Mircea Lucescu, who managed Shakhtar and Dynamo, has died
Romanian football manager Mircea Lucescu, who managed Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv, has died at the age of 80. He was hospitalised at the end of March following a heart attack, according to a statement on the Dynamo Kyiv football club’s website.
Before his death, the coach was placed in an induced coma and transferred to the intensive care unit following a myocardial infarction. Doctors were unable to save him.
Mircea Lucescu spent most of his playing career at Dinamo Bucharest, playing as a striker. In 1965, he moved to Stiinta, where he played for two seasons, before joining Corvinul, where he began his coaching career, combining it with playing on the pitch.
From 1981 to 1986, Lucescu managed the Romanian national team, after which he worked with various clubs. In the years that followed, he managed the Romanian sides Dinamo and Rapid, the Italian clubs Pisa, Brescia, Reggiana and Inter, as well as the Turkish sides Galatasaray and Beşiktaş.
In 2004, he took charge of Shakhtar, where he remained until 2016. Together with the team, he won eight Ukrainian championships, six Ukrainian Cups and the UEFA Cup in 2009. Lucescu became the club’s record holder for length of service and managed the highest number of official matches as head coach, 573.
In 2020, he returned to Ukraine and took charge of Dynamo Kyiv. In just over three seasons, the team won three trophies under his leadership, including the Ukrainian championship in the 2020/21 season. He managed 126 matches with Dynamo, winning 70 of them.
In August 2024, Lucescu once again took charge of the Romania national team, 38 years after his first spell with the side. He stepped down in April 2026 following the team’s failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup and his hospitalisation.
At international level, he also managed the Turkish national team from 2017 to 2019.
