Mircea Lucescu dies aged 80 in Bucharest, former Romania coach | OneFootball

Mircea Lucescu, Romania head coach until 2 April, has died in Bucharest aged 80 after heart problems that led to his resignation.

The Bucharest University Emergency Hospital said death was declared on Tuesday 7 April 2026 at about 20.30 local time, 17.30 GMT.

He had felt unwell during a national team training session, shortly after Romania lost to Türkiye in late March in a European play-off semi-final for the next World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Lucescu was among Romania’s most decorated football figures and was the first to guide the national team to the European Championship, in 1984.

A minute’s silence will precede matches in the next round across the SuperLiga, Liga 2, Liga 3 and the Romanian women’s SuperLiga.

At club level he made history with Shakhtar Donetsk, overseeing 12 years that yielded 8 league titles, 7 cups and the UEFA Cup.

He also drew headlines after a match against Barcelona when he entered Pep Guardiola’s press conference to protest a goal scored while a Shakhtar player was down injured.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo