Neagu says farewell in emotional gala

5,000 fans flocked on Sunday, 8 June, to the Sala Polivalentă în Bucharest to say goodbye to the four-time IHF Female Player of the Year, Cristina Neagu, in a glitzy gala, which gathered some of the all-time greats on the court.

After winning the Romanian domestic league and the Romanian Cup with CSM București, Neagu bid farewell to competitive handball in late May, but still wanted to celebrate her career surrounded by friends and former teammates and the fans who cherished her performances so much.

“This last season really touched my soul. I really felt the support and the appreciation of people through my entire career. But this season? This was really special. When I saw the simple desire to stay in a line for a picture, I felt how emotional they were, how they were trembling, so from this point of view, it was amazing. I know that every time, in every match, people were waiting and I was in a hurry, because my recovery was really important to stay at the highest level. And I was not 25 years old anymore,” said Neagu in an interview for ihf.info, prior to the Neagu Gala.

A plethora of stars were lined up on the court of the Sala Polivalentă, with the players divided into two teams – Neagu’s former Romania teammates and the world stars.

In the Romania side – dubbed Home Legends –, there were several silver medallists at the 2005 IHF Women’s World Championship, such as Luminița Huțupan Dinu, Paula Ungureanu, Cristina Vărzaru, Valentina Ardean-Elisei, Ionela Stanca and Aurelia Brădeanu, but also Adriana Nechita, Iulia Curea, Oana Manea, Crina Pintea, Adina Meiroșu, Gabriela Perianu, Eliza Buceschi, Melinda Geiger, Patricia Vizitiu, Ana Luca and Felicia Pârvu.

The World Stars saw a fantastic line-up of players, with Jelena Grubisic, Siraba Dembele, Carmen Martin, Radmila Petrovic, Dragana Cvijic, Emilie Arntzen, Elizabeth Omoregie, Djurdjina Jaukovic, Andrea Lekic, Isabelle Gullden, Katarina Bulatovic, Linnea Torstenson, Alexandrina Barbosa and Bojana Popovic taking the court.

The match saw several special moments, with Neagu being paid homage for an unbelievable career, which saw the left back become the only player to win the IHF Female Player of the Year trophy four time. 

In the three-period match, which each period lasting 10 minutes, Neagu scored, acted as a goalkeeper and as a referee, and also was witness to the President of Romania, Nicușor Dan, scoring a penalty, after the IHF Executive Committee Member, Narcisa Lecușanu, passed the ball to him, with the two coming down from the stands on the court.

“I will not leave handball for good, but I hope to stay in your hearts forever. I felt amazing. The fact that so many former teammates said yes to this says everything to what I accomplished in my career. It will be strange, I am ready for a new chapter in my life,” said Neagu, on the court, at the end of the gala.

Photo credit: Adrian Corchie / We Love Sport