson. The main reason for resigning was the owner's policy of imposing players, making the team's strategy and threats. Hagi's resignation happened just a few hours after Steaua's first Champions League game in the actual season with Slavia Prague in Prague, Czech Republic, lost with 2-1.
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: 1987
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
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
Gheorghe Hagi (n. 5 februarie 1965, Săcele, Constanţa, jud. Constanţa) este un fost fotbalist român, de origine aromână, supranumit Regele fotbalului românesc şi Maradona din Carpaţi. Este cel mai bun marcator din istoria naţionalei României cu 35 de goluri înscrise.
Cariera
Jucător
Ca jucător, Hagi a fost un purtător clasic de număr 10 (conducător de joc) care se remarca în teren prin claritatea paselor trimise către atacanţi şi şuturile nimicitoare la poartă, atunci când se afla el însuşi în poziţie de finalizare. Câteva din golurile sale au intrat în istoria fotbalului. Hagi îşi depăşea uşor adversarii prin dribling şi găsea deseori de unul singur soluţia de rezolvare a unui meci. Deşi nu excela la capitolul viteză, se orienta excelent în teren şi reuşea să fie prezent în cele mai bune poziţii, care îi permiteau fie să paseze decisiv, fie să şuteze de la distanţă.
Hagi era şi un excelent executant de lovituri libere, înscriind numeroase goluri din poziţii fixe.
Cariera lui Hagi ca jucător profesionist (sau semi-profesionist - în cazul regimului comunist) poate fi împărţită în mai multe perioade:
1982-1983: debutul. Hagi este remarcat la nivel de juniori, debutează în Divizia A şi la echipa Naţională.
1983-1988: consacrarea la nivel naţional, jucând la 2 echipe bucureştene de top. Mai ales la Sportul Studenţesc, unde juca rol de "copil teribil", Hagi face câteva meciuri de-a dreptul senzaţionale, contribuind decisiv în 1985 la câştigarea titlului de vicecampioni (cea mai bună performanţă de până azi a clubului din Regie).
1988-1990: consacrarea la nivel internaţional. Hagi joacă o semifinală (în 1988) şi o finală de Cupa Campionilor în 1989 (fiind desemnat al doilea jucător ca valoare din competiţie, după Marco van Basten) şi participă cu România la Cupa Mondială din 1990 - Italia.
1990-1998: anii de maturitate. Hagi este liderul incontestabil al echipei României şi contribuie decisiv la cele mai mari succese din istoria Naţionalei.
1998-2001: perioada târzie, marcată de o anumită labilitate psihică rezultată, probabil, şi din stresul acumulat de-a lungul timpului. Din evenimentele "ciudate" ale acestei perioade putem aminti prima retragere din echipa naţională din 1998), decizie asupra căreia Hagi va reveni în 1999 şi conflictele tot mai dese cu arbitrii. Hagi a fost eliminat în 2 meciuri foarte importante, finala UEFA din 2000 (câştigată de Galatasaray) şi sfertul de finală de la Campionatul European 2000 (pierdut de România, 0-2 cu Italia) şi 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 totuşi un jucător fair-play, care era penalizat foarte rar de arbitri.
Hagi a debutat la echipa naţională 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) şi echipa olimpică (4 meciuri).
În 1985, pe 16 octombrie, Mircea Lucescu, pe atunci antrenor al echipei naţionale, l-a desemnat pentru prima oară pe Hagi căpitan al echipei naţionale. Hagi avea doar 20 de ani şi meciul, disputat pe stadionul 23 August împotriva Irlandei de Nord, era decisiv pentru calificarea la Campionatul Mondial de Fotbal din Mexic - 1986. Evoluţia lui Hagi a fost foarte ştearsă şi mulţi au criticat la acea vreme decizia lui Lucescu. Cert este că vreme de câţiva ani căpitanul "de drept" al echipei naţionale a devenit portarul Silviu Lung, un jucător mult mai matur şi mai experimentat decât Hagi. Totuşi, după retragerea lui Silviu Lung (în 1990), Hagi a devenit repede căpitanul de drept al naţionalei. A fost de 65 de ori căpitanul echipei naţionale, conducând din teren echipa României la 2 Cupe Mondiale (1994 - USA şi 1998 - Franţa) şi la 2 Campionate Europene (1996 - Anglia şi 2000 - Belgia şi Olanda).
De asemenea, a mai participat cu România şi la Campionatul European din 1984 - Franţa (ca rezervă) şi la Cupa Mondială din 1990 - Italia (ca titular). Pe 24 aprilie 2001 Gheorghe Hagi se retrage din echipa naţională de fotbal României. La ultimul meci al lui Hagi pentru România au participat 80.000 de fani din toată lumea.
Antrenor
Prima tentativă ca antrenor a lui Hagi a fost la echipa naţională în 2001, unde a deţinut postul timp de cinci luni. În toamna lui 2003 a fost antrenor pentru scurt timp la Bursaspor, iar din martie 2004 a fost antrenor la Galatasaray timp de un an după care şi-a dat demisia. A fost manager general al echipei FCU Politehnica Timişoara in returul campionatului diviziei A 2005-2006 dându-şi din nou demisia.
În rezumat:
2001: Naţionala de fotbal a României
5 septembrie: Ungaria - Romania 0-2 (preliminariile CM 2002)
6 octombrie: Romania - Georgia 1-1 (preliminariile CM 2002)
10 noiembrie: Slovenia - Romania 2-1 (baraj pentru calificarea la CM 2002)
14 noiembrie: Romania - Slovenia 1-1 (baraj pentru calificarea la CM 2002)
2003: Bursaspor
2004–2005: Galatasaray S.K.
2006: FCU Politehnica Timişoara
2007
23 iunie: George Becali anunţă numirea lui Hagi în funcţia de antrenor al Stelei.
20 septembrie: Hagi îşi anunţă demisia din funcţia de antrenor al grupării din Bulevardul Ghencea, deşi reuşise o calificare în grupele UCL
Palmares
Ca jucător
Cu Sportul Studenţesc: vicecampion al României în 1985
Cu Steaua Bucureşti:
Supercupa Europei - 1987 (Steaua a învins ca urmare a golului marcat de Hagi: 1-0 cu Dinamo Kiev)
3 titluri de campion (1987, 1988, 1989)
3 Cupe ale României (1987, 1988, 1989)
vicecampion european în 1989 (finala Cupei Campionilor pierdută de Steaua cu 0-4 împotriva lui AC Milan)
vicecampion al României în 1990
Cu Brescia Calcio: Cupa Anglo-Italiana - 1994
Cu Galatasaray Istanbul:
Cupa Uefa - 2000 (în finală, Galatasaray a învins pe Arsenal Londra la penalty-uri)
Supercupa Europei - 2000 (Galatasaray - Real Madrid 2-1)
4 titluri de campion al Turciei (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
2 Cupe ale Turciei (1999, 2000)
Ca antrenor
Cu Galatasaray: Cupa Turciei - 2005
Goluri şi meciuri celebre
31 mai 1985: Dinamo - Sportul Studenţesc 0-5 (campionat). Hagi a înscris 4 goluri. Meciul a tranşat disputa pentru locul 2 dintre cele 2 echipe.
3 oct. 1985: Sportul Studenţesc - Neuchatel Xamax 4-4 (Cupa UEFA). Hagi a înscris 2 goluri deşi adversarul său direct s-a numit Uli Stielike
11 oct. 1985: Anglia - România 1-1 (preliminarii CM 1986). Hagi nu înscrie, dar prin prestaţia senzaţională (2 bare) contribuie din plin la obţinerea unui punct.
24 feb. 1987: Steaua Bucureşti - Dinamo Kiev 1-0 (Supercupa Europei). Hagi înscrie golul victoriei, la debutul său pentru Steaua.
18 iun. 1990: România - Argentina 1-1 (Campionatul Mondial). "Maradona din Carpaţi", faţă în faţă cu... Maradona cel adevărat!
20 mai 1992: România - Ţara Galilor 5-1. Hagi înscrie 2 goluri şi dă 2 pase de gol. Meciul a însemnat începutul unui lung şir de performanţe pentru naţională.
18 iun. 1994: România - Columbia 3-1 (Campionatul Mondial). Hagi înscrie pentru 2-0 printr-un gol considerat drept "golul tuturor timpurilor" în fotbalul românesc. Într-o fază care nu anunţa nimic, Dorinel Munteanu îi pasează pe partea stângă lui Hagi. Acesta înaintează câţiva paşi pe partea stângă (o poziţie favorabilă mai degrabă unei centrări), observă că portarul columbian este ieşit din poartă şi trimite din unghi, de la aproximativ 35 de metri, un lob perfect care intră chiar în vinclul din stanga al porţii adverse. Va fi declarat golul Campionatului Mondial 1994.
Anghel Saligny (19 April 1854 – 17 June 1925) was a Romanian engineer, most famous for designing the Feteşti-Cernavodă railway bridge (1895) over the Danube, the longest bridge in Europe at that time. He also designed the storage facilities in Constanţa seaport, one of the earliest examples of reinforced concrete architecture in Europe.
Biography
Saligny was born in Focşani in the eastern province of Moldavia. His father Alfred Saligny, an educator, was a French immigrant to Romania, coming from the region of Alsace. He started his studies at the boarding school founded by his father in Focşani, then went on to high school, initially also in Focşani and then in Potsdam, Germany. He pursued engineering studies at the Polytechnical Institute in Charlottenburg, and then contributed to the construction of railways in Saxony (Cottbus-Frankfurt an der Oder). He was a founding member of the Bucharest Polytechnic Society (the precursor to today's Bucharest Polytechnic Institute) and was even appointed a Minister of Public Works. In 1892, he was elected a member of the Romanian Academy, and he served as its president between 1907 and 1910.
Anghel Saligny's brother Alfons Oscar Saligny (1853–1903) was a chemist and educator who was also elected a member of the Romanian Academy.
Works
In all of his works (bridges, roads, silos, ports etc.), new elements are to be found. Some of them were considered great technological advances at the time.
He drew the plans for the Adjud–Târgu Ocna, which included the first mixed-use (railway and highway) bridges in Romania (1881–1882). He was also involved in the construction of numerous other metallic bridges, such as the one at Cosmeşti over the Siret river, which measured 430 m in length.
Between 1884 and 1889, Saligny planned and built the first silos in the world made of reinforced concrete, which are preserved today in Constanţa, Brăila and Galaţi. In the port of Constanţa, he created a special pool to allow oil export and two silos for grain export.
Anghel Saligny's most important work was the King Carol I Bridge over the Danube at Cernavodă. Although a public offer had been held by the Romanian government for the erection of a bridge in that location, all projects were found to be subpar and then rejected. Based on his previous experience, Saligny was then selected and given the daunting (at the time) task to draw up the plans for the new structure. Construction work for the bridge started November 26, 1895, in the presence of King Carol I of Romania. The bridge has five openings, with four being 140 m wide, and the central one spanning 190 m. To allow ships to pass under the bridge, it was raised 30 m above the water. The endurance test was performed on the official opening day, when a convoy of locomotives drove on it at 85 km/h. The bridge at Cernavodă measures 4,037 m in length, with 1,662 m over the Danube, and 920 m over the Borcea Arm. At the time, it was the longest bridge in Europe, and the third longest bridge in the world. The structure was famous for its era, competing with Gustave Eiffel's engineering works in France — the Garabit viaduct and the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
ACTIV SPIRIT, youth organization of the Romanian-Swedish Cultural Association "FRĂŢIA" was born on September 13, 2009.
Active Spirit purpose is to foster integration youth of different nationalities living in Sweden, in Swedish society, to encourage and help young people of various nationalities present here to offer and value their best potential in the Swedish society .
ACTIV SPIRIT aims to promote tolerance among young people, multiculturalism, and information about diversity and perennial values of humanity, present in various cultures from which young people integrated in Swedish society.
ACTIV SPIRIT assumes purposes of "FRĂŢIA" Association, to keep, encourage, stimulate, present, disseminate and support the creation of art in the multicultural society in which they operate, a better knowledge of Sweden and promote Romanian culture and traditions in Sweden.
activ.spirit@yahoo.com
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