Mircea Lucescu, former Romania manager, dies aged 80 | OneFootball

Mircea Lucescu, coach of the Romanian national team until last week, died this Tuesday (7) after suffering cardiac arrest, the Bucharest hospital where the manager had been admitted announced in a statement.

Lucescu collapsed about ten days ago while preparing for a friendly against Slovakia and was hospitalized.

“Mr. Mircea Lucescu was one of the most successful Romanian football coaches and players, the first to lead Romania to qualification for a European Championship, in 1984,” the medical center wrote.

Lucescu, 80, had been appointed coach of the Romanian national team in August 2024 on a two-year contract. He last managed the ‘Tricolorii’ two weeks ago, when Turkey dashed Romania’s hopes of qualifying for its first World Cup since 1998 (in a 1-0 defeat) in the semifinals of the European playoffs.

Lucescu had previously coached the Romanian national team in the 1980s, leading the side to qualification for Euro 1984, but failing to secure a place at the World Cup in Mexico two years later.

A former Romania international (1966–1979), Mircea Lucescu captained the team at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, where it faced Brazil in the group stage.

As a club manager, he worked in Romania, Italy, Turkey and Ukraine, winning more than 30 titles with his various teams. He also served as head coach of the Turkish national team between 2017 and 2019.

*By AFP.

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