Mircea Lucescu, the Romanian football great who was a serial trophy winner as a player and a coach, has died at the age of 80.
Lucescu’s death was confirmed on Tuesday by the Bucharest University Emergency Hospital, where he was admitted after reportedly suffering a heart attack on Friday morning.
“Mr Mircea Lucescu was one of the most successful Romanian football coaches and players, the first to qualify the Romanian national team for a European Championship, in 1984,” the hospital said in a statement. “Entire generations of Romanians grew up with his image in their hearts, as a national symbol.”
Lucescu was born on July 29, 1945, in Bucharest and would come to be a central figure in Romanian football, first as a player and then as a coach.
He had a lengthy coaching career and was in his second spell with the Romanian national team until stepping down on Thursday after falling ill during training. Three days earlier, Romania had missed out on qualification for the World Cup after losing to Turkiye in a playoff.
As a player, Lucescu captained his country at the 1970 World Cup.
Lucescu’s coaching career spanned almost half a century, from the late 1970s to World Cup 2026 qualifying, as Eastern European football was transformed by political and economic changes after the fall of communism, and later by the effects of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Lucescu spent 12 years as coach of Shakhtar Donetsk, where billionaire Rinat Akhmetov’s backing assembled a squad filled with up-and-coming Brazilian talents. Lucescu forged a team that became a Champions League regular and won the UEFA Cup in 2009.
By the time Lucescu left in 2016, Shakhtar had left their home city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine after a takeover by Russia-backed separatists.
His later moves to Russia’s Zenit St Petersburg and to Shakhtar’s bitter Ukrainian rival Dynamo Kyiv were less well-received by Shakhtar fans.
Internationally, Lucescu coached Turkiye and Romania. His second spell with Romania started in 2024, 38 years after he had left the national team the first time.
Lucescu coached Pisa, Brescia, Reggiana and Inter Milan in Italy and is remembered fondly in the north of the country, especially at Brescia, despite his tenure being marked by several ups and downs.
His team there were dubbed Brescia Romeno after Lucescu signed four of his compatriots, including one of Romania’s greatest-ever players, Gheorghe Hagi, between stints at Barcelona and Real Madrid.
‘Inspired generations’
Romanian President Nicusor Dan paid tribute to “one of the most respected figures … in the history of Romanian and European football”, whose death “has deeply saddened Romania”, in a message of condolence sent to the family.
“Mircea Lucescu made a decisive contribution to the rise of Romanian football, inspired generations of players and was a true ambassador for Romania in the world’s biggest stadiums,” he added.
European football’s governing body, UEFA, led tributes from the footballing world, with its president, Aleksander Ceferin, calling Lucescu “one of the game’s true originals – a man of rare football intellect, remarkable dignity and passion”.
Lucescu’s former clubs – from Romania to Italy, Turkiye and Ukraine – posted tributes to their former manager.
Shakhtar’s tribute listed their “great coach’s” achievements, chief among which were the 22 trophies he won with the Ukrainian side.
“Lucescu holds the record for the most seasons, matches and titles won, and is the most successful manager in Shakhtar’s history,” the club wrote in a post on X.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Mircea Lucescu, the winning manager of our UEFA Super Cup and 15th Turkish league title,” his former club, Galatasaray, posted on social media.
“Rest in peace Luce, we will never forget you.”