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Legendary coach Mircea Lucescu passed away, aged 80
Mihaela Ignătescu, 07.04.2026, 21:27
Mircea Lucescu was a legendary figure in world football. Throughout his career, “Il Luce” won 37 trophies, ranking as the third coach in the all-time list for the number of titles won, after Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola.
Mircea Lucescu served as head coach of the Romanian national team from the fall of 1981 until 1986, during which time he led the team to its first-ever qualification for the European Championship, in 1984.
In 2024, Mircea Lucescu returned as Romania’s head coach, a position he held until April 2, 2026. Under his leadership, Romania had an exceptional run in the Nations League, as a result of which our national team secured a spot in the March playoffs for qualification to this summer’s World Cup. His record with the national team during this period includes 11 wins.
The significant milestones in Lucescu’s career are linked to the Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk, a team he completely transformed and with which he won eight Ukrainian league titles, as well as the UEFA Cup in 2009.
Moreover, Lucescu was also an important figure in Turkish football, where he won league titles with Galatasaray and Beşiktaş, as well as the UEFA Super Cup with Galatasaray in 2000.
In Romania, Mircea Lucescu won the league title with two different teams, Dinamo and Rapid.
