Mircea Lucescu dies

Romanian -and international- football is in mourning following the death of Mircea Lucescu at the age of 80.

The Romanian coach had been struggling with serious health issues in recent years and passed away on Holy Tuesday (April 7).

On April 3, Lucescu suffered a heart attack while awaiting discharge from the hospital where he had been receiving treatment. At the time, doctors made enormous efforts to keep him alive.

Lucescu’s remarkable career

Mircea Lucescu began his coaching career at Corvinul in 1978 before moving on to the Romanian national team, where he served from 1981 to 1986, including participation in a World Cup. He then coached Dinamo Bucharest, Pisa, and Brescia, where he remained for 102 matches.

He continued his career in Italy until 1996, when he took charge of Reggiana. He briefly returned to Romania to coach Rapid Bucharest before taking over Inter Milan in the 1998/99 season.

The legendary Romanian coach later managed Galatasaray (2000) and Besiktas (89 matches). He made history with Shakhtar Donetsk, where he stayed from 2004 to 2016, overseeing 573 matches.

In 2016, he moved to Russia to coach Zenit, while from 2017 to 2019 he led the Turkish national team. He then spent 118 matches at Dynamo Kyiv, with his final role being head coach of the Romanian national team (2024–2026).

His trophy cabinet was extensive. Among his achievements were a UEFA Cup (Shakhtar, 2009), a UEFA Super Cup (Galatasaray, 2000), nine Ukrainian league titles (Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar), seven Ukrainian Cups (Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar), eight Ukrainian Super Cups (Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar), two Turkish league titles (Besiktas and Galatasaray), and two Romanian league titles (Rapid and Dinamo).