Collapse during training
Collapse: Oldest national coach in the world resigns
Updated April 2, 2026 – 6:04 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Mircea Lucescu collapses during training. Now the oldest national coach in football history is drawing conclusions. But it should remain with the association.
Mircea Lucescu has resigned as Romania’s national football coach after collapsing before a friendly match. The 80-year-old has ended his term as coach of the Romanian national team, the national association announced on its homepage. Lucescu collapsed during training last Sunday.
The former offensive player was then treated at the Bucharest University Hospital for a serious cardiac arrhythmia. This was preceded by feeling unwell during the last training session before leaving for the international match against Slovakia the previous Tuesday (0:2). Ambulance teams provided first aid and ensured a stable transport to hospital.
With his resignation, Lucescu’s second term as Romania’s selection coach ends. He had already coached the Romanian team from 1981 to 1986 and led them to the European Championships in 1984.
At the World Cup playoff game in Turkey (0-1 defeat) at the end of March, Lucescu broke the record as the oldest national coach in football history at 80 years and 240 days. He replaced the German Otto Pfister, who quit as national coach in Afghanistan in 2018 at the age of 80 years and 123 days.
It is not yet clear who will succeed Lucescu. However, Romanian icon Gheorghe Hagi is considered a promising candidate.
Lucescu should remain in the association in another role. Mr. Lucescu is expected to take on a new role at the level of the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) in the coming months, “so that Romanian football can benefit from all the knowledge that Mr. Lucescu has gained in his career and so that we can prepare our coaches and players even better,” said association president Razvan Burleanu.
