Romanian football coach Mircea Lucescu died on the evening of April 7, the University Emergency Hospital in Bucharest announced.

Lucescu, who was 80 years old, had been hospitalized since March 29 after fainting during training before Romania’s friendly match with Slovakia. Later, he suffered a heart attack, and his health deteriorated rapidly.

He was the third-most decorated coach in football history, with 35 trophies, behind Alex Ferguson (49) and Pep Guardiola (40).

Throughout his coaching career, Mircea Lucescu has managed the Turkey national football team, Zenit Saint Petersburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, Dynamo Kyiv, Beșiktaș, Galatasaray, Rapid București, Inter Milan, Reggiana, Brescia, AC Pisa, Dinamo București, and the Romania national football team. He stepped down from the latter after losing to Turkey.

(Photo: Vladyslav Moskovenko/ Dreamstime)

editor@romania-insider.com