Ianis yes, Dennis Man NO! Is Gica Hagi right? They are the most effective “tricolors” of the current generation

Article by Daniel Grigore – Published Thursday, March 28, 2024, 2:56 p.m. / Updated Thursday, March 28, 2024, 3:28 p.m.

Repeatedly, first at the airport then in a televised intervention, Gică Hagi named Ianis and Dennis Man as “the most decisive players of the national team from 2021 onwards” ♦ Is the former great footballer right? To try to “translate” the characteristic of being decisive, we propose a simulation that takes into account the successes of all the “tricolors” in the last 3 years.

From March 2021 until now, Ianis Hagi has scored 5 goals and provided 3 assists in a total of 19 appearances for the national team.

In the same period, Dennis Man boasts 6 goals and two assists in 16 games under the tricolor.

CRITICS

Now he’s dealt the cards face up! Hagi came angry at Iordănescu from the national team match: “I better not answer, but let’s say it!”

Ianis Hagi and Dennis Man, the first in the current national team in terms of goals + decisive assists

So, 8 decisive contributions each (goals + last pass) for the 2, the leaders of the current generation in this chapter. In total number of decisive contributions, the only one close to them is the left back Nicusor Bancubut he left his mark more as a server than a finisher: two goals and 5 assists.

Somewhat lower in this ranking we find 5 players with 5 decisive contributions each: Nicholas Stanciu and Alexandru Cicâldau4 goals and 1 assist each, George Puscas3 goals + two assists, Razvan Marin and Olimpiu Moruțan1 goal and 4 assists each.

Are Ianis Hagi and Dennis Man the most effective of the current generation?

But how important were the successes signed by Man and Ianis, how many points did they bring to the national team?

To include friendlies in this exercise, we imagined that they would also be rewarded with points. The mechanism is simple, we calculated the virtual points according to how the results of the national team would have looked without the successes of the respective players.

The achievements of Ianis they came in the parties listed below and they brought Romania a total of 4 pointsthe Alaves midfielder’s goals being decisive in the 3-2 with North Macedonia in the preliminaries for WC 2022 and in the 2-1 with Israel, the victory that qualified the “tricolors” for EURO 2024.

Goal 3-2 North Macedonia – two points
Assist 2-0 with Liechtenstein – zero points
Goal at 1-2 with Germany – zero points
Goal and two assists in 4-0 Andorra – zero points
Goal at 2-1 with Israel – two points
Goal at 2-3 with Colombia – zero points

Let’s see too the Dennis Man situation:

Goal at 2-0 with Iceland – zero points
Goal at 2-0 with Liechtenstein – zero points
Goal and assist in 2-2 draw with Israel – 1 point
Goal in 4-1 with Bosnia – zero points
Goal at 2-0 with Andorra – zero points
Goal in 1-1 with Northern Ireland – 1 point
Assist 2-3 with Colombia – zero points

Only two points brought by the extreme from Parmaa half dowry compared to Ianis Hagi.

Ianis Hagi is not a solitary leader!

On par with Ianis are George Pușcaș and Răzvan Marin, both with 4 points brought to Romania.

PUŞCAŞ scored decisively in the 1-0 against Finland (Nations League 2022) and scored in the 2-1 against Israel in the EURO 2024 qualifiers, Marine came through 2-1 with Belarus in EURO 2024 qualifiers and 1-0 with Armenia in 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

Concretely, we have 3 footballers who have brought 4 points to Romania each through their goals and decisive assists in the last 3 years, but Ianis is the only one with this contribution exclusively based on goals, at Pușcaș and Răzvan Marin being “responsible” for points and decisive assists.

Ianis Hagi scored in the friendly match with Colombia // photo: Gettyimages

In the qualification campaign for EURO 2024, in which Romania won Group I undefeated, the best “tricolor” scorers were Denis Alibec, Valentin Mihăilă and Nicolae Stanciu, all with 3 successes each.

Referring to the period March 2021 – March 2024, Alibec brought 3 points to Romania (goals in 1-1 with Israel and 1-0 with Switzerland), Mihăilă also 3, with a goal in 3-2 with North Macedonia and “double ” at 2-2 with Switzerland, Stanciu only two, with the goal from 2-1 with Belarus.