Mircea Lucescu's tenure as Romania's head coach has come to an end, the country's football federation announced on Thursday, while the storied 80-year-old has been offered an administrative role.
Lucescu was hospitalized on Sunday after falling ill at training with a heart problem, three days after his team lost a World Cup qualifying playoff against Türkiye.
He was subsequently treated at Bucharest University Hospital for severe cardiac arrhythmia.
The collapse came during the final training session before the team's departure for the 2-0 defeat against Slovakia on Tuesday.
Paramedics administered first aid and ensured he was transported to hospital in a stable condition.
Lucescu's resignation marks the end of his second spell as national team coach.
He previously coached the team from 1981 to 1986, leading them to qualify for Euro 1984.
This was followed by spells as manager at Inter Milan, Galatasaray, Shakhtar Donetsk, Beşiktaş, Zenit St Petersburg and Dynamo Kyiv.
In the summer of 2024, he took charge of the national team once again. Under his leadership, the team recorded 11 wins, one draw and six losses.
The Romanian great, who captained the team at the 1970 World Cup in Brazil, is set to remain with the association in a different role.
Romanian Football Federation (FRF) President Razvan Burleanu said Lucescu would take on a new position "so that Romanian football can benefit from all the knowledge Mr Lucescu has gathered throughout his career, and so that we can prepare our coaches and players even better."
