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Mircea Lucescu (; born 29 July 1945) is a Romanian professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
and former player, currently the head coach of the Romania national team. He is one of the most decorated managers of all time. Lucescu is also one of the most successful players of the Romanian league championship, having won all seven of his titles with Dinamo București. He also had spells at Știința București and Corvinul Hunedoara, and made 70 appearances for the Romania national team, which he captained in the
1970 FIFA World Cup The 1970 FIFA World Cup was the 9th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's senior national teams. Held from 31 May to ...
. Lucescu has coached various sides in Romania, Italy, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia. He is well known for his twelve-year stint in charge of Shakhtar Donetsk, where he became the most successful coach in the team's history by winning eight Ukrainian Premier League titles, six
Ukrainian Cup The Ukrainian Cup ( ) is an association football national knockout cup competition run by the Ukrainian Association of Football. The competition is conducted almost exclusively among professional clubs. Since the 2003–04 season, the Cup winner qu ...
s, seven Ukrainian Super Cups and the
2008–09 UEFA Cup The 2008–09 UEFA Cup was the 38th season of the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup association football, football tournament. The 2009 UEFA Cup Final, final was played at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, home ground of Fenerbahçe S.K. (football), F ...
. He also won trophies in Ukraine with Shakhtar's
rival A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...
Dynamo Kyiv, as well as Divizia A titles with Dinamo București and
Rapid București Rapid(s) or RAPID may refer to: Hydrological features * Rapids, sections of a river with turbulent water flow * Rapid Creek (Iowa River tributary), Iowa, United States * Rapid Creek (South Dakota), United States, namesake of Rapid City Sport ...
, and Turkish Süper Lig titles with
Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...
and
Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...
. Lucescu was named Romania Coach of the Year in 2004, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2021, and Ukraine Coach of the Year in 2006 and between 2008 and 2014. In 2013, he was awarded the Manager of the Decade award in Romania, and in 2015 became the fifth person to coach in 100
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
matches, joining
Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former professional football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as the greatest manager of all time and ...
,
Carlo Ancelotti Carlo Ancelotti (; born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the Brazil national team. Nicknamed "Carletto" in Italy and "Don Carlo" in Spain, he is regarded as one of the greatest ...
,
Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. ...
and
José Mourinho José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (; born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerba ...
. He is also ranked third in terms of official trophies won, with 38.


Club career

Lucescu was born on 29 July 1945 in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
, Romania and started playing football as a junior at Școala Sportivă 2 București. He was brought to Dinamo București by coach Traian Ionescu, where he made his
Divizia A Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...
debut on 21 June 1964 in a 5–2 victory against
Rapid București Rapid(s) or RAPID may refer to: Hydrological features * Rapids, sections of a river with turbulent water flow * Rapid Creek (Iowa River tributary), Iowa, United States * Rapid Creek (South Dakota), United States, namesake of Rapid City Sport ...
. In his first two seasons at Dinamo, Lucescu won the championship in both of them, playing a total of three Divizia A games, being loaned for the following two seasons at Divizia B club, Știința București. After the loan ended, he returned to play for '' The Red Dogs'', winning the 1967–68 Cupa României, scoring a double in the 3–1 victory from the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
against
Rapid București Rapid(s) or RAPID may refer to: Hydrological features * Rapids, sections of a river with turbulent water flow * Rapid Creek (Iowa River tributary), Iowa, United States * Rapid Creek (South Dakota), United States, namesake of Rapid City Sport ...
after coach Bazil Marian sent him on the field in the 77th minute in order to replace Nicolae Nagy. In the following three editions of the
Cupa României The Cupa României () is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the Romania ...
, the club would reach the final in each of them, Lucescu scoring a brace in the one from
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
but all of them were lost in favor of
rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...
Steaua București. He would also win another four league titles, in the first he worked with coaches Nicolae Dumitru and Ionescu who gave him 23 appearances in which he scored three goals, in the following one Ion Nunweiller used him in 28 matches in which he netted a personal record of 12 goals, in the third he scored four times in 31 games as he worked with Dumitru and in the last one he played 19 games, netting seven goals under the guidance of Nunweiller. Lucescu has a total of 12 seasons spent at Dinamo, in which he appeared in 250 Divizia A games and scored 57 goals, including nine in the
derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
against Steaua. During these years he also played 15 games in which he scored three goals in European competitions (including three appearances in the
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, most commonly referred to as the Fairs Cup and sometimes as the European Fairs Cup or Fairs Cities' Cup, was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The Fairs Cup was the idea of FIFA vice-presid ...
), managing to score against each of the
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
giants Real and Atlético in the
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
, however on both occasions Dinamo did not succeed to get past the Spaniards further in the competition. For the way he played in 1971, Lucescu was placed fourth in the ranking for the Romanian Footballer of the Year award. In July 1977, he went to play for Corvinul Hunedoara, where in January 1979 he became the team's coach, while still being an active player, but the team relegated at the end of the season to Divizia B but Lucescu stayed with the club, promoting back to the first division after one year. He helped the club finish third in the 1981–82 Divizia A season, retiring from his playing career after that season. He came out of retirement when he was coach at Dinamo București because many of the team's players were called at a Romania's national team cantonment in order to prepare for the
1990 World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...
, so he registered himself as a player and on 16 May 1990 he entered the field in the 76th minute in order to replace Ionel Fulga in a 1–1 against Sportul Studențesc București, thus becoming champion as a player and a coach in that season and at 44 years, 9 months and 17 days he is the oldest player that appeared in a Divizia A match, a competition in which he has a total of 362 matches and 78 goals scored.


International career

Lucescu has a total of 64 appearances of which in 23 he was captain and nine goals scored for
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, making his debut under coach Ilie Oană while being a player in the second league at Știința București on 2 November 1966 in a 4–2 victory against
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
at the Euro 1968 qualifiers in which he gained a total of six appearances and two goals scored in the both legs against
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
. He played six games at the successful 1970 World Cup qualifiers, also being used by coach Angelo Niculescu in all three group matches as captain at the final tournament as Romania did not advance to the next stage and at the last game against
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
which ended with a 3–2 loss, Lucescu bought the team's blue equipment for that game from his own money, because the
Romanian Football Federation The Romanian Football Federation (; FRF) is the governing body of football in Romania. They are headquartered in the capital city of Bucharest and affiliated with FIFA and UEFA since 1923 and 1955 respectively. The Federation organizes the men's ...
provided just one set of equipment which was yellow, same as the ones of the Brazilians. He played seven matches and scored two goals at the 1972 Euro qualifiers, managing to reach the
quarter-finals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
where
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
was defeated by
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
, who advanced to the final tournament. Mircea Lucescu also played two games at the 1974 World Cup qualifiers, three games in which he scored a goal in a 3–1 victory against
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
at the 1973–76 Balkan Cup, six games in which he scored a goal in a 6–1 victory against
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
at the Euro 1976 qualifiers, making his last appearance for the national team on 4 April 1979 in a 2–2 against
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
at the Euro 1980 qualifiers. For representing his country at the 1970 World Cup, Lucescu was decorated by
President of Romania The president of Romania () is the head of state of Romania. The president is directly elected by a two-round system, and, following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, serves for five years. An individual may serve two ter ...
Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a Romanian politician who served as the president of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian minister of transport on multiple occasions between 1991 and 2000, ...
on 25 March 2008 with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" – (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III.


Managerial career


Corvinul Hunedoara

Lucescu was taught and learned many things about coaching from
Viorel Mateianu Viorel Mateianu (1 June 1938 – 25 November 1997) was a Romanian football (soccer), football player and coach. Club career Mateianu was born in Lipănești, Prahova County, Prahova and started playing football in the Romanian lower leagues at F ...
, being very impressed by his working methods, coming to study his training sessions at FC Baia Mare, sometimes asking Mateianu to extend his training sessions so he can see more of his methods, also he went to his home where they would talk all night about football and draw tactical game schemes together. He started coaching while still being an active player at Corvinul Hunedoara in January 1979, when he replaced Ilie Savu, his first match taking place on 28 February 1979 in the sixteenths-finals of the 1978–79 Cupa României, losing with 3–1 after extra time in favor of Divizia B club, Metalul București. Three days later, he made his
Divizia A Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...
debut in a 2–0 victory against Politehnica Iași in which he scored a goal, however the team relegated at the end of the season to Divizia B, but Lucescu stayed with the club, promoting back to the first division after one year. Then he helped the club finish third in the 1981–82 Divizia A, after which he left them in order to dedicate on his work at the
national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...
, which he was coaching simultaneously since November 1981. During his period spent at Corvinul, Lucescu showed his availability of discovering and promoting young players like Ioan Andone, Mircea Rednic, Michael Klein, Dorin Mateuț or Romulus Gabor.


Romania

Lucescu has a total of 58 matches managed as
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
's coach, making his debut on 11 November 1981 in a 0–0 against
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
at the 1982 World Cup qualifiers. He qualified the team at Euro 1984 by winning a qualification group composed of 1982 World Cup winner,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
with whom he earned a 0–0 on their ground and a 1–0 home victory,
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
and
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
. At the final tournament, which was composed of eight teams,
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
earned a point after a 1–1 against
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, but lost the other two games, 2–1 with
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
and 1–0 with
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, leaving the competition without passing the group stage. He was close to winning qualification at the 1986 World Cup, finishing just one point below second place,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, the last game he managed took place on 10 September 1986 in a 4–0 victory against
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
at the Euro 1988 qualifiers. He is also the coach that gave
Gheorghe Hagi Gheorghe Hagi (; born 5 February 1965) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the owner of Liga I club Farul Constanța. Deployed as an attacking midfielder, Hagi was considered one of the best players in ...
his debut at the national team at age 18 in a friendly against
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
which ended 0–0, also giving him the captain armband at the age of 20.


Dinamo București

Lucescu was named coach at Dinamo București in November 1985, while still being coach at Romania's national team and at the end of his first season spent at the club, he managed to win a
Cupa României The Cupa României () is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the Romania ...
with a 1–0 victory in the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
against rival and recently
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
winner, Steaua București. Over the course of almost five years, he created a team by promoting players from the club's youth center like Bogdan Stelea, Ionuț Lupescu and
Florin Răducioiu Florin Valeriu Răducioiu (born 17 March 1970) is a Romanian former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker, currently television pundit for Orange Sport (Romania), Orange Sport. He ...
, transferred young players like Dănuț Lupu and Ioan Sabău, mixing them with players he coached at Corvinul like Ioan Andone, Mircea Rednic, Michael Klein and Dorin Mateuț, thus creating a team that reached the quarter-finals in the 1988–89 European Cup Winners' Cup where they were eliminated on the
away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...
after 1–1 on aggregate by Sampdoria. In the following season they won the
Divizia A Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...
title, the
Cupa României The Cupa României () is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the Romania ...
after another win over Steaua in the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
and reached the semi-finals in the
1989–90 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1989–90 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won for the only time by Sampdoria in the final against Anderlecht, 2–0 at Nya Ullevi in Gothenburg, on 9 May 1990. They went on to win 1990–91 Serie A, also being runners-up in the ...
where they were eliminated after 2–0 on aggregate by
Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...
.


Pisa

After the 1989 Romanian Revolution, Lucescu went in July 1990 to coach in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
at
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
club,
Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...
where after a good start, in round six of the season after a 6–3 loss against
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...
he had his first problems with the club's president, Romeo Anconetani, however he managed to stay 24 rounds, being dismissed in March 1991, but the team relegated at the end of the season. During this period he coached 20-year old Diego Simeone and met Adriano Bacconi, a fitness trainer who was put by Lucescu to write statistical data about players during matches, as he previously did that at Corvinul, because he wanted to know more details possible about the players performances. He and Adriano Bacconi also worked together at
Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...
where in 1994 they invested each 35.000$ in order to create a software called FARM (Football Athletic Results Manager) which was the first football data monitoring program, afterwards in 1996 Lucescu sold his part of the company which became known as Digital Soccer Project and Bacconi sold it to Panini for 2 million euros.


Brescia

Lucescu signed with
Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...
club
Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...
in July 1991, winning promotion to
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
after just one season. The club were relegated the following season after a play-off defeat against Udinese, but promoted again the following season, during which Brescia also won the 1993–94 Anglo-Italian Cup. When they were relegated from Serie A again the following season, however, Lucescu was sacked. He was promptly re-hired to lead the team in
Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...
, but was dismissed again because of poor results, the club in danger of falling into
Serie C The Serie C (), officially known as Serie C NOW for sponsorship purposes, is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing ...
. During this period, the club was nicknamed "Brescia Romena", as Lucescu brought Romanian players
Gheorghe Hagi Gheorghe Hagi (; born 5 February 1965) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the owner of Liga I club Farul Constanța. Deployed as an attacking midfielder, Hagi was considered one of the best players in ...
,
Florin Răducioiu Florin Valeriu Răducioiu (born 17 March 1970) is a Romanian former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker, currently television pundit for Orange Sport (Romania), Orange Sport. He ...
, Dorin Mateuț, Ioan Sabău and Dănuț Lupu to the club. He also promoted 15-year old
Andrea Pirlo Andrea Pirlo (; born 19 May 1979) is an Italian association football, football manager (association football), manager and former professional player. Considered one of the greatest Midfielder (association football)#Deep-lying playmaker, mi ...
to train with the senior team, but could not give him his senior debut because the rules of the Italian federation did not allow players so young to play for senior squads.


Reggiana

In July 1996, Lucescu signed with
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
club, Reggiana, bringing Ioan Sabău with him, but his spell lasted until November 1996, being dismissed because of poor results, the team finishing on the last place in the end of the season.


Rapid București

In July 1997, Lucescu returned in Romania, coaching at
Rapid București Rapid(s) or RAPID may refer to: Hydrological features * Rapids, sections of a river with turbulent water flow * Rapid Creek (Iowa River tributary), Iowa, United States * Rapid Creek (South Dakota), United States, namesake of Rapid City Sport ...
where he created a team by promoting young players like Bogdan Lobonț, Răzvan Raț and Daniel Pancu, mixing them with players he coached in the past like Dănuț Lupu, Ioan Sabău and Mircea Rednic, thus creating a team that won the 1997–98 Cupa României. Then after a short spell at
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...
, he returned at Rapid, winning the 1998–99 Divizia A, which was the first championship title won by the club after 32 years, also winning the 1999 Supercupa României.


Inter Milan

In December 1998, Lucescu was named coach at
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...
, working with players such as Ronaldo,
Roberto Baggio Roberto Baggio (; born 18 February 1967) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. He is the former pr ...
,
Andrea Pirlo Andrea Pirlo (; born 19 May 1979) is an Italian association football, football manager (association football), manager and former professional player. Considered one of the greatest Midfielder (association football)#Deep-lying playmaker, mi ...
, Javier Zanetti and Ivan Zamorano, managing to reach the quarter-finals in the 1998–99 Champions League, being eliminated with 3–1 on aggregate by
Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former professional football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as the greatest manager of all time and ...
's
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
, who eventually won the competition. He left the club in March 1999, one of the reasons being a conflict with Ronaldo.


Galatasaray

In June 2000, he replaced
Fatih Terim Fatih Terim (born 4 September 1953) is a Turkish people, Turkish professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. He is the manager of Saudi Pro League club Al Shabab FC (Riyadh), Al-Shabab ...
at Turkish club
Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...
, with whom, alongside Romanian players
Gheorghe Hagi Gheorghe Hagi (; born 5 February 1965) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the owner of Liga I club Farul Constanța. Deployed as an attacking midfielder, Hagi was considered one of the best players in ...
and Gheorghe Popescu he won the 2000 UEFA Super Cup, after a 2–1 win against
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
. Under Lucescu's leadership, Galatasaray reached the quarter-finals on the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
during the 2000–01 season where after a 3–2 victory in the first leg, they lost with 3–0 in the second against
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
. The following year, Galatasaray qualified to the second group phase of the Champions League and won the
Turkish League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...
title. Lucescu was sacked at the end of the season, despite winning the league championship, and was replaced by
Fatih Terim Fatih Terim (born 4 September 1953) is a Turkish people, Turkish professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. He is the manager of Saudi Pro League club Al Shabab FC (Riyadh), Al-Shabab ...
.


Beşiktaş

Shortly after his departure from
Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...
in June 2002, Lucescu signed a contract with rivals
Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...
. It was a very important season for Beşiktaş as in 2003; the Turkish club was celebrating its 100th year since its foundation, and he managed to win the Turkish title, having only one loss and collecting 85 points – a record points tally in a single
Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...
season, also reaching the 2002–03 UEFA Cup quarter-finals, losing with 3–1 on aggregate against
Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
. In the following season, the team could not progress from a difficult Champions League group, but was able to get a ticket to the
2003–04 UEFA Cup The 2003–04 UEFA Cup was won by Valencia in the final against Marseille. It wrapped up a league and UEFA Cup double for Valencia. Porto could not defend their title as they automatically qualified for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League and a ...
by finishing third in its group – only to be knocked out by
Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
in the third round, who eventually went on to win the competition. On 25 January 2004, Beşiktaş played a home game against
Samsunspor Samsunspor Kulübü, officially known as Samsunspor Football Club Joint Stock Company, or as Reeder Samsunspor due to sponsorship agreements, is a Turkey, Turkish Football club (association football), professional football club that competes in t ...
in the championship, referee Cem Papila showing five red cards to Beşiktaş players and after this match, the team's performance declined drastically and Lucescu could not stop the decline, blaming the
Turkish Football Federation The Turkish Football Federation (; TFF) is the governing body of association football in Turkey. It was formed on 23 April 1923, and joined FIFA the same year and UEFA in 1962. It organizes the Turkey national football team, the Turkish Foo ...
for one-sided decisions by the referees, leaving the club after finishing the championship in third place, claiming that the championship was stolen. During the period spent at
Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...
, he bought Romanian players Daniel Pancu, Adrian Ilie and Marius Măldărășanu at the club.


Shakhtar Donetsk

In May 2004, Lucescu joined Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk and led their rise to prominence in Ukraine the following years. His first trophy with the club came in the 2003–04 Ukrainian Cup, defeating Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 2–0 in the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
on 30 May. In his first full season with the club, he secured the 2004–05 Premier League title. The following season, he secured both the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
and the
Super Cup A super cup is a competition, in association football, basketball, handball, volleyball and rugby union which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competi ...
. He failed to win any trophies the following
season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...
, however, though he made up for it in the 2007–08 season, winning the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
title and the
Ukrainian Cup The Ukrainian Cup ( ) is an association football national knockout cup competition run by the Ukrainian Association of Football. The competition is conducted almost exclusively among professional clubs. Since the 2003–04 season, the Cup winner qu ...
. His only domestic success in the 2008–09 season came in the Super Cup, although he was able to guide Shakhtar to their first ever European trophy, winning the last
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
before it was renamed the UEFA Europa League. He won the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
against
Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...
2–1 after extra time. The 2009–10 season saw Shakhtar regain the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
title. The 2010–11 season was very successful for Lucescu. He guided Shakhtar to a domestic treble, winning the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
, the
Ukrainian Cup The Ukrainian Cup ( ) is an association football national knockout cup competition run by the Ukrainian Association of Football. The competition is conducted almost exclusively among professional clubs. Since the 2003–04 season, the Cup winner qu ...
and the Super Cup. They also had their most successful Champions League campaign, reaching the quarter-final stage before being defeated by eventual winners
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
. The following
season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...
saw Shakhtar retain their
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
and
Ukrainian Cup The Ukrainian Cup ( ) is an association football national knockout cup competition run by the Ukrainian Association of Football. The competition is conducted almost exclusively among professional clubs. Since the 2003–04 season, the Cup winner qu ...
titles. This gave Lucescu his sixth
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
and fourth
Ukrainian Cup The Ukrainian Cup ( ) is an association football national knockout cup competition run by the Ukrainian Association of Football. The competition is conducted almost exclusively among professional clubs. Since the 2003–04 season, the Cup winner qu ...
with the club. Shakhtar had a disappointing Champions League campaign, finishing in fourth place in their
group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...
. His son, Răzvan Lucescu, is a former goalkeeper who at several points managed
Rapid București Rapid(s) or RAPID may refer to: Hydrological features * Rapids, sections of a river with turbulent water flow * Rapid Creek (Iowa River tributary), Iowa, United States * Rapid Creek (South Dakota), United States, namesake of Rapid City Sport ...
, a team his father had also previously managed. Coincidentally, Shakhtar and Rapid met in the group stage of the UEFA Cup, the duel was disputed in only one leg at
Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...
in November 2005 ending with 1–0 win for Rapid. On 22 May 2009, Lucescu received, from the
President of Romania The president of Romania () is the head of state of Romania. The president is directly elected by a two-round system, and, following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, serves for five years. An individual may serve two ter ...
Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a Romanian politician who served as the president of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian minister of transport on multiple occasions between 1991 and 2000, ...
, the National Order "Cross of Romania" in the rank of Knight, "as a sign of high appreciation of the entire football activity and the performances obtained as a coach, crowned by winning the UEFA Cup 2009, in the final in Istanbul" and on 29 May 2009 he was granted the title " Honorary citizen of
Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...
" by the city council of Donetsk for "earning the UEFA Cup, development and popularization of the Ukrainian football, improvement of the Donetsk, Donetsk region and Ukraine authority in the world". In December 2009, he turned down an offer to coach the Ukraine national team, his reason being to avoid another potential clash with his son, Răzvan, who then managed the Romania national team and could qualify for
UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...
, which Ukraine was to host. Lucescu has won the Coach of the Year award in Ukraine in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. He led Shakhtar into the semi-finals of Europa League during his last season in charge, being eliminated by defending champions and eventual winners
Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...
. He announced his resignation in early 2016, ending a 12-year period in charge of Shakhtar and becoming the club's greatest manager. In his last match in charge, he won the 2015–16 Ukrainian Cup after defeating Zorya Luhansk 2–0 in the final. In the beginning of his period spent at Shakhtar, Lucescu had Romanians Flavius Stoican, Cosmin Bărcăuan, Daniel Florea, Ciprian Marica and Răzvan Raț under his command, but only the latter stayed with him to win the
2008–09 UEFA Cup The 2008–09 UEFA Cup was the 38th season of the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup association football, football tournament. The 2009 UEFA Cup Final, final was played at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, home ground of Fenerbahçe S.K. (football), F ...
, in later years he relied heavily on young Brazilian players such as Willian, Fernandinho, Douglas Costa,
Luiz Adriano Luiz Adriano de Souza da Silva (born 12 April 1987), or simply Luiz Adriano (), is a Brazilian professional association football, footballer who plays as a striker (association football), striker for Esporte Clube Vitória, Vitória. Born in P ...
,
Elano Elano Blumer (born 14 June 1981), known as Elano, is a Brazilian football coach and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. Known for his accurate passing and precise set pieces, Elano started his senior career at Santos, and spe ...
,
Alex Teixeira Alex Teixeira Santos (; born 6 January 1990) is a Brazilian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club CR Vasco da Gama, Vasco da Gama. Teixeira ...
, Ilsinho,
Jádson Jádson Rodrigues da Silva (born 5 October 1983), commonly known as Jádson (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Having begun his career at Atlético Paranaense, he moved to Shakhtar Donet ...
, Brandão or Matuzalém.


Zenit Saint Petersburg

On 24 May 2016, Lucescu agreed to a two-year deal with Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg, with an extension option for another year. He was dismissed roughly one year later, as Zenit failed to qualify for the Champions League after finishing third in the
Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...
, but managed to win the 2016 Russian Super Cup after a 1–0 victory against
CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...
.


Turkey

On 2 August 2017, he was appointed as the new head coach of
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, succeeding
Fatih Terim Fatih Terim (born 4 September 1953) is a Turkish people, Turkish professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. He is the manager of Saudi Pro League club Al Shabab FC (Riyadh), Al-Shabab ...
. On his debut a month later, he lost 2–0 away to
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
in
2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...
qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...
. The team failed to qualify for the World Cup, with their campaign ending with a 3–0 home loss to
Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
in the penultimate fixture on 6 October. In the inaugural season of the
UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...
, Turkey were relegated to League C in November 2018. The following February, his contract was terminated by mutual consent.


Dynamo Kyiv

On 23 July 2020, Lucescu returned to Ukraine after signing a two-year contract with the main rival of his former club Shakhtar Donetsk,
Dynamo Kyiv The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society ...
. His spell started in a controversial way, as he attempted to resign from his position after only a couple of days. The reason behind his actions was that Dynamo Kyiv fans fiercely protested the decision to hire Lucescu because of his long-term spell at Shakhtar. Dynamo president Ihor Surkis initially told press that he knew nothing about the resignation, and later that day both sides confirmed that their cooperation will in fact continue. On 20 October, in Dynamo Kyiv's opening Champions League match of the season against
Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
, Lucescu became the oldest manager to take charge of a game in the competition, at the age of 75 years and 83 days; The match ended in a 2–0 home loss. Lucescu secured his first league title with Dynamo Kyiv on 25 April, following a 5–0 victory against Inhulets, and on 13 May he secured the double with a 1–0 win over Zorya Luhansk in the 2021 Ukrainian Cup Final. In his first season spent at the club, he transferred compatriot Tudor Băluță on a one-season loan from Brighton & Hove Albion. Lucescu was living in
Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
in February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. He initially wanted to stay put, but fled to his homeland on the advice of the Romanian embassy, as a way to help Dynamo's foreign players get to safety. On 3 November 2023, Lucescu announced that he would step down as the manager of Dynamo Kyiv after a 1–0 home defeat against their rivals Shakhtar Donetsk, and on the following day he was succeeded by
Oleksandr Shovkovskyi Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Shovkovskyi (; born 2 January 1975) is a Ukrainian former professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper, and is currently the manager of FC Dynamo Kyiv, Dyna ...
.


Return to Romania

On 6 August 2024, Lucescu returned as the head coach of the Romania national team, 38 years after his first tenure. His first match in charge was on 6 September, an away 3–0 victory against
Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
in the Nations League C.


Publications

Lucescu started writing chronicles, comments and match analysis in 1980 at the "Drumul Socialismului" newspaper. He also wrote two volumes about football: * Mirajul gazonului ''(The mirage of the lawn)'' (1981) * Shakhtarsʹke zhyttya ''(Miner's life)'' (2011)


Personal life

Lucescu is a
polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
. He speaks English, Portuguese,
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
,
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
, French and
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
in addition to his native Romanian. He is often cited as telling his players that going to the theatre or reading a book is far more beneficial than going to
clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Club (magazine), ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands a ...
or restaurants. He also pressured his players to go to university. His son, Răzvan Lucescu, was also a footballer, and is currently managing
PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...
. Lucescu joined the Romanian Humanist Party in March 2000. On 15 July 2009, Lucescu suffered an attack of pre-infarct angina, and was operated in an emergency hospital in Donetsk. On 6 January 2012, he was involved in a
road accident A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. Tr ...
in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
and was seriously hurt.


Career statistics


Player


Club


International goals

:''Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lucescu goal''.


Managerial


Managing Shakhtar


Honours


Player

Dinamo București *
Divizia A Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...
: 1963–64, 1964–65, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1989–90 *
Cupa României The Cupa României () is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the Romania ...
: 1967–68 Corvinul Hunedoara * Divizia B: 1979–80 Individual * Romanian Footballer of the Year (''fourth place''): 1971


Manager

Corvinul Hunedoara * Divizia B: 1979–80 Dinamo București *
Divizia A Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...
: 1989–90 *
Cupa României The Cupa României () is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the Romania ...
: 1985–86, 1989–90 Brescia *
Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...
: 1991–92 *
Anglo-Italian Cup The Anglo-Italian Cup (, also known as the Anglo-Italian Inter-League Clubs Competition and from 1976 to 1986 as the Alitalia Challenge Cup, Talbot Challenge Cup or Gigi Peronace Memorial) was a European football competition. The competition was ...
: 1993–94 Rapid București *
Divizia A Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...
: 1998–99 *
Cupa României The Cupa României () is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the Romania ...
: 1997–98 *
Supercupa României The Supercupa României () is a Romanian football (soccer), football championship contested by the winners of the Liga I and the Cupa României. It is usually played at the Arena Națională in Bucharest. The competition started off in 1994 Supe ...
:
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
Galatasaray *
Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...
: 2001–02 *
UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...
:
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
Beşiktaş *
Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...
: 2002–03 Shakhtar Donetsk *
Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( ) or UPL is a professional association football league in Ukraine and the highest level of the Ukrainian football league system. Originally known as the Vyshcha Liha ( , ) it was formed in 1991 during the 1992 in ...
: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14 *
Ukrainian Cup The Ukrainian Cup ( ) is an association football national knockout cup competition run by the Ukrainian Association of Football. The competition is conducted almost exclusively among professional clubs. Since the 2003–04 season, the Cup winner qu ...
: 2003–04, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2015–16 * Ukrainian Super Cup:
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
,
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
,
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
,
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
,
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
,
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
,
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
*
UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
: 2008–09 Zenit Saint Petersburg * Russian Super Cup:
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
Dynamo Kyiv *
Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( ) or UPL is a professional association football league in Ukraine and the highest level of the Ukrainian football league system. Originally known as the Vyshcha Liha ( , ) it was formed in 1991 during the 1992 in ...
: 2020–21 *
Ukrainian Cup The Ukrainian Cup ( ) is an association football national knockout cup competition run by the Ukrainian Association of Football. The competition is conducted almost exclusively among professional clubs. Since the 2003–04 season, the Cup winner qu ...
: 2020–21 * Ukrainian Super Cup:
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
Individual *''
Gazeta Sporturilor Gazeta Sporturilor () is a Romanian sports website, originally founded in 1924 as a daily newspaper. It was the third-oldest daily newspaper in Europe, with 99 years of uninterrupted publication, before issuing its last edition on 31 October 2023. ...
'' Romania Coach of the Year: 2004, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2021 *
Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( ) or UPL is a professional association football league in Ukraine and the highest level of the Ukrainian football league system. Originally known as the Vyshcha Liha ( , ) it was formed in 1991 during the 1992 in ...
Manager of the Month (3): 2020–21 (March, April, May), Orders *
Order of Merit (Ukraine) The Order of Merit () (Distinguished service) first, second or third class, is the Ukrainian order of merit, given to individuals for outstanding achievements in economics, science, culture, military or political spheres of activity. It was firs ...
III degree (2006) *Order of The Sportive Merit (Romania) III degree (2008) *
Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the Order of Michael the Brave. It is the oldest Order of Romania. It is awarded by the Preside ...
(2009) *
Order of Merit (Ukraine) The Order of Merit () (Distinguished service) first, second or third class, is the Ukrainian order of merit, given to individuals for outstanding achievements in economics, science, culture, military or political spheres of activity. It was firs ...
II degree (2009) *
Order of Merit (Ukraine) The Order of Merit () (Distinguished service) first, second or third class, is the Ukrainian order of merit, given to individuals for outstanding achievements in economics, science, culture, military or political spheres of activity. It was firs ...
I degree (2011) *Honorary Citizen of
Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...


See also

*
List of UEFA Cup winning managers A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
*
List of UEFA Super Cup winning managers The UEFA Super Cup (called European Super Cup prior to 1995 UEFA Super Cup, 1995) is an annual contest played between the previous season's UEFA Champions League (formerly the UEFA Champions League, European Cup) and UEFA Europa League (formerly ...
*
List of longest managerial reigns in association football The longest managerial reign in association football belongs to Englishman Jimmy Davies (football manager), Jimmy Davies who was manager of Waterloo Dock A.F.C., Waterloo Dock for 50 years. Second to this, Fred Everiss was manager of English F ...


Notes


References


Further reading

* * * * * *


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucescu, Mircea 1945 births Living people Footballers from Bucharest Romanian men's footballers FC Corvinul Hunedoara players FC Dinamo București players FC Sportul Studențesc București players Olympic footballers for Romania Romania men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders 1970 FIFA World Cup players Romanian football managers FC Corvinul Hunedoara managers FC Dinamo București managers FC Rapid București managers Pisa SC managers Brescia Calcio managers AC Reggiana 1919 managers Inter Milan managers Galatasaray S.K. (football) managers Beşiktaş J.K. managers FC Shakhtar Donetsk managers FC Dynamo Kyiv managers Serie A managers Süper Lig managers Ukrainian Premier League managers Expatriate football managers in Italy Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate football managers in Turkey Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate football managers in Ukraine Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Romania national football team managers Romanian expatriate football managers UEFA Euro 1984 managers UEFA Europa League–winning managers Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Star of Romania FC Zenit Saint Petersburg managers Russian Premier League managers Expatriate football managers in Russia Romanian expatriate sportspeople in Russia Turkey national football team managers Romanian writers Romanian male writers 20th-century Romanian writers 20th-century Romanian male writers 21st-century Romanian writers 21st-century Romanian male writers 20th-century Romanian sportsmen