In Romanian football, even abroad, the name Lucescu is synonymous with excellence. For many, Mircea Lucescu (80 years old) is not portrayed as only a coach, but it is percept that the man who brought the change – has transformed teams, built generations of footballers and obtained titles and trophies where few believed it was possible.
Mircea Lucescu and his son, Răzvan Lucescu. Facebook photo
But what happens when the most titled coach in the history of Romania is your father? Răzvan Lucescu (56 years old) has evolved in a world in which the inevitable comparison was part of every professional step, throughout his career. Along with each victory, every tactic designed until late at night and each goal completed in the locker room, floated the same unspeakable question on the lips of the supporters: “Is he really a good coach or is he just the son of Mircea Lucescu?”
“I wanted to build my name!”
In a context such as performance football, where the name can be a blessing or conviction, Răzvan Lucescu has tried to form an identity. In countless times, the coach tried to explain what it means to live in the shadow of a legend and what are the steps he had to follow to create his own path.
“My idea was to create my own road and build my name. I no longer have the pressure I felt 8-15 years ago when I started this job. I have never sought to compare myself with my father or I have never proposed to reach his level, to be higher than him or close to his level. My idea was to create my own road and build my name, Răzvan Lucescu, as it can be. I feel that I did what I proposed! ”, Răzvan Lucescu recognized, according to the speakers.
The most titled coaches in football history: Alex Ferguson (49 trophies), Pep Guardiola (39 trophies), Mircea Lucescu (38 trophies)
Mirecea and Răzvan Lucescu represent two completely different generations in the Romanian coach. The senior's reputation is extremely solid, with a career that extends over 40 years. Considered one of the greatest Romanian coaches, Mircea Lucescu managed to obtain numerous national titles in Romania, Turkey, Italy and not only, but also an UEFA Cup with Shahtior Donțek, in 2009.
He also imposed his notoriety on the technical bank of the national team of Romania, but also of Turkey. In 2015, Mircea Lucescu became the fifth man to train 100 matches in the Champions League, after Ferguson, Ancelotti, Wenger and Mourinho.
Răzvan Lucescu, on the other hand, has a developing career. He started training in the 2000s and left his mark in the locker room of several bands such as Rapid București, Paok Thessaloniki, Al Hilal and Al Jaish. It has registered notable performances over time, winning the title in Greece with PAOK in the 2018/2019 season, without defeat in the championship, and in the season 2023/2024, but also two cups of Greece. He obtained the title and Cup in Saudi Arabia and the Asian Champions League (2019) with Al Hilal and was the coach of the national team of Romania between 2019 and 2021, but without notable results.
A 10 -minute speech, a life lesson
In a composition with the style of his father, who is known for the offensive, possession and creativity game, Răzvan Lucescu is characterized by a more defensive, organized and predictable style. “He entered the room where I was sitting. With his hands in his pocket, he tactically walked from the door to the window. I was expecting to quarrel very hard. No voice raised. Had a discussion with me for 10 minutes. I do not think there could be no more efficient and better discussion, more motivating than that of that time.
Mircea and Răzvan Lucescu, before becoming renowned coaches. PHOTO Personal Archive
He told me, and with that I stayed: first, you make me laugh, secondly, if you really want to get something from life, you have to learn to work and learn to respect others!”, Stated Răzvan Lucescu, according to Golazo.ro.
Rapid retrospective Bucharest vs. Shahtior Donetsk: Lucescu duel in Europe
The rivalries are part of the show, especially in a context of such magnitude, when the stakes are not only limited to the land, but also outside it.
In November 2005, Răzvan Lucescu, in the position of technician of the Rapid București band, was imposed in front of his father, Mircea Lucescu, who at that time trained Shahtior Donțek, in the UEFA Cup group, the current Europa League, with a score of 1-0. The only official match in which the two were the coaches of the adverse bands.
It was not only a football match, but a lesson of respect between generations, tested in a context where blood feelings and bonds should not be taken into account. The son passed his father, who was at the same time a mentor.
“I was enjoying the defeat of my father”
“It was a special match. Before the game I was detached from the situation that was. And the psychological aspect mattered enormously, because it was difficult for those there to imagine that the son would be able to overcome his father.
Only then, after the end of the match, did I realize what had happened. A strange sensation was the first time I was enjoying my father's defeat. We are very close and all my life we have lived his matches with great intensity. And now it was the first time I was enjoying his defeat, and this thing produced a feeling of shame, unpleasant …! “,
declared, in 2008, Răzvan Lucescu, according to prosport.ro.
“If you were not silent, you were nothing!”
The last name Lucescu was a difficult burden for coach and footballer Răzvan Lucescu. And this aspect was easy to see from the outside. Robert Niță, a former striker at Rapid, spoke about the hidden, early experiences of Răzvan Lucescu, when he still shook the playing boots.
“He always told him the world that if he was not his father, he would come nowhere, only because of him play. I could see him suffering and that made him train hard. These things grind you, consume you. Okay, it also ambitrates you, but some presses and destroys this pressure. The world shouted after him: “Well, if you were not silent, you were nothing!”, declared, Robert Niță, according to Fanatik.ro.
“I have never proposed to get something he got!”
Recently, Mircea Lucescu turned 80, three quarters of them dedicating to football and the players she raised with pride and interest. Răzvan Lucescu, one of his most important novices, acknowledged that he had not stopped a second of his father, both as a coach, mentor and man.
“Dad, first of all, is an educator. When I say an educator I refer to life principles, and life education, but especially to football education. He does not train the player, he educates the player. Dad is a Romanian who has won so much and who, somehow, is unique in this world football. He is 80 years old and still trains. I do not know how many such performances have succeeded.
“He told me that it would be difficult to accept the world”
Slowly, I was around him, I saw how he was motivated, how he prepared his matches, training, seriousness in work, in preparation of complex situations, attention to details. Here's what I learned from him. It made me think very well about what I have to do in life, the seriousness with which I have to look at things and the fact that I have a responsibility, because I represent him.
He told me that it would be very difficult for me in football, he does not want to suffer, because it will be difficult to accept the world, I will be compared from the beginning with all his career, everything he did. I never proposed to compare myself to him or get something he got. No, no. It was simply my passion. The only thing I wanted, I wanted to make a name of mine in football. I am grateful to be my father! ”, He acknowledged, according to Golazo.ro, Răzvan Lucescu.
