The doctors’ fight to save Mircea Lucescu’s life was unsuccessful. On Tuesday, the 80-year-old succumbed to the consequences of a heart attack. He had still been on the sidelines for Romania in the World Cup play-offs at the end of March.
Mircea Lucescu has died at the age of 80. This was announced by the University Hospital in Bucharest and the Romanian Football Association on Tuesday evening. “It is a sad day for Romania and world soccer. A man who lived every second of his life for soccer has passed away,” Romanian FA President Razvan Burleanu was quoted as saying in the statement. “Mircea Lucescu was not just a coach, but a life teacher for entire generations of players. He loved this sport above all else and his influence on our soccer is immeasurable. In these difficult hours, our thoughts are with the grieving family. We will remember his teachings, the elegance of his tenure and a huge void that can never be filled. Rest in peace, Mr. Lucescu.”
When Romania lost 1-0 to Turkey in the semi-finals of the European World Cup play-offs, Lucescu had become the oldest national coach in history, taking over from the German Otto Pfister. Shortly afterwards, however, Lucescu was hospitalized with serious heart rhythm problems and was also unable to travel to the following friendly match in Slovakia (0:2).
During a team meeting before the last training session before departure, he felt unwell. On Thursday last week, he resigned from his post for this reason, even though his contract was only due to expire on March 31 anyway. Just one day after his resignation, Lucescu suffered a heart attack. The Romanian was initially described as “stable and conscious” by the university hospital in Bucharest, but his condition worsened on Saturday evening. Since then, he has been in intensive care and was on artificial respiration.
A player only active in Romania, Lucescu had an eventful career as a coach. His CV includes Inter Milan, Galatasaray, Besiktas and Zenit St. Petersburg as well as Shakhtar Donetsk. He spent by far the longest time on the touchline at the latter club, coaching the Ukrainians for twelve years in 573 games between 2004 and 2016. He had also coached the Romanian national team for the first time from 1981 to 1986 and led them to the 1984 European Championship.
“European and world soccer have lost an extraordinary personality whose influence, reputation and legacy will shape generations to come,” UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin was quoted as saying. “Mircea Lucescu was one of soccer’s greats – a man of exceptional soccer understanding, remarkable dignity and passion, whose contribution to the sport can hardly be put into words. Throughout his extraordinary career, he earned the admiration and respect of the entire soccer world through his knowledge, leadership and deep commitment to the true values of the game. His presence shaped teams, inspired players and colleagues and left a lasting impression on soccer far beyond the touchline.”
