Legendary former player and coach Mircea Lucescu has died at the age of 80 on Tuesday, April 7, shortly after serving as head coach of the Romanian national team.
His passing was confirmed by Bucharest University Emergency Hospital, which announced that he was declared dead at approximately 8:30 PM. The hospital paid tribute to Lucescu as one of Romania’s most accomplished football figures and highlighted his role in guiding the national team to their first European Championship qualification in 1984, describing him as a symbol for generations of Romanians.
Lucescu had been urgently admitted to hospital on March 29 after falling ill during a technical meeting ahead of a national team training session. Following his hospitalisation, he stepped down from his role as Romania’s head coach on April 2.
His health deteriorated further on April 5, leading to his transfer to intensive care, where he was placed in an induced coma. Earlier on Tuesday, medical updates revealed that scans had detected multiple cerebral ischemic strokes along with areas of pulmonary thromboembolism.
Despite efforts to stabilise his condition, Lucescu passed away later that evening.