Legendary Romanian football coach Mircea Lucescu is currently hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit at the University Hospital Bucharest after a heart attack. He has been visited by family.
Lucescu, 80, fainted during training on Sunday, March 29, before Romania’s friendly match with Slovakia. He had already been hospitalized three times this year, in January and February. In December 2025, the former coach had a severe case of the flu that did not respond to antibiotics, leading to his hospitalization in January.
After fainting, he was taken to the hospital and then to the intensive care unit. At first, his condition stabilized, but then it worsened after a heart attack suffered on April 3, right before his discharge.
“On Saturday evening, the patient experienced repeated significant cardiac arrhythmias, promptly treated by the on-call team from the cardiology department. On Sunday night, the arrhythmias became severe and no longer responded to treatment. The patient’s condition worsened, requiring transfer to the Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit,” the hospital stated, cited by Euronews Romania.
Romanian health minister Alexandru Rogobete confirmed that Lucescu’s condition is critical.
The coach’s son, Răzvan Lucescu, himself a coach of the PAOK Thessaloniki team, urgently returned to Romania on Sunday, April 5.
“It is a difficult situation, and I kindly ask you, please try to respect this moment. The hospital staff are the ones who know best how to explain things. They issue statements when necessary and when they feel it is the right time,” Răzvan Lucescu said.
Mircea Lucescu, nicknamed “Il Luce,” has a complicated medical history. He underwent heart surgery in 2009, when doctors implanted a stent. Three others were implanted between 2010 and 2024, and the latest was in April 2026. In 2023, he also had another surgical intervention due to coxarthrosis in his left hip, and last year, doctors implanted a prosthesis in his right hip.
Aside from his wife and grandchildren, several colleagues from the Football Federation visited Mircea Lucescu at the hospital in the past few days. Upon leaving, they said that, unfortunately, he is not conscious and cannot communicate.
“I stayed with him for about five minutes. He doesn’t respond to anything; it’s normal, given his condition. Let’s hope he will be well, God willing. He cannot speak; he is in an induced state, probably to help him,” said Mihai Stoichiță, FRF technical director. The Romanian national football team also issued a message of support.
Mircea Lucescu is 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 source: Vladyslav Moskovenko|Dreamstime.com)
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