Ovidiu Cornel Hanganu

Ovidiu Hanganu
Personal information
Full name Ovidiu Cornel Hanganu
Date of birth (1970-05-12) 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

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]

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

Appearances and goals by national team and year[2]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Romania
199130
199241
199351
Total122
Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hanganu goal.[2]
List of international goals scored by Ovidiu Hanganu[2]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
129 November 1992Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium, Larnaca, Cyprus Cyprus4–14–11994 World Cup qualifiers
23 February 1993Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru Peru1–02–0Friendly match

Honours

Dinamo București

Național București

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Ovidiu Hanganu". National Football Teams. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Ovidiu Hanganu". European Football. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Ovidiu Cornel Hanganu at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Ce s-a ales de fotbalistul român care a jucat la Dinamo și rupea plasele porților adversarilor în anii '90. Ce face acum fostul golgheter al României de care puțini își mai amintesc" [What happened to the Romanian footballer who played for Dinamo and tore up opposing nets in the 90s? What is the former Romanian top scorer—whom few still remember—doing now?] (in Romanian). Fanatik.ro. 11 September 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  5. ↑ "Corvinul Hunedoara 3 – 0 Jiul Petrosani". Labtof.ro. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  6. ↑ "Memorialul puterii, episodul 2: Victoria București" [The Memorial of Power, Episode 2: Victoria București] (in Romanian). Wesport.ro. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
    "Ovidiu Hanganu. UEFA Cup 1989/1990". WorldFootball. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 ""Trăia de pe o zi pe alta la Hunedoara. L-am adus în Italia să-l ajut". Fostul jucător al Corvinului, Gelu Badea, oferă detalii tulburătoare despre Ovidiu Hanganu, golgeterul campionatului în 1991. "Transportă și cară mobilă în Bologna"" ["He was living hand-to-mouth in Hunedoara. I brought him to Italy to help him." Former Corvinul player Gelu Badea shares distressing details about Ovidiu Hanganu, the league's top scorer in 1991. "He hauls and carries furniture in Bologna."] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Pierdut fără urmă! Nimeni nu știe ce mai face golgeterul României din 1991: "A dispărut, i s-au șters urmele!"" [Vanished without a trace! No one knows what has become of Romania's 1991 top scorer: "He's disappeared—all trace of him is gone!"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 9 September 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  9. ↑ "Top Scorers" (in Romanian). Romaniansoccer.ro. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  10. ↑ "1991–92 Divizia A" (in Romanian). Romaniansoccer.ro. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  11. ↑ "Dinamo București in 1991–92" (in Romanian). Romaniansoccer.ro. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 "29 de ani de la cea mai Misterioasă "dublă" europeană a lui Dinamo: "Băieții au avut 30.000 de dolari bonus de calificare"" [29 years since Dinamo's most Mysterious European "double": "The boys had a $30,000 qualification bonus"] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
    "Trei decenii de la Dinamo – Marseille, un meci învăluit în mister" [Three decades since Dinamo - Marseille, a match shrouded in mystery] (in Romanian). Welovesport.ro. 21 October 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
    "Ovidiu Hanganu. Champions League 1992/1993". WorldFootball. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  13. ↑ "George Bănică, românul stabilit de 31 de ani în Belgia, vorbește despre fabrica de campioni care i-a dat pe De Bruyne și Lukaku. "100 milioane de euro în transferuri!"" [George Bănică, the Romanian who has been living in Belgium for 31 years, talks about the champion factory that produced De Bruyne and Lukaku. "100 million euros in transfers!"] (in Romanian). Sport.ro. 19 December 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
    "AS Monaco, acţionar majoritar al clubului belgian Cercle Bruges" [AS Monaco, majority shareholder of Belgian club Cercle Bruges] (in Romanian). Capital.ro. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  14. ↑ "Colonia românilor din Turcia, condusă de Gigi Mulțescu. 5 români transferați la Samsunspor din Belgia și Germania" [The colony of Romanians in Turkey, led by Gigi Mulțescu. 5 Romanians transferred to Samsunspor from Belgium and Germany] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 27 October 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
    "Revin în elită cluburile europene unde jucau eroii fotbalului nostru! Cum reacționează Giani Kiriță, Tony, Cătălin Liță, Vali Badea și Iulian Tameș: "Spre rușinea mea, am fugit! Greșeala carierei!"" [The European clubs where the heroes of our football played are returning to the elite! How Giani Kiriță, Tony, Cătălin Liță, Vali Badea and Iulian Tameș react: "To my shame, I ran away! Career mistake!"] (in Romanian). Prosport.ro. 23 April 2023. Archived from the original on 12 March 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  15. ↑ "Ovidiu Hanganu. Süper Lig 1993/1994". WorldFootball. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
    "Karabukspor - Samsunspor 0:3 Süper Lig 1993/1994". WorldFootball. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  16. ↑ "Ovidiu Hanganu. First Division 1993/1994". WorldFootball. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
    "Cercle Brugge - KAA Gent 2:2". WorldFootball. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  17. ↑ "Ovidiu Hanganu. First Division 1994/1995". WorldFootball. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  18. ↑ "Ovidiu Hanganu". Labtof.ro. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  19. ↑ "Ovidiu Hanganu profile". 11v11. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  20. ↑ "Norway 1-0 Romania". European Football. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
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