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Ex-head coach of Russia’s Zenit FC, Romanian national team Lucescu dies at age of 80

According to ESPN, Lucescu was hospitalized on April 3, after reportedly suffering a heart attack

Mircea Lucescu Burak Kara/ Getty Images

Mircea Lucescu

© Burak Kara/ Getty Images

BUCHAREST, April 7. /TASS/. Mircea Lucescu, former head coach of the Romanian national football team and Russia’s Zenit St. Petersburg football club, has died at the age of 80, football journalist Emanuel Rosu reported in an X post on Tuesday.

TASS reported earlier that Lucescu was urgently hospitalized after losing consciousness during a team practice at the end of March. ProSport daily reported earlier that Lucescu's health deteriorated at the end of 2025, as his heart condition worsened following a common cold. He was also hospitalized in late January, according to reports.

Lucescu served as the head coach of Zenit St. Petersburg FC during the 2016/2017 season, leading the club to a third-place finish in the Russian Premier League (RPL) standings.

The Romanian expert also managed during his professional coaching career Italian football clubs Pisa, Brescia, Reggiana and Inter Milan, Turkey’s Galatasaray and Besiktas, Ukraine’s Dinamo Kiev and Shakhtar.

He took the reins as the head coach of the Romanian national football team in 2024 but resigned from that post on April 2 of this year. Last month, Romania lost to Turkey in a qualifying play-off semifinal match for the spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

US-based sports broadcaster ESPN reported that Lucescu had been hospitalized after reportedly suffering a heart attack on the morning of April 3.

"Mr. Mircea Lucescu was one of the most successful Romanian football coaches and players, the first to qualify the Romanian national team for a European Championship, in 1984," ESPN quoted the hospital as saying in a statement. "Entire generations of Romanians grew up with his image in their hearts, as a national symbol."

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