Mircea Lucescu has nightmares with the Ceaușescu family: “We couldn't win the championship with Dinamo, because his son was at Steaua”

A day before Christmas, Mircea Lucescu (80 years old) appeared with an interview in the Italian publication “Gazzetta dello Sport (gazzetta.it) in which he resumed his favorite topic: the fight with the Ceaușescu family. With the last European trophy won on May 20, 2009 (UEFA Cup, with Shakhtar Donetsk), at the “Şukru Saracoglu” stadium in Istanbul, “Il Luce” is called to do a miracle with the national team Romania and to eliminate Turkey in the World Cup qualifiers.

Lucescu exchanged shirts with Pelé at the 1970 World Cup PHOTO Video capture

The Italians remember that Mircea Lucescu lifted over his head a number of 36 trophies (only Pep Guardiola and Alex Ferguson surpass him) in five countries, and at 80 years old he leads Romania, with which he dreams of reaching the World Cup. So they unearthed him and started with the player period. If in Romania he says that he would have won the Champions Cup with Dinamo, in Italy he said that he was about to triumph in the Champions League, if the war in Donbas had not started in 2014.

What kind of player was Mircea Lucescu:
“A winger with exceptional crosses, thanks to which Georgescu won the Golden Shoe. I played for Dinamo Bucharest for 10 years, I entered the national team, and in 1970 I was the captain of Romania against Pelé's Brazil and they even invited me to play for Fluminense. They had noticed me in a tournament with four teams at the Maracana: Romania, Flamengo, Vasco da Gama and Independiente. I was the best player and they gave me a car radio as a reward. Then, in 1977, the earthquake hit Bucharest…“.

“What we do today, I was doing 50 years ago”

Escape from Bucharest:
“My house was destroyed, I had to run away. At Hunedoara they helped me, and I helped them: I became a player and a coach. I don't conform to everyone's football, I develop my own mentality. First: education, at all levels. Then, discipline, not imposed, but based on respect, and education: I take the children to museums, to the theater, to factories. He must understand the world. Finally, different tactics and working methods. Hyper-offensive play: possession of the ball, creating spaces, pressing, tactical fouls if necessary. What we are doing today, I was doing 50 years ago“.

Football in the Ceaușescu era:
“I couldn't win the championship with Dinamo, because his son was at Steaua, but my position is a delicate one because I was also training the national team. And there I do as I please: I immediately bring three or four young players from clubs in the province. Everyone is against me, so we organize a friendly: my team against a selection of the best players from Bucharest, made by journalists. We beat them 3-1. There, they understood that my ideas work. To prepare for the qualification for the 1984 European Championship, I take the boys to South America: we play against Argentina, Chile and Peru, and in El Salvador there was a revolution and we had to run at night… We win the qualification group, also beating the world champions Italy. In 1986, I resign, three years later Ceaușescu falls and I win the championship and the cup. Do you know where I was when I heard the news? In Pisa, Anconetani's guest for Italy-Argentina. Finally, I accepted his advances. But working with him was difficult, he always wanted to be the star. I have pleasant memories of him, a cheerful man, a fervent Catholic who never misses a Mass in the Piazza dei Miracoli. Generous: at each training camp in Montecatini, they give the players a gift. But he also wants to make money: he sells me one a month, then kicks me out“.

How he signed with Brescia:
“By accident. Corioni contacted me, but Standard Liège and Porto also wanted me. So, me, my wife and my son made three cards and drew lots. But when it came time to extract, one was missing, oddly enough. I found it two days later, stuck to the sole of a shoe: Brescia. A sign of destiny! Chorions? A man with extraordinary intuition. Italy prospered thanks to the colonies: the Dutch in Milan, the Germans in Inter, the Uruguayans in Cagliari… so I convinced him to bring Romanians to Brescia. Let's take the example of Hagi, who was not happy at Real Madrid. He trusts me, makes a smart choice and two years later he plays a great World Cup and Cruyff calls him to Barça. The great thing about Corioni is that with him I can launch young players and he is happy because then he sells them. I put Pirlo on at 16, 2-1 against Ipswich in the Anglo-Italian game, he loses the ball and it's 2-2“.

Moratti, the president of Inter:
“A real gentleman, he is trying to convince me to stay, but at Inter I have 10 players whose contracts were expiring, and he had announced that he would bring in Lippi next year, which is causing me problems. The attack consisted of Baggio, Djorkaeff, Recoba, Ronaldo, Zamorano… Moratti was in love with strikers. If they had also transferred some strong defenders, who knows how much Inter would have earned. I have an exceptional relationship with Ronie: a friend brings me oranges from Sicily, I give him some, and he returns bottles of Brahma beer“.

“If the war in Donbas had not come, maybe we could have won the Champions League”

Rinat Akhmetov and the era of Shakhtar Donetsk:
“I tell him that before we can build a big team, we have to play big football. I don't want champions, but talents to develop, and I know the Brazilians well. I see Neymar and Casemiro, both very good, but they tell me they can't be bought. Okay, the others? Douglas Costa, Teixeira, Fernandinho come, we create a system where Shakhtar earn a lot, and if they sell someone, I already have a replacement. Akhmetov doesn't do it for himself, he invests everything in the team. He's building the most beautiful stadium in Europe, we're beating the big teams, we're young, strong, we're playing great. We win the UEFA Cup and every year we reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League or something like that. If the war in Donbas had not come, maybe we could have won the Champions League one day. Akhmetov is a wonderful president because he wants to learn, after matches we go to dinner or karaoke, because he likes to sing, we talk about football, about life“.

Why he chose Dinamo Kyiv:
“They called me, I thought they wanted some friendly advice, but instead they asked me to take the team that lost the championship by 23 points. I agreed and with the same team we won by 11 points. One day they told me that 30 million euros had come in and they wanted to know who to buy. I replied: nobody, better build a new gym and get some buses for the youth teams. These are the purchases that will stick“.

In 1970, he swapped shirts with Pelé:
“I still have it. It's dirty, I've never washed it. I framed it, it's in a museum“.