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Lucescu, ill but on the bench: "I can't walk away like a coward"

Romania's manager speaks ahead of tomorrow's World Cup play-off against Turkey

Mircea Lucescu, aged 80 and with a lifetime in football, will lead Romania tomorrow in their quest for a place at the World Cup, which they have not reached for 28 years. The manager has been battling an illness for months, the nature of which he has declined to reveal, “so that it would not be the focus of attention”.

“When the doctors told me I could continue coaching, I focused on what I had to do for Romania,” the globetrotting manager – who has also coached in Italy (Pisa, Brescia, Reggiana and Inter) – told The Guardian on the eve of the match against Turkey.

"I spoke to the federation and they told me they couldn’t find a solution. I’m not in my best form, so I would have stepped aside if there had been another option. But I insist: I can’t walk away like a coward. We must believe in our chances of qualifying," reports Ansa.

In recent months, Lucescu has been hospitalised three times, but during his stay he remained in close contact with the players and staff, analysing Turkey’s matches. “We’ll be playing in an impossible atmosphere. I know it inside out: it’s the Besiktas stadium. I don’t know if there’s any way to dampen the noise they’ll make. I’ll have to explain to my lads, to those who’ve never played in Turkey, what’s in store for them.”

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