The national team: back to the future, Mircea Lucescu is back

The national team has, since yesterday, a new coach: Mircea Lucescu. He returns to the helm of the team after 38 years. The experience of the new coach is beyond any discussion, only issues related to age (79 years old) raised some question marks, but the coach's vitality cannot be disputed. The contract spans two years, the objective is clear: qualifying for the World Championship in 2026. Mircea Lucescu stated in a press conference that he knows he took a risk when he agreed to take over the national team, but he believes that Romanian football deserves this: "It's a risk, but I think Romanian football is worth it. I don't need money or to make a name for myself. I would like those beautiful moments to return. Only one thing determined me, the love for football and the obligation for Romanian football. My wife told me not to get involved, but Răzvan (n.a. Răzvan Lucescu, son) told me that if I feel the need, I will do everything possible so that my experience can help." . Lucescu stated that he is going on the road with a handicap, i.e. the fact that he has been absent from Romanian football in recent years: "Many feelings tried me, first of all the nostalgia of the past period, in which I had extraordinary moments as a coach. Yesterday we talked for about 3 hours, I'm leaving with a handicap, I've been absent from Romanian football for a moment. To be honest, I have I did my best not to come to the national team and give the young coaches a chance. I tried to convince Edi Iordănescu to stay with the national team, I know what it means to give continuity to a coach possible, from what I understand, but it didn't work. Then, I talked to Gica Hagi, who did so much for the national team and he absolutely deserved to be offered the role of coach. I said that if there is no solution, I will I have the obligation to return and put into play the experience I have accumulated in so many years. I am a 100% product of Romanian football, which made waves on the international stage. I have a lot of faith in this generation of players, which has formed a winning group."

The selector also said that the national team is far below the level of the supporters, who have shown an extraordinary attachment to EURO 2024. Regarding the selection, the selector said: "It matters the value, the form, the competition in which they play. I will be concerned with the evolution of young people. Young players, the best from the youth team, will not be missing from the squad for these two matches, with Kosovo and Lithuania. But with the possibility of playing at the youth level as well. I will take care of the future of Romanian football, that's why I was called here. My job starts tomorrow. I start to contact the players, to tell them what I want, before the meeting we will have. It won't be easy. I'm the one taking the risk. But I come with confidence and conviction that it can be done. Everyone around me is focused on continuing the performance at the EURO".

The President of the FRF, Răzvan Burleanu, declared on this occasion: "Today is a special moment for all Romanian sports. I am here to introduce the new Romanian national team coach, a remarkable person in world football. The time has come to move to a new stage. In this new stage we want to return to a World Cup. FRF believes that it is necessary to have a coach with vast experience. Mircea Lucescu is the right person, with him on the bench I think we can write a page of history for Romanian football".

Romania's new national team will officially debut at the beginning of September, when the 2024-2025 edition of the League of Nations begins. The first matches are scheduled for September 6 and 9, with Kosovo and Lithuania.

Technician Mircea Lucescu returns to the helm of the national team after 38 years, becoming, at 79, Romania's oldest coach. Mircea Lucescu was born on July 29, 1945. He mainly played at Dinamo, where he achieved the greatest successes in his playing career: five Romanian championship titles (1964-1965, 1970-1971, 1971-1972, 1974-1975 , 1976-1977) and a Romanian Cup (1967-1968). He ended his career as a player at Corvinul Hunedoara (1977-1982), and at the same time he started coaching. He succeeded, right from the first year, in promotion to Division A, so that in the following years he ranked 3rd in the first division. He was selected 70 times in the first representative team of Romania, being its captain at the final tournament of the World Championship in Mexico 1970. Mircea Lucescu was from the fall of 1981 until 1986 the coach of the national team of Romania, with which he managed to qualify for European Championship in 1984. He then coached Dinamo Bucharest, with which he won a national title (1989-1990) and two Romanian Cups (1985-1986 and 1989-1990), also qualifying for the semi-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup (1990 ). In the summer of 1990, he went to Italy, where he coached the Pisa, Brescia and Reggiana teams. Then, in 1997, he returned to Romania, being appointed coach of the Rapid Bucharest team, with which he won the Romanian Cup in 1998. On November 30, 1998, he was installed as head coach at Internazionale Milano, but was dismissed after a few months (March 1999). He returned to Rapid, managing to win the championship, 1998-1999 edition. From the summer of 2000 to 2002, Mircea Lucescu coached the Galatasaray Istanbul team, with which he won the European Supercup (2000) and the Turkish championship (2002). In the summer of 2002, he moved to Beşiktaş, winning the championship in the first year. On May 16, 2004, Lucescu took over the Ukrainian team Shakhtar Donetsk. Under Lucescu's management, Şahtior won eight national championship titles (2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014), five Ukrainian Cups (2004, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013) and seven Super Cups ( 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015), but especially the UEFA Cup, won in 2009, after the final with Werder Bremen (2-1). In 2013, Mircea Lucescu became the longest serving coach in the history of the Ukrainian football club, and in 2014 he was named the best coach in Ukraine for the eighth time. After leaving Şahtior, Lucescu coached Zenit St. Petersburg for one season, and then was the Turkish coach for almost two years. Lucescu trained Dinamo Kiev from July 2020 to 2023. He won with Dinamo Kiev the Super Cup of Ukraine in 2020, the championship and the Cup of Ukraine in 2021. On May 22, 2009, Mircea Lucescu received, from the President of Romania, 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". He is among the top 100 coaches in the world (41st place) from the first decade of the 21st century (2001-2010), according to the ranking established by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS). France Football placed him 41st in the ranking of the best coaches in the history of football.