Gică Popescu, after Georgia – Romania, Gheorghe Hagi's first match: “Let's not have expectations”
Article by Adrian Duţă – Published on Tuesday, 02 June 2026 22:04 / Updated on Tuesday, 02 June 2026 22:11
Georgia – Romania 1-1. Gică Popescu, the former international great, commented on the return of his brother-in-law Gică Hagi to the “tricolor” national team bench. “Baciul” declared himself delighted with the attitude of the Romanian players.
Gică Popescu praised the tactics imposed by Hagi, who told the players to press high, close to the opposing goal. In fact, this is how Louis Munteanu's goal in the second half appeared, as well as Florinel Coman's chances in the first half.
Gică Popescu: “We looked different, we were a brave team and we put pressure”
“It was a very good game. I'm not talking about the result or the attacking play, but the approach. If we said in the past games that we needed to be braver, we did that in this game. Coman's chances and the goal in the second half came from pressure on the edge of the box.
Screciu's very good pass and Munteanu's excellent execution contributed to the goal. Finally, I like to see the national team with personality, able to put pressure in the opposing half. That's how the opportunities came
Georgia did not attack us, but tried to play on the counter attack, having very fast players. We looked different, we were a brave team and we put pressure. We all thought in the past that we had lost this personality, that there was a lack of attitude.
This functional block that we saw now in the opponent's half was, before, in our own half of the field”, declared Popescu, on Antena 1.
Gică Popescu: “Let's not have expectations, Gică needs time”
“We shouldn't have very high expectations. Gica needs time. In the national team, unfortunately, you don't have time, it's not like in a club. I think there is also a positive side
I talked to Gica many times before she came. The players had lost their confidence, they no longer had personality and no confidence in their own strength. Gica said that he will restore their confidence and that he will make them play higher, in the opposing half of the field.
I liked that he did not switch to the 4-3-3 system and that he kept the same playing system, 4-2-3-1, to avoid sudden changes. No matter how well you work in training, you need time”, said the former captain of the national team and Barcelona.
