Mircea Lucescu, Romanian and Shakhtar great, dies aged 80 | OneFootball

Mircea Lucescu has died aged 80 after a storied career across Romania, Italy, Türkiye and Ukraine, most notably with Shakhtar Donetsk. According to L'Équipe, he returned in 2024 to lead Romania in a final attempt to reach their first World Cup since 1998.

He was on the bench for the 0-1 play-off semi-final defeat in Türkiye on 26 March. Three days later, while preparing a friendly in Slovakia, he suffered a cardiac episode in front of his players and was hospitalised in Bucharest.

The European doyen had previously endured a cardiac incident in 2009 and was monitored in February after flu complications. He later sustained a myocardial infarction and was placed in intensive care. Born in Bucharest on 29 July 1945, he is mourned as a player and, above all, a transformative coach.

A dribbling winger, he played from 1963 to 1990, winning 65 caps and scoring 10 goals, and captained Romania at the 1970 World Cup. His clubs included Dinamo, Stiinta and Corvinul Hunedoara, with a brief Dinamo return in 1990.

He coached Corvinul, then Romania from October 1981 to November 1986, taking them to Euro 1984, before leading Dinamo to the 1990 Cup Winners’ Cup semi-finals. Italy followed with Pisa, Brescia and Reggiana from 1990 to November 1996, then a short Inter Milan spell in 1999.

In Türkiye he won the 2000 UEFA Super Cup and the 2002 title with Galatasaray, then the 2003 title with Besiktas. His defining era came at Shakhtar Donetsk between 2004 and 2016, claiming eight league crowns, six cups and the 2009 UEFA Cup, 2-1 after extra time against Werder Bremen.

He stayed in Donetsk when war erupted in 2014, then worked at Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2016-2017, led Türkiye from 2017 to February 2019, and returned to Dynamo Kiev from 2020 to November 2023, completing a league and cup double in 2021.

He nurtured Brazilians such as Douglas Costa, Fred, Willian and Fernandinho. Lucescu leaves 38 trophies, and his son Razvan, 57, now at PAOK Salonika and Romania boss from 2009 to 2011, continues the family line.

Source: L'Équipe