He defeated Real Madrid and fell out with Ronaldo… The death of Guardiola’s ‘number one enemy’

 Although his condition was initially stable following a heart attack, it deteriorated seriously after he suffered a second heart attack last Friday.

 On Sunday morning, representatives from Bucharest University Emergency Hospital issued a statement confirming that Lucescu’s condition had deteriorated, and he was subsequently transferred to the intensive care unit overnight.

Health Minister Alexandru Rogopete announced that Lucescu’s condition was “critical”, and shortly afterwards, he was placed in an induced coma. Late on Sunday evening, his sons, including Razvan, manager of FC Pauc, arrived at the hospital to say their final goodbyes.

Lucescu played for Dinamo Bucharest and represented his country 64 times, including at the 1970 World Cup, but his fame grew significantly when he turned to coaching.

 Lucescu is considered one of the best coaches in Romanian history, having managed in Romania, Italy, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia, and made history with Shakhtar during his 12 years at the club, winning eight league titles, seven cups and the UEFA Cup.

 The moment he stormed into Pep Guardiola’s press conference after a match against Barcelona, shouting “Shame!” because Barcelona had not cleared the ball that led to one of their goals, remains etched in the memory.

 Despite that incident, which led the newspaper to describe him as Guardiola’s number one enemy, Pep and Mircea later built a strong friendship based on mutual respect.

Lucescu also coached Ronaldo at Inter Milan, where he clashed with him due to their differing personalities.

 In Turkey, he achieved one of his greatest successes with Galatasaray when they won the European Super Cup in Monaco against Real Madrid in 2000.

He also won the Turkish league title with both Galatasaray and Beşiktaş, but this success was followed by an unsuccessful spell in charge of the Turkish national team.

His last role was as manager of his native country, Romania, a team he took charge of once again 38 years after his first spell in the role. Although they reached the World Cup play-offs, defeat in the semi-final against Turkey denied the Romanians a place at the tournament.

 A few hours later, it was announced that Lucescu had passed away; worse still, he had suffered a heart attack that claimed the life of one of Romanian football’s greatest legends.

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