Hagi inaugurated the Football Academy

The whole project will cost more than 10 million Euros
The greatest Romanian football player of all times inaugurated yesterday, within a press conference, Gheorghe Hagi Football Academy, the greatest private project of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe.

This is a complex plan. The academy will have three training levels, dependent on the children's age. There will be three groups of 25 children each, for 7 to 9 year old, all from Constanţa, three groups of 25 members each, for 10 to 12 year old children and three groups of 22 players each, for 13 to 18 year old. By the end of the summer, there will be only three teams left for each age category, while the others will have the chance to go on training within the academy, against a tax. By the end of this summer, there will also be completed the senior group, Viitorul [Future] Constanţa, which will play in the 3^rd League starting from the next season. The place these children will practice in will be ready as soon as possible and will extend on a 7 hectare surface, in an area between Constanţa and Ovidiu.

Here there will be nine football fields, and one of these will be for Viitorul team. This particular field will have night lights and stands for 1,100 people. The academy will have 3 building wings for specific purposes: football academy for juniors, gym hall and football academy for children. The deadline for project completion is year 2011. For the senior team, Hagi bought some players all over the country, most of them under age 21. Until academy buildings are ready, the future football players will practice on 4 rented fields. Besides, Gică Hagi acquired a new and modern bus, identical to that of Bayern Munchen team, to transport children to matches, and two mini-buses which will insure transportation to the training fields. Gheorghe Hagi stated that this project was a token of appreciation to those who supported him from his very first steps in football until his retirement. "With this project I want to give back at least one slice of the glory I experienced along my career. The academy will also be the measure of my gratitude to those who trusted me from my very first steps in football until my draw back. Now it's time to offer as many children as possible, the chance of benefitting from the highest level training and of going beyond my performances", Hagi said.

Project inspired from Ajax model

"The king" also mentioned that this project had as a model the football academy of the Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam, the place where Johann Kruyff, one of Hagi 's idols made his first steps to real football. Hagi also talked about football school "Luceafărul", which "produced" high quality football players, as Andone, Rednic, Balint, Hagi, Belodedici and Gică Popescu.

Offensive playing methods

Gheorghe Hagi disclosed what playing methods the children will be learnt with his academy. "All children will have to pay a 1,5 million old lei tax, which will actually be the cost of the personalised tracksuits. Children coming from families with an income less than 12 million old lei will not pay this tax, it will be covered by Gheorghe Hagi Foundation. We will teach the children offensive playing methods, so they will learn only three playing systems: 4-3-3, 3-4-3, 4-3-2-1", said Hagi.

About future selling of the players formed by the academy, "the king" said that those who will be wanted by other teams will not be given away for testing. "The player himself will choose his destiny, but we will be the managers if they want us to be, and I think they will. We will try to choose what will be best for them. One of the academy's objectives is training juniors for professional football and integrated them into a club team", concluded Gheorghe Hagi.