Article by Romeo Ene – Published on Sunday, 16 November 2025, 22:43 / Updated on Sunday, 16 November 2025 22:52
Bosnia – Romania 3-1. Mircea Lucescu (80 years old) did not manage to qualify the national team from the 2nd place in the barrier. The Tricolors will normally finish 3rd in Group H, behind Austria and Bosnia. Nicolae Negrilă (71 years old), former right defender with 27 selections and one goal for the national team, had a harsh speech to the selector.
Negrila evolved under the “tricolor” in the period 1980-1987, being trained including by Mircea Lucescu. But this aspect does not prevent him from taking the speech of the selector, as well as the game performed by his students.
Mircea Lucescu, beaten to dust by Nicolae Negrilă, the former student: “Let's not leave it to arbitration”
The former right defender was coached by Mircea Lucescu in his first term (1981-1986). He asked the selector to leave and stop refereeing, taking into account the game played.
More than that, Negrila accused him of the fact that he had favorable arbitrations during the time when he coached Dinamo and to stop apologizing.
He also criticized the first “11” he made, as well as the tactical choices. Drăguș had nothing to look for on the field in the view of the former right defender.
“Let's not give it to the referee, Mircea, because it's not the case. You had good referees during Dinamo's time. Those times are gone. The problem is that you didn't make the first 11 properly. Mircea Lucescu made a mistake, bad for the whole team, but bad for everything.
What can I say about Chipciu? He got a good game against Austria and that's it, Bancu out of the team, right? What did you have, nea Mircea, with Bancu? On the offensive level, Bancu helped Mihăilă much better.
How much did Chipciu climb and focus on the attack in this match with Bosnia? And to their beautiful goal, did the one from the Bosnians perplex us on all sides? You will say that I am subjective and it is about my Craiova. But what did nea Mircea have with Screciu and Baiaram?
Look, what happened to Olaru? How to leave out our best midfielder in the Championship? Olaru is not from my Craiova, but that doesn't stop me from expressing my anger.
Mircea kept forcing her with that Drăguș, but the poor guy barely plays abroad or doesn't even play, because I don't hear him scoring goals over there,” said Negrilă, for prosport.ro.
He asks Lucescu to resign: “Your time has passed”
“In my opinion, nea Mircea's time in coaching has passed, as our time has passed in football, either as footballers or as coaches.
Leave, nea Mircea, another younger one, without any resentment! My words are painful, but in my time I really had a strong national team. I played in the national team with a Ștefănescu, Balaci, Iorgulescu, Iordănescu, Țicleanu, Cămătaru, Marcel Răducanu, the then young man Gică Hagi had also come.
And, yes, I also had nea Mircea as a coach, but nea Mircea was around 40 or so years old at the time. What a team we had back then. That's why it hurts and I'm so angry now,” Negrila added.
Nicolae Negrilă and Antonie Solomon (photo: GSP archive)
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