Condition worsened
Football coach is in a coma in the intensive care unit
April 6, 2026 – 8:31 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
At the age of 80, Mircea Lucescu was still on the sidelines two weeks ago. Since then, his health has deteriorated drastically.
Football coach Mircea Lucescu is in an induced coma. The Romanian journalist Emanuel Roşu and the Romanian newspaper “Gazeta Sporturilor” report this unanimously. Lucescu suffered a heart attack last week and had to be resuscitated. There is great concern for the 80-year-old in Romania.
Health Minister Alexandru Rogobete said on Sunday evening: “Unfortunately, he is in a critical condition. He is in intensive care. His condition has deteriorated in the last 24 to 48 hours.” Lucescu is only still alive thanks to medical care in the hospital in the capital, Bucharest. His wife Neli, their son Răzvan and grandson Matei visited him late on Sunday evening.
The Romanian national team shared a statement on Sunday: “There are sometimes moments in football when the result on the scoreboard doesn’t matter and the only victory we are fighting for is life. Today is one of those moments and our thoughts go out to the man who shaped destinies, shaped generations and put Romania on the big map of world football.”
Mircea Lucescu was national coach of his home country from 1981 to 1986 and led Romania to the first European Championship participation in the country’s history (1984). He worked as a coach for many decades, his longest stint being in Ukraine. For twelve years he was on the sidelines at Shakhtar Donetsk, where he won the championship eight times between 2004 and 2016.
In August 2024 he took over the Romanian national team again, which he almost led to the World Cup. But in the playoff semi-final against Turkey, Lucescu and his team failed. A few days later he collapsed at a team meeting and was taken to hospital. Since then, his condition has been uncertain.
