Ovidiu Cornel Hanganu
Romanian footballer
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Ovidiu Cornel Hanganu (born 12 May 1970) is a Romanian former professional footballer who played as a forward for Corvinul Hunedoara, Victoria București, Dinamo București, Național București, Cercle Brugge and Samsunspor.[1] He earned 12 caps for Romania, scoring two goals.[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ovidiu Cornel Hanganu | ||
| Date of birth | 12 May 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Ghelari, Romania | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1986–1992 | Corvinul Hunedoara | 118 | (49) |
| 1989 | → Victoria București (loan) | 16 | (2) |
| 1992–1993 | Dinamo București | 33 | (12) |
| 1993–1994 | Cercle Brugge | 22 | (5) |
| 1993 | → Samsunspor (loan) | 8 | (1) |
| 1995–1996 | Național București | 22 | (4) |
| 1996–1997 | Corvinul Hunedoara | 9 | (1) |
| 1997–1999 | Petrolul Țicleni | ||
| 2001–2002 | Minerul Certej | ||
| Total | 228 | (74) | |
| International career | |||
| 1989–1991 | Romania U21 | 15 | (2) |
| 1989–1990 | Romania Olympic | 3 | (1) |
| 1990–1992 | Romania B | 3 | (2) |
| 1991–1993 | Romania | 12 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
Corvinul Hunedoara and Victoria București
Hanganu was born on 12 May 1970 in Ghelari, Romania.[3][4] He began playing football at Corvinul Hunedoara, making his Divizia A debut on 12 October 1986 under coach Octavian Cojocaru in a 3–0 victory against Jiul Petroșani.[3][5] In 1989, Hanganu joined Victoria București, where coach Florin Halagian used him in both legs of the 4–2 aggregate loss to Valencia in the first round of the 1989–90 UEFA Cup, a tie in which he scored once.[3][6] Subsequently, he returned to Corvinul and became the top-scorer of the 1990–91 season with 24 goals, exceeding half of the team's total of 47.[3][4][7][8][9] However, he was unable to help the team avoid relegation in the following season.[3][10]
Dinamo București
In the 1992–93 season, Hanganu played for Dinamo București and scored 12 league goals to help them finish second.[3][4] Among these were two hat-tricks against Progresul București and CSM Reșița, and another goal in a 1–1 draw against rivals Steaua București.[11] Furthermore, he helped them get past Kuusysi Lahti in the first round of the 1992–93 Champions League.[12] Dinamo faced Olympique Marseille in the second round, where they drew 0–0 in the first leg.[8][12] During the match, Hanganu squandered several key scoring chances—most notably a one-on-one with goalkeeper Fabien Barthez—drawing harsh criticism from Dinamo official Vasile Ianul: "It ended 0–0 only because Selymes and Hanganu missed huge chances. That fool Hanganu had a golden opportunity off an impeccable cross from Kádár."[8] They lost the subsequent game 2–0, and the French ultimately won the competition.[12]
Cercle Brugge and Samsunspor
In 1993, Hanganu along with teammates Dorinel Munteanu, Tibor Selymes and Marius Cheregi transferred from Dinamo to Cercle Brugge.[3][13] However, he was shortly afterwards loaned to Samsunspor, where he became a teammate of compatriots Daniel Timofte and Silvian Dobre.[3][14] He made his Süper Lig debut on 29 August 1993 under coach Gheorghe Mulțescu in a 3–0 victory over Karabükspor, managing to score about one week later in a 1–1 draw against Galatasaray.[15] Hanganu returned to Cercle Brugge, making his Belgian First Division debut on 19 December 1993 under coach Georges Leekens in a 2–2 draw against Gent.[16] He scored his first goal in the competition on 28 August 1994 in a 2–1 win against Anderlecht and then netted a brace on 31 August in a 2–1 success over Seraing.[17]
Late career
In 1995, Hanganu signed with Național București, helping the club earn a runner-up position at the end of the 1995–96 season.[3] He made his last Divizia A appearance on 29 November 1995 in Național's 3–1 away loss to Gloria Bistrița, totaling 189 matches with 67 goals in the competition.[3][18] Afterwards, he returned to Corvinul in Divizia B.[3] He ended his career in 2002, after playing a few years in the Romanian lower leagues for teams such as Petrolul Țicleni and Minerul Certej.[3][4][8]
International career
From 1989 to 1992, Hanganu was consistently featured for Romania's under-21, Olympic and B sides.[3][19]
Hanganu played 12 matches and scored two goals for Romania, making his debut on 23 May 1991 under coach Mircea Rădulescu in a 1–0 friendly loss to Norway.[2][8][20] He made three appearances and scored one goal in a 4–1 away win over Cyprus in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers.[2] During those qualifiers, he also made his last appearance for Romania in a 5–2 away loss to Czechoslovakia.[2][7]
Style of play
Cornel Dinu, Hanganu's former coach at the national team, described his style of play and personality as follows: "He was an introvert, very withdrawn, but as a footballer, he was a player with great driving power who relied heavily on service from his teammates. Otherwise, he went unnoticed and didn't bother anyone. I think he was dealing with inner struggles. I remember him as an opportunistic striker with a knack for scoring and an innate intuition—qualities that helped him become a top scorer."[4][7][8]
Career statistics
International
- Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hanganu goal.[2]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 November 1992 | Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium, Larnaca, Cyprus |  Cyprus | 4–1 | 4–1 | 1994 World Cup qualifiers |
| 2 | 3 February 1993 | Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru |  Peru | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly match |