Europa League winner, Romanian legend Mircea Lucescu dies | OneFootball

Hospitalized for several days, Romanian legend Mircea Lucescu has passed away at the age of 80.

A former Romania striker in the 1970s, Lucescu earned 90 caps before successfully moving into a coaching career.

One of the oldest coaches in the Champions League, the former Dinamo Bucharest man spent most of his managerial career between Serie A, Ukraine, and Turkey.

After a brief spell at Inter Milan, Mircea Lucescu will always be remembered as the winner of the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in 2009 with Shakhtar Donetsk. Coach of the Ukrainian club for 12 years, he was notably the driving force behind the Brazilian pipeline that became the team’s trademark.

He notably won nine Ukrainian league titles: eight with Shakhtar and one with Dynamo Kyiv.

Also a winner of the UEFA Super Cup and Turkish champion with Galatasaray, Lucescu also lived several lives as a national team coach.

First Romania manager between 1981 and 1986, he also took charge of Turkey for two years (2017-19), before returning to the Romania bench in 2024.

His story with the national team ended sadly, dismissed from his post after elimination in the 2026 World Cup playoffs while his health was already in a very worrying state.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

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