Romanian football legend Gică Hagi (known as "the Maradona of the Carpathians") has been appointed head coach of the Romanian national team, the Romanian Football Federation announced on Sunday — his first time in the role since a brief stint in 2001. His return had been anticipated earlier in the week following the departure of his predecessor, though negotiations were briefly delayed after the former coach died on 7 April, just days after Romania was knocked out of qualifying for the 2025 North American World Cup. The 60-year-old, who starred for FC Barcelona and Real Madrid as a player and led Romania to the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup, will be officially presented on Monday and begin his tenure with friendly matches against Georgia and Wales in June, followed by Nations League fixtures against Sweden, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Poland.