Ten months to the day after his international career ended with a red card, Romania's greatest footballer Gheorghe Hagi donned a yellow national team shirt again on Tuesday for a farewell tribute game.

Although now a shadow of the player who led Romania to the brink of the 1994 World Cup semifinals, Hagi showed flashes of brilliance throughout and set up both the goals his Romanian select side scored in a 2-2 draw against a World XI.

To most of the 60,000 fans cheering his name as he took a lap of honour - and to millions of ordinary Romanians seeking a source of national pride after the collapse of communist rule in 1989 - Hagi was a living legend.

But he knows many others will remember the controversies which dogged the latter stages of his 18-year career as his talent waned and his frustration with referees grew.

"I know I won't just be in people's memories for the goals I scored but also for how many times I spat and hit opponents and how often I was sent off," Hagi said.

"I grew up in a peasant household with the animals," he said. "I'm not ashamed of my past, but I always tried to put my origins behind me. For this reason, I considered all unfair means to stop me much more than a simple mistake."

However much disciplinary problems marred his reputation, few can dispute the sublime skills that made Hagi many fans' choice as the star of the 1994 World Cup and took him to both Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona during his career.

Three giant screens in Bucharest's Lia Manoliu stadium reminded fans of his dazzling side, replaying highlights of his performances at three consecutive World Cup finals from 1990 and three European championships with a laser lightshow backdrop.

Hagi's Romanian squad featured 10 team mates from the 1994 finals, where both Romania and Bulgaria proved eastern European teams could take on the world's best.

Veteran sweeper Gheorghe Popescu almost spoiled the show with an own goal but a fine save by Bogdan Stelea tipped his misdirected header over the bar to spare his blushes.

Hagi's 35 goals in 125 international matches make him Romania's all-time top-scorer but he failed to round off his swansong appearance by hitting the back of the net - despite giving himself a freer role than even he would usually expect.

However, Bulent Korkmaz, a team mate at the Turkish club Galatasaray with whom Hagi won the UEFA Cup last year, said the man nicknamed the "Maradona of the Carpathians" was always more valued for his inspirational presence.

"Galatasaray had nothing to fear with Hagi on the pitch," said Korkmaz, a defender in Tuesday night's World XI. "He is forceful, he gave us confidence, he was born a leader."

Hagi, who is giving profits from his testimonial to orphans in his home town of Constanta, now plans to become a coach.

But as Romania struggle to qualify for the next World Cup, they are a long way from building a post-Hagi future, as Tuesday night's guest of honour Michel Platini acknowledged.

"All beautiful celebrations are beautiful but this day is a sad one for Romanian soccer," the former France captain said.

In a letter apologizing for his absence from "Gala Hagi," Sepp Blatter, the president of world soccer governing body FIFA, wrote what many would see as a fitting epitaph to Hagi's career.

"Hagi is a touching player. He is a very temperamental player, maybe too much sometimes. But this is an ingredient that makes the difference between a good player and a great one."