‘i Can’t Leave Like A Coward’: Romania’s Mircea Lucescu On Illness And His World Cup Dream At 80

2 days ago

Mircea Lucescu is fighting for 1 past World Cup while astatine nan aforesaid clip battling his ain body. He has lived done thousands of games arsenic a subordinate and head but these could beryllium nan hardest of them all: 2 playoff games to return Romania to their first World Cup successful 28 years.

Lucescu is 80 years aged now and has not been good – but he has mislaid nary of his energy, nor emotion for nan game. Since December he has been admitted to infirmary connected 3 occasions but present he is, pinch an espresso successful beforehand of him, discussing his agelong career, nan playoff semi‑final against Turkey connected Thursday and Ukraine, a spot he utilized to telephone home. He does not, however, want to disclose nan nonstop quality of his unwellness for fearfulness that it will go nan attraction complete nan adjacent fewer weeks.

“When nan doctors told maine I could spell connected coaching, I focused connected what I had to do for Romania,” he tells nan Guardian successful a uncommon interview. “I said to nan federation and they told maine they couldn’t find a solution to nan situation. I’m not successful my champion style truthful I would person stepped distant if location was different action available. But I insist: I can’t time off for illustration a coward. We must judge successful our chance to qualify.”

Lucescu has mislaid weight but his look still lights up erstwhile talking astir football. It has ever been for illustration that for him. Before an awesome managerial career, he was a subordinate and captained Romania astatine nan 1970 World Cup. The Tricolours faced Pelé’s Brazil, England – nan defending champions – and Czechoslovakia. Romania near a beardown belief connected nan shot world. They hit Czechoslovakia 2-1 but mislaid narrowly against Brazil and England. Their football, nether nan guidance of nan iconic head Angelo Niculescu, has been recognised arsenic an inspiration for Pep Guardiola and tiki-taka.

“We achieved immoderate bonzer results erstwhile we played our measurement of football,” Lucescu says. “We knew small astir what was happening astir us; we were coming from a closed, communist regime.

“We reached nan World Cup successful Mexico. Just 16 teams there. We tried to show our measurement of playing: we knew really to walk good and we utilized this to antagonistic nan unit of our opponents. After 1970 things changed successful nan nationalist squad and we mislaid our identity.”

Mircea Lucescu astatine nan 1970 World Cup.

Just a decade aft that tournament, however, Lucescu was fixed nan chance to coach Romania for nan first time. He was only 36 years aged but nan squad reached Euro 1984 (only 8 teams did) and was adjacent to qualifying for nan 1986 World Cup pinch him successful charge.

“When I built nan nationalist squad much than 40 years agone I wanted nan young players to beryllium quiet to play for Romania. I gave them chances astatine nan elder level. I want players who are powerfully motivated and who tin power their emotions. I wanted to build self‑belief successful their minds – that leads to performance. The 80s and nan 90s were afloat of success. Even though nan boys near Romania aft the autumn of communism to play overseas they ever remembered nan relationship betwixt themselves and nan nationalist team.”

In 1983 Lucescu gave a debut to an 18‑year‑old Gheorghe Hagi, arguably nan champion subordinate successful Romania’s history. He went connected to play for Real Madrid and Barcelona and was later coached by Lucescu astatine Brescia and Galatasaray. Lucescu stayed arsenic Romania coach until 1986 and built nan foundations for nan state to scope 3 consecutive World Cups successful 1990, 1994 and 1998 arsenic well as nan European Championships of 1996 and 2000.

A successful profession arsenic a nine coach followed pinch Lucescu taking complaint of sides specified arsenic Inter, Galatasaray and Besiktas, Zenit St Petersburg, arsenic good arsenic Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv. For a agelong time, he was nan 2nd astir successful head successful nan world, pinch much than 30 trophies won, down only Sir Alex Ferguson earlier Guardiola overtook him.

His 2nd stint arsenic Romania head began soon aft nan 2024 European Championship. “I felt it was my work to return complaint of nan team. It wasn’t conscionable a awesome responsibility. It was my work for everything that Romanian shot has ever fixed to me. I was indebted. It was ne'er astir money, ne'er astir different medal. I person capable trophies. I hoped to thief by changing nan measurement Romanian shot useful astatine a intelligence level.”

While successful hospital, he kept successful adjacent interaction pinch his players and unit while besides analysing Turkey games. “We will play successful beforehand of an intolerable atmosphere. I cognize it to perfection: Besiktas’s location stadium. When I near nan nine I had 2 much years near of my statement but I near nan money to nan nine pinch nan patient committedness that they would usage it to rebuild nan stadium. It’s 1 of nan champion stadiums I’ve ever been to. When nan different squad has nan shot they put nan unit on. And it’s an bonzer pressure. I don’t cognize if there’s immoderate remedy for nan sound they will create. I will request to explicate to my boys, to those who haven’t been to play successful Turkey, what awaits them.”

Lucescu knows what awaits him and nan squad successful Turkey but different things person taken him by surprise. “I was very amazed to spot really things had changed since I returned to coach Romania,” he says.

“It’s tougher and tougher these days to find praise, isn’t it? I mean I americium half-joking but I conjecture I want those who are criticising america to put everything into discourse and to beryllium objective, without hate. We spot really clone news moves these days and really it influences nan public. What was imaginable 40 years agone isn’t imaginable now, pinch everything that has happened pinch exertion and nan media. But you conscionable can’t build if you’re surrounded by a antagonistic situation each nan time. It’s impossible.”

The buildup to nan Turkey crippled has not been easy. Lucescu had been deed by withdrawals and now he has to do without nan Celta Vigo goalkeeper Ionut Radu and nan Pisa midfielder Marius Marin because of injuries. They would some person started. Lucescu is not 1 to consciousness sorry for himself, though. “I request players who travel and put their full psyche connected nan pitch. And I don’t request those 2 hours aliases a time aliases two. I want nationalist squad players to beryllium supra everyone else. I often telephone nan boys, and I show them to effort to do this and that. Because I don’t request them to tally 3 kilometres during a training session. During a match, you request to tally 11 kilometres! If they are not playing, I show them to train much than everyone else. To spell to a forest, to spell to a park, to tally and exercise. Everything starts successful your brain. You make settings for occurrence aliases nonaccomplishment successful your brain.

“I speak a batch pinch them. They regularly inquire maine really I’m feeling. They convey me for sticking around. In tactical talks I request to beryllium quick. [These days] players suffer attraction during meetings aft astir 10 minutes. You request to beryllium capable to show them what’s basal for them to cognize successful those minutes erstwhile you person their afloat focus.”

Lucescu refuses to look up to a imaginable World Cup finals berth – they would person to flooded Slovakia aliases Kosovo successful nan playoff last if they hit Turkey – but he has been reasoning astir Ukraine, who are successful a different playoff path. He near an unmatched bequest aft 12 years astatine Shakhtar Donetsk and past spent different 3 pinch Dynamo Kyiv. Lucescu still thinks of nan location he near down successful 2014. He was successful Donetsk erstwhile nan first shots were fired, 12 years ago, past successful Kyiv erstwhile Russia invaded successful February 2022. “I support successful touch pinch my erstwhile players and my friends successful Ukraine. The business location is horrible. I retrieve I near Donetsk successful 2014 erstwhile nan conflict started successful Donbas. I near my flat pinch everything wrong and I ne'er returned. I don’t cognize what happened to my location there. I person nary accusation from anyone arsenic we had to move nan nine from Donetsk.”

His mind returns to nan present and now and a World Cup playoff that is conscionable a fewer days away. “I americium happy for nan players. They made it to this level nether highly difficult circumstances. They went to play for clubs each complete nan world, from China to nan Gulf states, to nan European little leagues and nan Romanian championship. They are trying to accommodate and make a sanction for themselves. Like each nan Romanians moving extracurricular our borders.

“I dream that my players dainty this crippled arsenic a infinitesimal to people a earlier and after. It tin specify a generation. It would beryllium an bonzer accomplishment to scope nan World Cup. Not for me, but for Romania.”