Romanian football great Mircea Lucescu, a serial trophy winner as both player and coach, has died at age 80.
Lucescu's death was confirmed by Bucharest University Emergency Hospital on Tuesday. He had been hospitalized 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 had a lengthy coaching career and was in his second spell with the Romanian national team until stepping down last Thursday after falling ill during training. Three days earlier, Romania had missed out on qualification to the World Cup after losing to Türkiye in a playoff.
During his coaching career, Lucescu led Galatasaray from 2000 to 2002 and Beşiktaş from 2002 to 2004, winning Süper Lig championships with both clubs. He also guided Shakhtar Donetsk from 2004 to 2016, winning the UEFA Cup and numerous domestic and international titles, making him one of the most decorated coaches in football history with 37 trophies. Lucescu later managed the Turkish national team between August 2017 and February 2019.
As a player, Lucescu captained his country at the 1970 World Cup. During a well-traveled coaching career, he led Romania to the European Championship and managed teams across Europe, winning multiple titles.
He returned to coach Romania after a 38-year gap to try to qualify for the World Cup.
"We are deeply saddened to hear the passing of Mircea Lucescu, the winning manager of our UEFA Super Cup and 15th Turkish league titles,” Galatasaray said in a statement on X. "Rest in peace Luce, we will never forget you.”
Beşiktaş too expressed "great sorrow” over Lucescu’s passing and bid him "farewell.”
"We have learned with great sorrow that our former technical director, Mircea Lucescu, the architect of our championship in our centennial year, has passed away. We will never forget you, Lucescu. Rest in peace,” the club said on X.