text:
Guy de Maupassant

Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ;  ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, celebrated as a master of the short story, as well as a representative of the naturalist school, depicting human lives, destinies and social forces in disillusioned and often pessimistic terms.

Maupassant was a protégé of Gustave Flaubert and his stories are characterized by economy of style and efficient, seemingly effortless dénouements. Many are set during the Franco-Prussian War of the 1870s, describing the futility of war and the innocent civilians who, caught up in events beyond their control, are permanently changed by their experiences. He wrote 300 short stories, six novels, three travel books, and one volume of verse. His first published story, "Boule de Suif" ("The Dumpling", 1880), is often considered his most famous work.

Biography
Henri-René-Albert-Guy de Maupassant was born on 5 August 1850 at the late 16th-century Château de Miromesnil (near Dieppe in the Seine-Inférieure (now Seine-Maritime) Department, France), the elder son of Gustave de Maupassant (1821–99) and Laure Le Poittevin, whose family hailed from the prosperous bourgeoisie. His mother urged her husband when they married in 1846 to obtain the right to use the particule or form "de Maupassant" instead of "Maupassant" as his family name, in order to indicate noble birth. Gustave’s great-great-grandfather, Jean-Baptiste de Maupassant (1699–1774), conseiller-secrétaire to King Louis XV, had been ennobled by Emperor Francis I in 1752, and although his family were considered petite noblesse they had not yet received official recognition by the Kingdom of France. He then obtained from the Tribunal Civil of Rouen by royal decree dated 9 July 1846 the right to style himself "de Maupassant" instead of "Maupassant", being formally assumed as the family name before the birth of his children.

When Maupassant was 11 and his brother Hervé was five, his mother, an independent-minded woman, risked social disgrace to obtain a legal separation from her husband, who was violent towards her.

After the separation, Laure Le Poittevin kept custody of her two sons. In the absence of the Maupassant's father, his mother became the most influential figure in the young boy's life. She was an exceptionally well-read woman and was very fond of classical literature, particularly Shakespeare. Until the age of thirteen, Guy lived happily with his mother, at Étretat in Normandy. At the Villa des Verguies, between the sea and the luxuriant countryside, he grew very fond of fishing and of outdoor activities. When Guy reached the age of thirteen, his mother placed her two sons as day boarders in a private school, the Institution Leroy-Petit, in Rouen—the Institution Robineau of Maupassant's story La Question du Latin—for classical studies. From his early education, he retained a marked hostility to religion, and to judge from verses composed around this time, he deplored the ecclesiastical atmosphere, its ritual and discipline. Finding the place unbearable, he finally got himself expelled in his penultimate year.

In 1867, while he was in junior high school, Maupassant met Gustave Flaubert at Croisset on the insistence of his mother. Next year, in autumn, he was sent to the Lycée Pierre-Corneille in Rouen where he proved a good scholar, indulging in poetry and taking a prominent part in theatricals. In October 1868, at the age of 18, he saved the famous poet Algernon Swinburne from drowning off the coast of Étretat.

The Franco-Prussian War broke out soon after his graduation from college in 1870 and Maupassant volunteered to serve in the French Army without attending military academy as aspirant. In 1871, he left Normandy and moved to Paris, where he spent ten years as a clerk in the Navy Department. During this time his only recreation and relaxation was boating on the Seine on Sundays and holidays.

Gustave Flaubert took him under his protection and acted as a kind of literary guardian to him, guiding his debut in journalism and literature. At Flaubert's home he met Émile Zola (1840–1902) and the Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev (1818–1883), as well as many of the proponents of the realist and naturalist schools. He wrote and himself played (1875) in a comedy - "À la feuille de rose, maison turque" - with Flaubert's blessing.

In 1878, he was transferred to the Ministry of Public Instruction and became a contributing editor to several leading newspapers such as Le Figaro, Gil Blas, Le Gaulois and l'Écho de Paris. He devoted his spare time to writing novels and short stories.

In 1880 he published what is considered his first masterpiece, "Boule de Suif", which met with instant and tremendous success. Flaubert characterized it as "a masterpiece that will endure". This, Maupassant's first piece of short fiction set during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, was followed by short stories such as "Deux Amis", "Mother Savage", and "Mademoiselle Fifi".

"The fear that haunted his restless brain day and night was already visible in his eyes, I for one considered him then as a doomed man. I knew that the subtle poison of his own Boule de Suif had already begun its work of destruction in this magnificent brain. Did he know it himself? I often thought he did. The MS. of his Sur L'Eau was lying on the table between us, he had just read me a few chapters, the best thing he had ever written I thought. He was still producing with feverish haste one masterpiece after another, slashing his excited brain with champagne, ether and drugs of all sorts. Women after women in endless succession hastened the destruction, women recruited from all quarters... actresses, ballet-dancers, midinettes, grisettes, common prostitutes-- 'le taureau triste' his friends used to call him.

The decade from 1880 to 1891 was the most fertile period of Maupassant's life. Made famous by his first short story, he worked methodically and produced two or sometimes four volumes annually. His talent and practical business sense made him wealthy.

In 1881 he published his first volume of short stories under the title of La Maison Tellier; it reached its twelfth edition within two years. In 1883 he finished his first novel, Une Vie (translated into English as A Woman's Life), 25,000 copies of which were sold in less than a year.

"Bed 29", published in 1884, is a social and political satirical collection of some of his best short stories, including the titular story which is shocking and scandalous, even by modern standards.

His editor, Victor Havard, commissioned him to write more stories, and Maupassant continued to produce them efficiently and frequently. His second novel, Bel-Ami, which came out in 1885, had thirty-seven printings in four months. Then, he wrote what many consider his greatest novel, Pierre et Jean (1888).

With a natural aversion to society, he loved retirement, solitude, and meditation. He traveled extensively in Algeria, Italy, England, Brittany, Sicily, and the Auvergne, and from each voyage brought back a new volume. He cruised on his private yacht Bel-Ami, named after his novel. This life did not prevent him from making friends among the literary celebrities of his day: Alexandre Dumas, fils had a paternal affection for him; at Aix-les-Bains he met Hippolyte Taine (1828–1893) and became devoted to the philosopher-historian.

Flaubert continued to act as his literary godfather. His friendship with the Goncourts was of short duration; his frank and practical nature reacted against the ambiance of gossip, scandal, duplicity, and invidious criticism that the two brothers had created around them in the guise of an 18th-century style  salon.

Maupassant was one of a fair number of 19th-century Parisians (including Charles Gounod, Alexandre Dumas, fils, and Charles Garnier) who did not care for the Eiffel Tower (erected 1887/89). He often ate lunch in the restaurant at its base, not out of preference for the food but because only there could he avoid seeing its otherwise unavoidable profile. He and forty-six other Parisian literary and artistic notables attached their names to an elaborately irate letter of protest against the tower's construction, written to the Minister of Public Works, and published on 14 February 1887.

Declining appointment to the Légion d'honneur and election to the Académie française, Maupassant also wrote under several pseudonyms, including "Joseph Prunier", "Guy de Valmont", and "Maufrigneuse" (which he used from 1881 to 1885).

In his later years he developed a constant desire for solitude, an obsession for self-preservation, and a fear of death and paranoia of persecution caused by the syphilis he had contracted in his youth. It has been suggested that his brother, Hervé, also suffered from syphilis and that the disease may have been congenital. On 2 January 1892, Maupassant tried to take his own life by cutting his throat; he was committed to the private asylum of Esprit Blanche at Passy, in Paris, where he died on 6 July 1893 from syphilis.

Maupassant penned his own epitaph: "I have coveted everything and taken pleasure in nothing." He is buried in Section 26 of the Montparnasse Cemetery, Paris.

Significance
Maupassant is considered a father of the modern short story. Literary theorist Kornelije Kvas wrote that along "with Chekhov, Maupassant is the greatest master of the short story in world literature. He is not a naturalist like Zola; to him, physiological processes do not constitute the basis of human actions, although the influence of the environment is manifested in his prose. In many respects, Maupassant's naturalism is Schopenhauerian anthropological pessimism, as he is often harsh and merciless when it comes to depicting human nature. He owes most to Flaubert, from whom he learned to use a concise and measured style and to establish a distance towards the object of narration." He delighted in clever plotting, and served as a model for Somerset Maugham and O. Henry in this respect. One of his famous short stories, "The Necklace", was imitated with a twist by Maugham ("Mr Know-All", "A String of Beads"). Henry James's "Paste" adapts another story of his with a similar title, "The Jewels".

Taking his cue from Balzac, Maupassant wrote comfortably in both the high-realist and fantastic modes; stories and novels such as "L'Héritage" and Bel-Ami aim to recreate Third Republic France in a realistic way, whereas many of the short stories (notably "Le Horla" and "Qui sait?") describe apparently supernatural phenomena.

The supernatural in Maupassant, however, is often implicitly a symptom of the protagonists' troubled minds; Maupassant was fascinated by the burgeoning discipline of psychiatry, and attended the public lectures of Jean-Martin Charcot between 1885 and 1886.

Legacy
Leo Tolstoy used Maupassant as the subject for one of his essays on art: The Works of Guy de Maupassant. His stories are second only to Shakespeare in their inspiration of movie adaptations with films ranging from Stagecoach, Oyuki the Virgin and Masculine Feminine.

Friedrich Nietzsche's autobiography mentions him in the following text:

"I cannot at all conceive in which century of history one could haul together such inquisitive and at the same time delicate psychologists as one can in contemporary Paris: I can name as a sample – for their number is by no means small, ... or to pick out one of the stronger race, a genuine Latin to whom I am particularly attached, Guy de Maupassant."

William Saroyan wrote a short story about Maupassant in his 1971 book, Letters from 74 rue Taitbout or Don't Go But If You Must Say Hello To Everybody.

Isaac Babel wrote a short story about him, "Guy de Maupassant." It appears in The Collected Stories of Isaac Babel and in the story anthology You’ve Got To Read This: Contemporary American Writers Introduce Stories that Held Them in Awe.

Gene Roddenberry, in an early draft for The Questor Tapes, wrote a scene in which the android Questor employs Maupassant's theory that, "the human female will open her mind to a man to whom she has opened other channels of communications." In the script Questor copulates with a woman to obtain information that she is reluctant to impart. Due to complaints from NBC executives, this scene was never filmed.

Michel Drach directed and co-wrote a 1982 French biographical film: Guy de Maupassant. Claude Brasseur stars as the titular character.

Several of Maupassant's short stories, including "La Peur" and "The Necklace", were adapted as episodes of the 1986 Indian anthology television series Katha Sagar.

title: Guy de Maupassant


text:
Gheorghe Hagi

Gheorghe Hagi (born 5 February 1965) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the owner and manager of Liga I club Farul Constanța. Deployed as an attacking midfielder, Hagi was considered one of the best players in the world during the 1980s and '90s, and is regarded by many as the greatest Romanian footballer of all time. Fans of Turkish club Galatasaray, with whom Hagi ended his career, called him Comandante ("[The] Commander"), while he was known as Regele ("The King") to Romanian supporters. Nicknamed "The Maradona of the Carpathians", he was a creative advanced playmaker renowned for his dribbling, technique, vision, passing and shooting.

After starting his playing career in Romania, with FC Constanța, and subsequently featuring for Sportul Studențesc and Steaua București, he later also had spells in Spain with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, Italy with Brescia, and Turkey, with Galatasaray. Hagi is one of the few footballers to have played for both Spanish rival clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona. Throughout his club career, he won numerous titles while playing in four different countries: he won three Romanian League titles, two Cupa României titles, and the European Super Cup with Steaua București – also reaching the final of the 1988–89 European Cup –, a Supercopa de España title with Real Madrid, the Anglo-Italian Cup with Brescia, another Supercopa de España title with Barcelona, and four Süper Lig titles, two Turkish Cups, two Turkish Super Cups, the UEFA Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup with Galatasaray.

At international level, Hagi played for the Romania national team in three FIFA World Cups, in 1990, 1994 (where he was named in the World Cup All-Star Team after helping his nation to the quarter-finals of the tournament) and 1998; as well as in three UEFA European Championships, in 1984, 1996 and 2000. He won a total of 124 caps for Romania between 1983 and 2000, making him the second-most capped Romanian player of all time, behind only Dorinel Munteanu; he is also the joint all-time leading goalscorer of the Romania national side (alongside Adrian Mutu) with 35 goals.

Hagi is considered a hero both in his homeland and in Turkey. He was named Romanian Footballer of the Year a record seven times, and is regarded as one of the best football players of his generation. Hagi was nominated six times for the Ballon d'Or, his best performance being a 4th place in 1994. In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, Hagi was selected as the Golden Player of Romania by the Romanian Football Federation as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years. In 2004, he was named by Pelé as one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards Ceremony. In 1999, he was ranked at number 25 in World Soccer Magazine's list of the 100 greatest players of the 20th century.

Following his retirement in 2001, Hagi pursued a managerial career, coaching the Romania national team, as well as clubs in both Romania and Turkey, namely Bursaspor, Galatasaray, Politehnica Timișoara, Steaua București, Viitorul Constanța and Farul Constanța. In 2009, he founded Romanian club Viitorul Constanța, which he has coached between 2014 and 2020. Hagi also established his namesake football academy, one of the largest in Southeastern Europe.

Early life
Hagi was born by Chirata Hagi, his mother, and Iancu Hagi, his father. Hagi's grandfather was one of 40,000 ethnic Aromanians who fled Greece to Romania. His mother was born in Mesolakkia Serron and her original surname was Mega. He set up home in the village of Săcele, near Constanța on the Black Sea coast. Hagi has fond memories of his grandfather who, like many Aromanians, was a shepherd. According to him, “I was proud when he, who was called Gheorghe like me, asked me to go and spend the whole day with him minding the sheep,” he said. “I loved to eat cheese and tomatoes with him, and that is still my favorite food today.”  He also said "ambition is the main quality of the Aromanians".

Club career
Hagi started his career playing for the youth teams of FC Constanța under the guidance of coach Iosif Bükössy in the 1970s. He was selected by the Romanian Football Federation to join the squad of Luceafărul București in 1980, where he remained for two years. In 1982, he returned to FC Constanța, making his Divizia A debut under coach Emanoil Hașoti in a 3–0 loss against SC Bacău, but one year later, aged 18, he was prepared to make the step up to play for a top team. He was originally directed to Universitatea Craiova, but chose Sportul Studențesc of Bucharest instead.

In late 1986, Hagi transferred to Steaua București as the team prepared for the European Super Cup final against Dynamo Kyiv. The original contract was for a one-game loan only, the final. However, after winning the trophy, in which Hagi scored the only goal of the match from a free kick, Steaua did not want to release him back to Sportul Studențesc and retained him. During his Steaua years (1987–1990), Hagi played 97 Liga I games, scoring 76 goals, and netted 98 goals in total in 107 appearances for the club across all competitions. With the club, he reached the European Cup semi-final in 1988, and the final in the following year, while Hagi finished as one of the competition's top scorers in the former edition of the tournament. Hagi also won three consecutive league and Cup doubles with Steaua between 1987 and 1989. His strong performances had him linked with Arrigo Sacchi's Milan, fellow Serie A club Juventus, and German side Bayern Munich, but Nicolae Ceaușescu's communist government rejected any offer.

After impressing at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, Hagi was signed by Spanish club Real Madrid on 27 June that same year; the La Liga side paid $3.5 million to Steaua București in order to acquire him. Hagi played two seasons with Real Madrid, which were largely unsuccessful, scoring 20 goals in 84 games, and only winning the Supercopa de España; some of his most memorable performances for the club included a hat-trick in a 5–0 home win over Athletic Bilbao at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, on match-day 22 of the 1991–92 season, and a 40-yard lob against Osasuna during the same campaign. He also helped Los Blancos to reach the 1991–92 UEFA Cup semi-finals, contributing with 3 goals scored in 10 appearances. He was subsequently sold to Italian side Brescia for 8 billion lira in 1992.

Hagi began the 1992–93 season with Brescia in Serie A, but after his first season, the club was relegated to Serie B. The following season, Hagi helped the club win the Anglo-Italian Cup, with Brescia defeating Notts County 1–0 in the final at Wembley, and also helped the team finish third in Serie B and earn promotion back to Serie A. After performing memorably during the 1994 World Cup, Hagi returned to Spain, and was signed by defending La Liga champions Barcelona for £2 million, where he immediately won his second Supercopa de España title; however, he later struggled to gain playing time at the club under manager Johan Cruyff, but managed to give his contribution by scoring 3 goals in 5 matches when Barça reached the semi-finals in the 1995–96 UEFA Cup season.

After two years at Barça, Hagi signed for Turkish club Galatasaray in 1996, at the age of 31. He had been the subject of a competing transfer offer from São Paulo FC. Although in the twilight of his career, at Galatasaray, he was extremely successful, and became highly popular among the Turkish supporters, due to his excellent performances for the club. Hagi was an important member of the Galatasaray team that went on to win four consecutive league titles between 1996 and 2000. In 2000, at age 35, Hagi had one of the best seasons of his career, winning every possible major title with Galatasaray that season. Most significantly, Hagi captained the club to win the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup after defeating Arsenal on penalties in the final, following a 0–0 draw; during the match, Hagi was sent off in extra-time for punching Arsenal captain Tony Adams. Consequently, Galatasaray became the first Turkish club to win a UEFA club competition title. The team's UEFA Cup triumph was immediately followed by the UEFA Super Cup title, with a historic 2–1 win against Hagi's former club Real Madrid in extra-time. The mass hysteria caused by these wins in Istanbul raised Hagi's popularity with the fans even further, and prompted former France international Luis Fernández to say, "Hagi is like wine, the older it gets, the better it is."

When he retired in 2001, Hagi was one of the most popular players in both Turkey and Romania. Hagi drew praise from the Galatasaray supporters for his performances during his time with the club, who adopted the chant "I Love You Hagi" in his honour. While coaching Galatasaray in 2004, he briefly came out of retirement to play in the testimonial game for his former teammate Suat Kaya against Turkey XI. Hagi played the first half wearing his iconic shirt number 10 and helped Galatasaray win 2–1.

International career
Gheorghe Hagi made his debut for Romania on 10 August 1983 at the age of 18, under coach Mircea Lucescu who used him in all the minutes of friendly which ended 0–0 against Norway, played on the Ullevaal stadium from Oslo. He scored his first international goal against Northern Ireland in 1984. The following year, he was made captain for the first time, in a World Cup qualifier against the same opponent.

Although Romania failed to qualify for the 1986 World Cup, Hagi later took part at the 1990 World Cup, where he helped the team reach the round of 16, before Republic of Ireland ended their run, after winning the resulting penalty shoot-out following a 0–0 draw, with Hagi netting Romania's first spot kick. Four years later, he led the Romanian team to its best ever international performance at the 1994 World Cup, as they reached the quarter-finals, only to lose to Sweden in a penalty shoot-out once again. Hagi scored three times in the tournament, including a memorable goal in their 3–2 surprise defeat of South American powerhouse and previous runners-up Argentina. In the first of Romania's group stage matches, a 3–1 win against Colombia, Hagi provided two assists and scored one of the most memorable goals of the tournament, curling in a 40-yard lob over Colombian goalkeeper Óscar Córdoba who was caught out of position; the goal was later voted the fifth greatest World Cup goal in a FIFAworldcup.com poll. Hagi was named in the Team of the Tournament for his performances.

Four years later, he captained Romania at the 1998 World Cup; Hagi initially communicated that France '98 would be his final tournament. Romania topped their group, which featured England, Colombia, and Tunisia, and reached the round of 16, before being eliminated by Croatia. After the tournament, Hagi retired from the national team, only to change his mind after a few months and participate in UEFA Euro 2000, during which he was sent off in the 2–0 quarter-final loss against eventual runners-up Italy; this was his final international appearance.

Hagi retired from professional football in 2001, at the age of 36; that year, he was given a send-off in a testimonial game on 24 April, called "Gala Hagi," featuring a team of Romanian All-Stars against a team of international All-Stars. At the time of his retirement, his 124 caps for his country were a national record, which has since been surpassed by Dorinel Munteanu. He currently still holds the record of most goals scored for the Romania national team, alongside Adrian Mutu, with 35.

Romania national team
In 2001, Hagi was named the manager of the Romania national team, replacing Ladislau Bölöni, who left the squad to coach Sporting Clube de Portugal. After failing to qualify the team for the World Cup, Hagi was sacked. His only notable achievement during the six months as Romania's manager was the win in Budapest against Hungary.

Bursaspor
In 2003, Hagi took over as coach of Turkish Süper Lig side Bursaspor, but left the club after a disappointing start to the season.

Galatasaray
Hagi then became manager of Galatasaray in 2004, leading the team to the Turkish Cup in 2005 final with 5–1 as a score against fierce rivals Fenerbahçe. His contract, however, was not renewed since his team was not able to win 2004–05 Süper Lig title over Fenerbahçe during the centennial of the club.

Politehnica Timișoara
Steaua București sought to hire Hagi in the summer of 2005, but Hagi's requested wage could not be met by the Romanian champions, and he became manager of Politehnica Timișoara instead. However, after a string of poor results and disagreements with management, he left the club after a few months. Constanța's main stadium used to bear his name, but the name was changed after Hagi signed with Politehnica Timișoara.

FC Steaua București
From June to September 2007, Hagi coached FC Steaua București, had a mediocre start in the internal championship mainly due to the large number of unavailable injured players, and managed to qualify the team for the second time in line to the UEFA Champions League group stages, passing two qualifying rounds. He resigned due to a long series of conflicts with club owner Gigi Becali, which also happens to be his godson. The main reason for resigning was the owner's policy of imposing players, making the team's strategy and threats. Hagi's resigned mere hours after FC Steaua's first Champions League match away against Slavia Prague, a 2–1 loss.

Galatasaray return
After Frank Rijkaard was sacked as coach, Hagi signed a one and a half-year contract with Galatasaray on 21 October 2010. His official presentation was held on 22 October. His former teammate from Galatasaray Tugay Kerimoğlu assisted him in Istanbul, but he was sacked on 22 March 2011 after a series of poor results in the Süper Lig.

Viitorul Constanța
In September 2014, Hagi appointed himself manager of Viitorul Constanța, in addition to being the owner and chairman of the club. Successfully avoiding relegation in his first season, Viitorul went on to be the season's wonder in the 2015–16 season, finishing the first half of the regular season on 3rd place, which led Hagi to be named Romania Coach of the Year. Eventually, Viitorul finished the regular season on 4th place, earning their first play-off qualification. Viitorul finished the play-off on 5th place, but qualified for the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round due to Dinamo București's insolvency. In their first European match, Viitorul were defeated 0–5 by Gent at the Ghelamco Arena, and were eliminated after a 0–0 home draw.

Viitorul won their maiden league title, being 2016–17 Liga I champions after a 1–0 home victory over CFR Cluj; they finished the play-off with 44 points, same as FCSB, but on a better head-to-head record after a 3–1 home victory over FCSB. As a result, Hagi won his second Romania Coach of the Year award.

Style of play
A talented left-footed attacking midfielder, Hagi's playing style was frequently compared with Diego Maradona's throughout his career, due to his technical ability as well as his temperamental character and leadership;   as a youth, he was mainly inspired by compatriots Anghel Iordănescu and Ion Dumitru. A quick, agile, creative, and mobile advanced playmaker, Hagi was also tactically versatile, and capable of playing in several midfield and offensive positions on either wing or through the middle, due to his ability with both feet, despite being naturally left-footed, although he had a preference for using his stronger foot; his preferred position was in a free role as a classic number 10, but he was also used as a second striker on occasion. Hagi was renowned in particular for his first touch and speed on the ball, as well as his timing, interpretation of space, bursts of acceleration and dribbling skills, which enabled him to get past defenders; he was also highly regarded for his vision and precise passing, although he was capable of both scoring and assisting goals, and was also an accurate finisher and set-piece taker, who had a penchant for scoring goals from powerful, bending long range strikes. Despite his small stature and slender build, Hagi possessed significant upper body strength, which, along with his control, aided him in protecting the ball from opponents, and allowed him to create space for himself or his teammates. Despite his skill and his reputation as one of the greatest number 10s of his generation, his career was marked by inconsistency at times, and he was also considered to be a controversial player, due to his rebellious and arrogant attitude, as well as his low work-rate, aggression, unsportsmanlike behaviour, and lack of discipline, which led him to have several disagreements and confrontations with his managers, opponents, and officials.

Personal life
Hagi is currently married to Marilena Hagi, with whom he has two children. His son, Ianis Hagi, is also a footballer. His daughter, Kira Hagi, is an actress.

Hagi was chosen to dub in Romanian the character Dagda in the animated movie Epic.

International

 * Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hagi goal.

Player
Steaua București
 * Divizia A: 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89
 * Cupa României: 1986–87, 1988–89
 * European Super Cup: 1986
 * Intercontinental Cup runners-up: 1986
 * European Cup runners-up: 1988–89

Real Madrid
 * Copa del Rey runner-up: 1991–92
 * Supercopa de España: 1990

Brescia
 * Anglo-Italian Cup: 1993–94

Barcelona
 * Copa del Rey runner-up: 1995–96
 * Supercopa de España: 1994

Galatasaray
 * 1.Lig: 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000
 * Turkish Cup: 1998–99, 1999–2000
 * Turkish Super Cup: 1996, 1997
 * UEFA Cup: 1999–2000
 * UEFA Super Cup: 2000

Manager
Galatasaray
 * Turkish Cup: 2004–05

Viitorul Constanța
 * Liga I: 2016–17
 * Cupa României: 2018–19
 * Supercupa României: 2019

Farul Constanta
 * Liga I: 2022–23
 * Supercupa României runner-up: 2023

Individual
Player
 * Divizia A top scorer: 1984–85, 1985–86
 * European Cup top scorer: 1987–88
 * Gazeta Sporturilor Romanian Footballer of the Year: 1985, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000
 * ADN Eastern European Footballer of the Season: 1989
 * FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1994
 * Ballon d'Or: 4th place 1994
 * FIFA XI: 1998
 * Turkish Footballer of the Year: 1996, 1999, 2000,
 * World Soccer Magazine's 100 Greatest Players of the 20th century: 1999 (#25)
 * UEFA Jubilee Awards – Greatest Romanian Footballer of the last 50 Years: 2003
 * FIFA 100: 2004
 * Golden Foot Legends Award: 2015

Manager
 * Romania Coach of the Year: 2015, 2017
 * Liga I Manager of the Season: 2022–23

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Gheorghe Hagi


text:
Gordon Banks

Gordon Banks (30 December 1937 – 12 February 2019) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he made 679 appearances during a 20-year professional career, and won 73 caps for England, highlighted by starting every game of the nation's 1966 World Cup victory.

Banks joined Chesterfield in March 1953 and played for their youth team in the 1956 FA Youth Cup final. He made his first-team debut in November 1958 and was sold to Leicester City for £7,000 in July 1959. He played in four cup finals for the club, as they were beaten in the 1961 and 1963 FA Cup finals before winning the League Cup in 1964 and finishing as finalists in 1965. Despite this success and his World Cup win in 1966, Banks was dropped by Leicester and sold on to Stoke City for £50,000 in April 1967. In the 1970 World Cup,  he made one of the game's greatest saves to prevent a Pelé goal, but was absent due to illness as England were beaten by West Germany in the quarter-finals.

Banks was Stoke City's goalkeeper in the 1972 League Cup win, the club's only major honour. He was still Stoke's and England's number one when a car crash in October 1972 cost him both the sight in his right eye and, eventually, his professional career. He played two last seasons in the United States for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in 1977 and 1978, and despite only having the vision in one eye, was NASL Goalkeeper of the Year in 1977 after posting the best defensive record in the league. He briefly entered management with Telford United but left the game in December 1980.

Banks was named FWA Footballer of the Year in 1972 and was named FIFA Goalkeeper of the Year on six occasions. The IFFHS named Banks the second-best goalkeeper of the 20th century, after Lev Yashin.

Early life
Banks was born in Abbeydale, Sheffield and brought up in the working-class area of Tinsley. The family later moved to the village of Catcliffe after his father set up a (then-illegal) betting shop. This brought greater prosperity but also misery; one day, Banks's disabled brother was mugged for the shop's daily takings and died of his injuries some weeks later. Banks left school in December 1952, aged 15, and took up employment as a bagger with a local coal merchant, which helped to build up his upper body strength. He spent a season playing for amateur side Millspaugh after their regular goalkeeper failed to turn up for a match; the club's trainer spotted Banks amongst the spectators and invited him to play in goal as he was aware that Banks had previously played for Sheffield Schoolboys. His performances there earned him a game in the Yorkshire League for Rawmarsh Welfare. However, a 12–2 defeat to Stocksbridge Works on his debut was followed by a 3–1 home defeat, and he was dropped by Rawmarsh and returned to Millspaugh. Still aged 15, he then switched jobs to become a hod carrier.

Chesterfield
He was scouted by Chesterfield whilst playing for Millspaugh and offered a six-game trial in the youth team in March 1953. He impressed enough in these games to be offered a part-time £3-a-week contract by manager Teddy Davison in July 1953. The reserve team were placed in the Central League on account of a powerful club director rather than on merit, and Banks conceded 122 goals in the 1954–55 season as the "Spireites" finished in last place with only three victories. Banks was posted to Germany with the Royal Signals on national service, and won the Rhine Cup with his regimental team. He recovered from a fractured elbow to help the Chesterfield youth team to the 1956 final of the FA Youth Cup. There they were beaten 4–3 on aggregate by Manchester United's famous "Busby Babes"—a team that included both Wilf McGuinness and Bobby Charlton.

Banks was given his first-team debut by manager Doug Livingstone, at the expense of long-serving Ron Powell, in a Third Division game against Colchester United at Saltergate in November 1958. The game ended 2–2, and Banks kept his place against Norwich City in the following match; by the end of the 1958–59 season, he had missed only three games, those owing to injury. With no goalkeeping coach to guide him, Banks had to learn from his mistakes on the pitch, and he soon developed into a modern vocal goalkeeper who ordered the players in front of him into a more effective defence. Having just 23 league and three cup appearances to his name, it came as a surprise to Banks when Matt Gillies, manager of First Division club Leicester City, bought him from Chesterfield for £7,000 in July 1959; this also meant a wage increase to £15 a week.

Leicester City
Banks faced competition from five other goalkeepers, including 30-year-old Scotland international Johnny Anderson and 25-year-old Dave MacLaren. He started the 1959–60 season as the reserve team's goalkeeper. This, in effect, made him the club's second-choice, ahead of four of his rivals but behind first-team choice MacLaren. He had played four reserve team games when MacLaren picked up an injury, and manager Matt Gillies selected Banks for his Leicester debut against Blackpool at Filbert Street on 9 September. The match finished 1–1, with Jackie Mudie's strike cancelling out Ken Leek's opener. Banks retained his place for the 2–0 loss to Newcastle United at St James' Park three days later. With McLaren fit again, Banks was sent back to the reserves, but after the first team conceded 14 goals in the next five games, he was recalled and became the first-choice goalkeeper for the remainder of the season. The defensive record did not improve at first, with Banks conceding six in a heavy defeat by Everton at Goodison Park. Still, he improved in each match, and the Foxes settled for a comfortable 12th-place finish. In training, he worked extensively on improving his weaknesses, such as coming for crosses. He put in extra hours during training and came up with practice sessions to improve his skills – this was largely unique in an era where there were no specialized goalkeeping coaches. In the summer, both Anderson and MacLaren departed, leaving Banks as the club's undisputed number one ahead of a group of understudies.

Leicester finished sixth in 1960–61, and managed to beat champions Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. Yet their greatest accomplishment was in reaching the final of the FA Cup, with Banks conceding only five goals in their nine games en route to the final, and keeping three clean sheets in the semi-final and two replays against Sheffield United. Their opponents in the final at Wembley were Tottenham, who had already won the First Division title by an eight-point margin. Right-back Len Chalmers picked up a severe injury early in the match, and with Ken Leek dropped for disciplinary reasons in favour of rookie Hughie McIlmoyle, City were effectively playing with ten men and offered little threat going forward. Bobby Smith and Terry Dyson gave Spurs a 2–0 win and the first "double" of the 20th century, with Banks unable to prevent either goal.

The 1961–62 season proved to be highly disappointing, as Leicester finished 14th in the league and exited the FA Cup at the hands of Stoke City. The only highlight was the club's participation in the European Cup Winners' Cup, which put Banks in the difficult position of choosing to play for his club against Spanish club Atlético Madrid or choosing to attend the England versus Portugal match as a non-playing squad member. He elected to attend both games, leaving London at full-time to reach Leicester 30 minutes before the kick-off against Madrid. A last-minute goal earned the Spaniards a 1–1 draw at Filbert Street. In the return leg, Banks saved an Enrique Collar penalty, but Atlético were awarded a second penalty which Collar converted, and Leicester lost the game 2–0 (losing the tie 3–1 on aggregate).

Banks broke his nose at Craven Cottage on the opening day of the 1962–63 season, in a 2–1 defeat by Fulham. Leicester went to chase a possible double, reaching the FA Cup semi-finals whilst sitting on top of the table in April. City beat Liverpool 1–0 at Hillsborough to reach the final, with Banks keeping a clean sheet despite his goal being under a near-constant siege from the Merseyside club. The News of the World reported that Liverpool had had 34 attempts on goal to Leicester's one, and Banks later stated that it was his finest performance at club level. Unluckily, Banks then broke a finger in a 2–1 defeat by West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns, and was out injured as Leicester lost their final three league games, ending the season in a disappointing fourth place. In the 1963 FA Cup final Banks and the rest of the team underperformed, and lost the game 3–1 to Manchester United.

City ended the 1963–64 season in 11th place, having been inconsistent all season. Success instead came through the League Cup, as they beat West Ham United 6–3 over two legs in the semi-finals to reach the final against Stoke City. The opening tie at the Victoria Ground finished 1–1 in extremely muddy conditions as Banks spilled a shot from Bill Asprey, with Keith Bebbington pouncing on the rebound. Back at Filbert Street, goals from Mike Stringfellow, Dave Gibson and Howard Riley won the game for Leicester 3–2 and settled the tie at 4–3.

Banks started the 1964–65 season on wages of £40 a week, and the club only agreed to pay £60 a week in December. These miserly wages made it difficult for the club to spend the £80,000 it received from the sale of Frank McLintock – he had put in a transfer request over dissatisfaction with his pay and quality replacements were reluctant to join a club that paid full internationals like Banks and McLintock no more than the base rate that rival clubs paid to average players. Leicester finished 18th in the league and were knocked out of the FA Cup by Liverpool at Anfield in the sixth round. In the League Cup, City struggled to get past Peterborough United (in a replay), Grimsby Town and Crystal Palace (in a replay), before they recorded an 8–1 victory over Coventry City at Highfield Road. After easing past Plymouth Argyle in the semi-finals, Banks found himself playing in another League Cup final. However, Chelsea won the final after successfully defending their 3–2 win at Stamford Bridge with a goalless draw at Filbert Street.

Banks missed the first nine games of the 1965–66 season after breaking his wrist when diving at the feet of Northampton Town's Joe Kiernan in a pre-season friendly. Leicester finished the season in seventh spot and exited both cup competitions at the hands of Manchester City.

Despite being a World Cup winner in the summer of 1966, Banks was dropped towards the end of the 1966–67 season in favour of highly promising teenage reserve Peter Shilton. Manager Matt Gillies was blunt, telling Banks "we [Gillies and the club's directors] think your best days are behind you, and you should move on". Teammate Richie Norman told Banks that Gillies was pressured into the decision, Shilton having told the board he would leave the club unless he was given first-team football. Banks was transfer listed at £50,000, the same price the club received for Derek Dougan in March 1967. However, many of the big clubs were unwilling to spend such a sum on a goalkeeper. Liverpool manager Bill Shankly showed strong interest, but could not convince the club's board of directors to agree to such a large fee for a goalkeeper. West Ham United manager Ron Greenwood was prepared to match the fee, but instead signed Kilmarnock's Bobby Ferguson for £65,000 because he had already agreed terms with Kilmarnock and did not want to go back on his word. Terms were instead agreed with Stoke City, a mid-table First Division side.

Stoke City
On leaving Filbert Street, Banks requested a loyalty bonus from Leicester and was told by Matt Gillies, "We've decided not to pay you a penny. There's to be no compensation payment and that's final." Banks then refused the move until Stoke boss Tony Waddington seemingly negotiated a £2,000 payment out of Leicester. It was only some years later that Banks was informed that Stoke had made the payment, not Leicester. Waddington valued good goalkeepers highly, and the two built up a close relationship. During this time, Banks moved to Madeley, Staffordshire. He replaced John Farmer as the club's number one, and kept goal in the last four games of the 1966–67 season, making his home debut at the Victoria Ground in a 3–1 win over his former club Leicester.

Banks fitted in well at Stoke, as Waddington built a team of veteran players who were judged by some to be past their best. The Potters struggled near the foot of the First Division table in the 1967–68 and 1968–69 campaigns, before rising to ninth place in the 1969–70 season. Banks remained a reliable stopper for the club. However, on 1 March 1969, he was knocked unconscious at Roker Park by Sunderland's Malcolm Moore, and his replacement David Herd conceded four goals in a 4–1 defeat. Banks also played a season for the Cleveland Stokers of the American United Soccer Association in the summer of 1968: he played seven of the short-lived club's 12 games in Cleveland, Ohio.

Banks made what he believed to be three of the best saves of his career in a Stoke shirt. In the first instance, he saved and caught a powerful and well-placed header from Manchester City's Wyn Davies from 8 yd out; in the second case he saved a Francis Lee header at Maine Road; and he made his third great save for the club by catching a volley from Tottenham Hotspur's Alan Gilzean that had been hit from 6 yd out at White Hart Lane.

Stoke began to compete for honours in the 1970–71 season, though despite impressive victories against the top two clubs—Arsenal and Leeds United—City ended the season in mid-table obscurity. The club's great achievement was in reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup, beating Millwall, Huddersfield Town, Ipswich Town and Hull City en route. Facing Arsenal at Hillsborough in the semi-finals, they lost a two-goal lead to draw 2–2, and were then beaten 2–0 in the replay at Villa Park.

Despite another mid-table finish in 1971–72, Stoke beat Chesterfield, Tranmere Rovers, Hull City and Manchester United to reach another FA Cup semi-final. They again faced Arsenal, and once more, a draw at Villa Park meant a replay at Goodison Park. The Gunners' goals in a 2–1 victory came from a disputed Frank McLintock penalty and a John Radford goal that television replays showed was clearly offside. In a May 2011 interview, Banks said that he still felt "cheated" out of a chance to play for the club in an FA Cup final. Stoke and Banks found solace in the League Cup, though it took them 11 matches to reach the final after overcoming Southport, then Oxford United in a replay, Manchester United in a second replay, Bristol Rovers, and then West Ham United in a second replay following an aggregate draw after two legs. In extra time of the second leg with West Ham, Banks fouled Harry Redknapp, conceding a penalty, and then saved Geoff Hurst's powerful spot-kick to keep City in the competition. They then faced Chelsea in the final at Wembley. Peter Osgood beat Banks with a hooked shot just before half-time, but goals from Terry Conroy and George Eastham won Stoke the game 2–1. At the end of the season, Banks was named the FWA Footballer of the Year, becoming the first goalkeeper to receive the honour since Bert Trautmann in 1956.

On 22 October 1972, while driving home from a session of work on his injured shoulder with the Stoke physiotherapist, Banks lost control of his new Ford Consul (a re-badged Ford Granada Mk I) car, which ended up in a ditch. He had attempted to overtake a car on a sharp bend and collided with an oncoming Austin A60 van. He was taken to the North Staffordshire Hospital and, during an operation, received 200 stitches in his face and over 100 micro-stitches inside the socket of his right eye, and was told the chances of saving the sight in his eye were 50–50. His sight never returned, and as the loss of binocular vision severely limited his abilities as a goalkeeper, he retired from professional football the following summer.

Fort Lauderdale Strikers
In April 1977, he went on to play as a named superstar in the North American Soccer League (NASL) for Fort Lauderdale Strikers. The Strikers won their division in 1977, and Banks was named NASL Goalkeeper of the Year after he conceded only 29 goals in 26 games—the best defensive record in the NASL. He also played one League of Ireland game for St Patrick's Athletic, keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 win over Shamrock Rovers at Richmond Park on 2 October 1977. He returned to Fort Lauderdale and played 11 games in the 1978 season.

International career
Banks was capped twice for the England under-23 side, in matches against Wales and Scotland in 1961.

Ron Springett was the goalkeeper for England as Banks rose to prominence. Still, after the 1962 World Cup in Chile, a new coach was appointed in former England right-back Alf Ramsey. Ramsey demanded sole control of the team and began looking towards the next World Cup. Banks won his first cap on 6 April 1963 against Scotland at Wembley, after Springett was dropped following a poor performance. England lost 2–1, though Banks was blameless as Scotland's goals came firstly from an error by Jimmy Armfield and then secondly from the penalty spot. He was picked for the next match against Brazil, which ended in a creditable 1–1 draw after Bryan Douglas cancelled out Pepe's opener. Banks continued to play consistently to become established as England's first-choice goalkeeper. In 1963, he was picked to play against the Rest of the World, in a celebration match to mark 100 years of The Football Association.

Banks also played in two of England's three games at the "Little World Cup" in Brazil in the summer of 1964, a 1–1 draw with Portugal and a 1–0 defeat to Argentina. Blackpool's Tony Waiters won five caps in the England goal in 1964 but found that his challenge to Banks's first-team place came to an end after he conceded five goals to Brazil. During England's summer of 1965 tour he built up a solid understanding with his defenders—George Cohen, Jack Charlton, Bobby Moore, and Ray Wilson—as he only conceded two goals in four matches against Hungary, Yugoslavia, West Germany, and Sweden. They then played seven friendlies in 1966 in the build-up to the World Cup, though the team passed their biggest test of character in the British Home Championship, beating Scotland 4–3 in front of a crowd of over 130,000 at Hampden Park. Going into the competition, the only defeat in 21 matches since the "Little World Cup" came against Austria, in a game that Banks missed due to injury.

1966 World Cup
Banks entered the 1966 FIFA World Cup as England's first-choice goalkeeper, and his understudies Ron Springett and Peter Bonetti never took to the field during the tournament. England opened the tournament with a goalless draw against Uruguay, with Banks a virtual spectator as the highly defensive Uruguayans rarely ventured out of their half. They then defeated Mexico 2–0, with Banks again rarely troubled throughout. A 2–0 win over France then took England through the group stage without Banks conceding a goal.

England beat Argentina 1–0 in the last eight, with Geoff Hurst scoring with a header; the match was sullied by the first-half sending off of Argentinian midfielder Antonio Rattín, who refused to leave the pitch after being dismissed for dissent. In contrast to the previous games, the semi-final against Portugal proved to be a fair contest between two sides of talented players eager to attack from the start of the match. Yet there was panic in the buildup to the game as trainer Harold Shepherdson forgot to buy chewing gum, which Banks used to make his hands stickier and better able to handle the ball, and so Shepherdson had to run to a nearby newsagents to purchase gum as the teams were in the tunnel. Bobby Charlton scored two goals, but Portugal made a strong finish and won a penalty on 82 minutes after Jack Charlton handled the ball in the penalty area. Eusébio converted the penalty after sending Banks the wrong way, and the game finished 2–1 in England's favour. This was the first goal Banks had conceded for England in 721 minutes of regular play since giving up Scotland's last goal after 81 minutes of the Home International clash in April. This remained a record for an England goalkeeper until 2021 when it was broken by Jordan Pickford.

England's opponents in the final were West Germany. It was England who dominated the final, but it was Banks who was beaten first. A weak header from Ray Wilson handed a chance to Helmut Haller, who sent an accurate but relatively weak shot into the corner of the net; Banks had been unsighted by Jack Charlton, and he failed to adjust his position in time to reach the ball. England equalised through a Geoff Hurst header within six minutes and went ahead late in the second half through Martin Peters. With seconds left in the game, Lothar Emmerich sent a free kick into the England penalty area, and the ball fell to Wolfgang Weber, who guided the ball over a lunging Ray Wilson and an outstretched Banks into the net to take the game into extra-time. In extra time, the Germans sent shots in at the England goal, which Banks managed to catch and control without any great danger. Hurst scored two goals to complete his hat-trick, and though many claimed his second goal never crossed the line Banks always maintained his belief that the officials called the decision correctly. Between these goals, Banks had to deal with a fiery shot from Sigfried Held and was later exposed only for Uwe Seeler to come just centimetres away from connecting with the ball.

Euro 1968
Scotland were the first team to beat the world champions, as goals from Denis Law, Bobby Lennox and Jim McCalliog secured a 3–2 victory at Wembley on 15 April 1967. Despite this set-back, England qualified for UEFA Euro 1968, which consisted of just four teams: England, Italy (hosts), the Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia. England played just two games at the tournament, losing 1–0 to Yugoslavia, and then beating the Soviets 2–0 in the third-place play-off.

1970 World Cup
Banks went into the 1970 World Cup as England's number one with 59 caps to his name, and had Peter Bonetti (six caps) and Alex Stepney (one cap) as his understudies. He found the heat and altitude at Guadalajara, Mexico difficult to cope with. The team's efforts at acclimatisation were not helped when Bobby Moore was falsely accused of stealing the infamous "Bogotá Bracelet". Despite this, a Geoff Hurst goal was enough to beat their first opponents, Romania. A far tougher test awaited on 7 June, when England faced Brazil. The day before the match, Banks was informed that he had been awarded an OBE.

Playing at pace, Brazil were putting England under enormous pressure and an attack was begun by captain Carlos Alberto who sent a low ball down the right flank for the speedy Jairzinho to latch on to. The Brazilian winger sped past left-back Terry Cooper and crossed the ball into the six-yard box, where Pelé connected with a powerful header to send the ball low towards the right-hand corner of the goal. In the knowledge that his header was placed to perfection, Pelé immediately shouted "Gol!" (Brazilian Portuguese for goal).

The split-second incident only allowed Banks time for one conscious thought – that the shot was impossible to catch, and the only way to prevent Pelé from following up on the rebound would be to parry the ball over the bar. The ball bounced 2 yd in front of the goal-line, and Banks managed to make contact with the ball with the fingers of his right hand and rolled his hand slightly to angle the ball over the crossbar. He landed in the inner netting of the goal and knew he had saved the ball after seeing Pelé's reaction. Banks then rose to his feet to defend the corner and broke into laughter after the following exchange:

 * "I thought that was a goal." (Pelé)
 * "You and me both." (Banks)
 * "You're getting old, Banksy, you used to hold on to them." (Bobby Moore)

Pelé and numerous journalists and pundits would later describe the save as the greatest in the game's history. Banks later said "They won't remember me for winning the World Cup, it'll be for that save. That's how big a thing it is. People just want to talk about that save." In 2002 the UK public voted the save No. 41 in the list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.

Brazil won 1–0 after Jairzinho beat Banks in the second half. England ultimately joined Brazil in the last eight after a win in the final group game against Czechoslovakia. The reward was a rematch of the 1966 final against West Germany.

The day before the West Germany game, England's hopes of making further inroads into the World Cup were dented when Banks complained of an upset stomach. He became affected by violent stomach cramps and aching limbs and spent his time in the bathroom sweating, shivering and vomiting. He passed an extremely undemanding fitness test but suffered a relapse shortly before the game, and Ramsey was forced to rest him and play Peter Bonetti in his place. Ramsey remarked that "of all the players to lose, we had to lose him." Banks watched the game on television at the hotel as England lost a two-goal lead to be eliminated 3–2 after extra time. Due to a delay in the broadcast, he switched the television off, with England 2–0 in the lead, as Bobby Moore returned to the hotel to break the news of the defeat. Suspicions later surfaced that Banks had been poisoned to take him out of the game, but with no evidence to support them, Banks never believed in them.

Final years
Only four teams competed in UEFA Euro 1972: Belgium (hosts), Hungary, the Soviet Union, and West Germany. England came close to qualifying but lost 3–1 to West Germany in the final round of qualifying.

On 15 May 1971, Banks was involved in a notorious incident with George Best who, while playing against England for Northern Ireland, flicked the ball out of Banks's hands and headed it into the net. The move was audacious, but was disallowed by the referee, who judged it to be dangerous play. Banks played his 73rd and final game for England on 27 May 1972, in a 1–0 win over Scotland at Hampden Park. During his 73 international games, he kept 35 clean sheets and lost just nine games.

Coaching career
In December 1977, he was appointed as a coach at Port Vale by manager Dennis Butler, being demoted to reserve coach in October 1978 by new boss Alan Bloor. Banks enjoyed coaching but soon resigned his position, feeling that players such as Bernie Wright refused to take his advice on board. He applied for the vacant management positions at Lincoln City and Rotherham United, but was rejected. He instead accepted the role as manager of Alliance Premier League part-time club Telford United. He signed a goalkeeper, centre-half and centre-forward from Bangor City for £1,500, as well as former Stoke striker John Ruggiero. The "Bucks" finished in 13th place in 1979–80.

In November 1980, he left Jackie Mudie in temporary charge of team affairs whilst he underwent surgery and led the club to defeat in the FA Trophy at the hands of a lower league club. On his return to the club Banks was sacked. He was offered the position of raffle ticket seller and accepted the post in the belief that it would entitle him to the money owed to him in the terms of his management contract; he eventually had to settle for 50% of his contract. He later stated that "It broke my heart ... I did not want to stay in the game."

Style of play
An excellent, consistent, and instinctive goalkeeper who possessed significant physical strength, athleticism, and excellent shot-stopping abilities, Banks is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time in his position. He possessed an excellent positional sense, which he felt to be one of his best assets, and was also known for his handling, awareness, composure, and mental strength, as well as his agility, speed, and quick reflexes, which enabled him to produce acrobatic saves, such as his famous stop from Pelé's header against Brazil at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.

Personal life
Banks first met his wife, Ursula, during his national service in Germany in 1955. They had three children: Robert, Julia and Wendy. He separated from Ursula during his time in America. Still, the couple reunited when Banks returned to England.

In October 1972, Banks was involved in a car crash in his Ford Consul while driving on the wrong side of the road, close to his home in Madeley Heath. Fragments of glass had perforated his right eye and damaged the retina, requiring 100 micro stitches to the eye and a further 200 to his face.

Banks's nephew is Nick Banks, drummer of the band Pulp.

Shortly after his retirement, Banks was surprised by Eamonn Andrews for an episode of This Is Your Life. He later fronted a Leicester-based hospitality company. He lost a significant sum of money when the business failed but was helped out by Leicester City, who offered him a belated testimonial match. He was appointed as Stoke City's president following the death of Stanley Matthews. From the 1980s he was a member of the three-man pools panel.

In 2001, he sold his World Cup winners medal at Christie's for £124,750, and his international cap from the final was also sold for £27,025. Banks was an Inaugural Inductee to the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002. In March 2004, he was named by Pelé as one of the world's 125 greatest living footballers. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Keele University in February 2006. In May 2006, Banks was the first 'legend' to be inducted into a new Walk of Fame, by having a plaque installed in the pavement in front of Sheffield Town Hall. In July 2008, Pelé unveiled a statue of Banks making his famous 1970 World Cup save outside the Britannia Stadium. In March 2011, he was also inducted into the City of Stoke-on-Trent Hall of Fame, along with Roy Sproson. Pelé became a good friend of Banks and following his death the Brazilian described Banks as a "goalkeeper with magic".

In 1980, Banks published his first autobiography, Banks of England. He published a more comprehensive autobiography in 2002: Banksy: My Autobiography. Irish investigative author, Don Mullan, published a boyhood memoir in 2006 called Gordon Banks – A Hero Who Could Fly in which he wrote about the influence of the England goalkeeper on his life.

In December 2015, it was announced he was receiving treatment for kidney cancer.

Banks died in his sleep on 12 February 2019 at the age of 81. Banks's funeral took place on 4 March 2019 at Stoke Minster. His pallbearers were goalkeepers representing his former teams; Joe Anyon (Chesterfield), Jack Butland (Stoke City), Joe Hart (England) and Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester City).

Honours
Leicester City
 * Football League Cup: 1963–64
 * FA Cup runner-up: 1960–61, 1962–63

Stoke City
 * Football League Cup: 1971–72

England
 * FIFA World Cup: 1966
 * UEFA European Championship third-place: 1968
 * British Home Championship: 1964 (shared), 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970 (shared), 1971, 1972

Individual
 * FIFA Goalkeeper of the Year: 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971
 * FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1966
 * World XI: 1969, 1971, 1972
 * FUWO European Team of the Season: 1969, 1970
 * Rothmans Golden Boots Awards: 1970, 1971, 1972
 * Officer of the Order of the British Empire: 1970
 * Daily Express Sportsmen of the Year: 1971, 1972
 * Sport Ideal European XI: 1971, 1972
 * FWA Footballer of the Year: 1972
 * Football League 100 Legends: 1998
 * English Football Hall of Fame: 2002
 * NASL All-Stars: 1977
 * NASL Goalkeeper of the Year: 1977
 * FIFA 100: 2004
 * PFA Team of the Century (1907–1976): 2007
 * Freedom of the City of Stoke-on-Trent 16 October 2014.
 * Freedom of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme 23 February 2018.

title: Gordon Banks


text:
Ganglion

A ganglion (: ganglia) is a group of neuron cell bodies in the peripheral nervous system. In the somatic nervous system, this includes dorsal root ganglia and trigeminal ganglia among a few others. In the autonomic nervous system, there are both sympathetic and parasympathetic ganglia which contain the cell bodies of postganglionic sympathetic and parasympathetic neurons respectively.

A pseudoganglion looks like a ganglion, but only has nerve fibers and has no nerve cell bodies.

Structure
Ganglia are primarily made up of somata and dendritic structures, which are bundled or connected. Ganglia often interconnect with other ganglia to form a complex system of ganglia known as a plexus. Ganglia provide relay points and intermediary connections between different neurological structures in the body, such as the peripheral and central nervous systems.

Among vertebrates there are three major groups of ganglia:
 * Dorsal root ganglia (also known as the spinal ganglia) contain the cell bodies of sensory (afferent) neurons.
 * Cranial nerve ganglia contain the cell bodies of cranial nerve neurons.
 * Autonomic ganglia contain the cell bodies of autonomic nerves.

In the autonomic nervous system, fibers from the central nervous system to the ganglia are known as preganglionic fibers, while those from the ganglia to the effector organ are called postganglionic fibers.

Basal ganglia
The term "ganglion" refers to the peripheral nervous system.

However, in the brain (part of the central nervous system), the basal ganglia is a group of nuclei interconnected with the cerebral cortex, thalamus, and brainstem, associated with a variety of functions: motor control, cognition, emotions, and learning.

Partly due to this ambiguity, the Terminologia Anatomica recommends using the term 'basal nuclei' instead of 'basal ganglia'; however, this usage has not been generally adopted.

Pseudoganglion
A pseudoganglion is a localized thickening of the main part or trunk of a nerve that has the appearance of a ganglion but has only nerve fibers and no nerve cell bodies.

Pseudoganglia are found in the teres minor muscle and radial nerve.

title: Ganglion