Legendary coach Mircea Lucescu. Biography

Mircea Lucescu, the legendary Romanian football player and coach, one of the most decorated mentors in the history of world football, passed away at the age of 80. About his life, career as a player and coach — in the material of Izvestia.

Early years and education

Mircea Lucescu was born on July 29, 1945 in Bucharest (Romania) in a poor family with many children. It took a lot of effort for parents to support five children: shoes were an unprecedented luxury, and sometimes the boy went barefoot until late autumn. In 1961, he received his diploma from the 2nd Bucharest Sports School, and then graduated from the Bucharest Academy of Economic Sciences. Lucescu spoke six foreign languages — English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French and Russian, and was interested in art and literature.

Player's career

Lucescu played as a striker. From 1963 to 1977, he played for Dinamo Bucharest, making 250 appearances and scoring 57 goals. With Dynamo, he became Romanian champion six times and won the National Cup twice. From 1965 to 1967, he played on loan at the Sporting club, and spent the last five years of his career (1977-1982) at Korvinula, playing 111 games and scoring 21 goals.

Lucescu played for the Romanian national team from 1966 to 1979 and was its captain. He participated in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, where the Romanians lost to the future finalists, England (0:1) and Brazil (2:3), but defeated Czechoslovakia (2:1). After the match with the Brazilians, Lucescu exchanged T-shirts with the legendary Pele. In 1969, Lucescu was recognized as the best football player in Romania.

Coaching career

Lucescu's coaching career began in 1972. The first club was the provincial Korvinul from the city of Hunedoara, where he was a playing coach. With this modest team, he managed to reach the top league and win the bronze medals of the championship.

In 1981, Lucescu led the Romanian national team for the first time. Under his leadership, the team made it to a major international tournament for the first time in 14 years — the 1984 European Championship. In total, the Romanians played 57 matches during this period, which remains a national record.

After returning to club work, Lucescu spent five years coaching Dinamo Bucharest, with whom he won the Romanian Cup. In the late 1980s, he went to Italy, where he worked with the Serie B clubs Pisa, Brescia and Reggiana. In 1997, he became the head of Bucharest Rapid, and then, in 1998, he received an invitation from Inter Milan. However, he stayed in the Nerazzurri camp for only four months.

Lucescu's real success came in Turkey. In 2000, he led Galatasaray and won the UEFA Super Cup in the same season, beating Real Madrid (2:1). The following year, Galatasaray became the Turkish champion under his leadership. Then Lucescu moved to Besiktas, with whom he also won the national championship.

On May 18, 2004, Lucescu became the head of Shakhtar Donetsk. In 12 years of working with the Miners, the team under his leadership played 573 matches. Lucescu won eight league titles, six national cups and seven Super Cups of Ukraine, and the main triumph was the victory in the UEFA Cup of the 2008/09 season.

It was Lucescu who initiated the invitation of Brazilian players to Shakhtar, who later formed the backbone of the team and brought European fame to the club.

In 2016-2017, Lucescu briefly worked for Zenit St. Petersburg, with whom he won the Russian Super Cup. From 2020 to 2023, he coached Dynamo Kyiv, winning the championship, Cup and Super Cup of Ukraine.

In August 2024, Lucescu returned to the post of head coach of the Romanian national team 38 years after his first arrival. On September 5, 2025, he set a world record by becoming the oldest coach of the national team in history — 80 years, 1 month and 7 days. In March 2026, the contract with the federation expired, and the parties did not renew it.

In total, Lucescu has 35 trophies on his coaching account, including victories in the championships of Romania, Turkey and Ukraine.

Personal life

Mircea Lucescu has been married since 1965. His wife's name is Nelly, she is a year older than her husband. In 1969, the couple had a son, Razvan. He followed in his father's footsteps: he was a football player, and then began a coaching career. Razvan Lucescu has been the head of the Greek PAOK since 2021.

Illness and death

On March 29, 2026, Lucescu was urgently hospitalized before the national team's training session. He suffered a heart attack. The coach's condition deteriorated rapidly, and he was put into an induced coma. His wife Nelly and granddaughter Marilu arrived at the hospital, and after the match in Greece, their son Razvan joined them. Doctors have identified Lucescu's strokes and circulatory problems affecting his lungs.

The official announcement from Bucharest University Hospital was received on the evening of April 7, 2026: at about 20:30, Mircea Lucescu was pronounced dead. The hospital noted that he was one of the most decorated coaches and players in Romania, the first to lead the national team to the European Championship.

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