When does FRF want to officially announce Gică Hagi » Cruel negotiations behind the scenes: “Stoichiță, OUT!”
Article by David Marinescu – Published on Wednesday, 01 April 2026, 12:38 / Updated on Wednesday, 01 April 2026 12:46
With Mircea Lucescu at the end of his term, the expectations are that his successor on the bench of the national team will be Gică Hagi (61 years old). But the negotiations carried out behind the scenes are tough, with the “King” conditioning the coming to the helm of the “tricolors” on a series of tough measures.
After 0-2 in the friendly with Slovakia last night, the technical director of the Romanian Football Federation, Mihai Stoichiță, confirmed that “we will have a new coach” at the helm of the national team.
Expectations are that his name will be Gică Hagi. The decision recently taken by the former great footballer, that of ceding the majority stake in Farul Constanța to his brother-in-law Gică Popescu, seemed to be precisely to clear the way for the national team.
The federals have refrained from confirming until now that Gică Hagi is in pole-position for the position, but behind the scenes they are carrying out tough negotiations with the leader of the Golden Generation.
When could Gică Hagi be announced as a selector
According to Gazeta information, if the parties reach a consensus, Hagi could be announced as a selector on April 15.
But this consensus does not seem simple to achieve, given the conditions set by Gică Hagi in the discussions with the federals. Sources from the Romanian Football Federation explain what the goalscorer would like for the national team. Regarding the staff, as:
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One of the current “seconds”, Ionel Gane and Florin Constantinovici, to be replaced by Cătălin Anghel, his trusted man at the Lighthouse;
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His goalkeeping coach will be Ștefan “Fane” Preda, with whom he also collaborated at Farul. This would mean that Leo Toader would leave the senior team.
Gică Hagi's conditions: Stoichiță OUT, same style of play from U17 upwards
But Gică Hagi would like his influence and footprint to extend beyond the first representative team. The same sources report that the “King” wants all the national teams from the U17 to the seniors to play in the same idea, in a 4-3-3 system, as the U20 and U21 selectors (Adrian Iencsi and Costin Curelea) to be changedand the role of technical director of the Federation, now occupied by Mihai Stoichiță, to be taken over by Lucian Burchel.
Burchel is currently the director of the Coaching School within the FRF. The alternative that is being worked on is for Burchel to remain in his positions, and for Ilie Dumitrescu to become the technical director. It is certain that Hagi wants Mihai Stoichiță out of the scheme.
