Article by Cosmin Nistor – Published on Sunday, 29 March 2026, 21:22 / Updated on Sunday, 29 March 2026 21:22
Ionuț Lupescu explained why he would never have appointed Mircea Lucescu as a selector, if he had won the elections for the position of president of the Romanian Football Federation in 2018. The former international spoke about the major differences between the work at the club and that of the national team, but also about the difficult relationship that can arise due to the large age difference between the coach and the players.
Mircea Lucescu took over the national team in August 2024 and had a perfect start, with four consecutive victories in the League of Nations. However, Romania missed the qualification for the World Championship after 28 years, being eliminated by Turkey in the play-off, score 0-1.
Ionuț Lupescu would not have brought Mircea Lucescu to the national team: “I would not have taken him for two reasons”
The current official of CS Dinamo clearly explained to Digi Sport Special why he would not have brought Lucescu to the national team's bench, noting that the decision is related to both the short period in the national team and the large age difference between the coach and the players.
“I would not have taken Lucescu on the technical bench if I had arrived, for two reasons. The first: he is a very good coach who works with the players every day and lets them use their minds, and this period with the national team is very short. The second, I think, is the distance and the age difference between him and the players, which is close to 50 years. Not that there is no respect, but this connectivity with the coach works better when the age difference is 15-20 years, as happened with Edi (no. Edward Iordănescu)”.
Mircea Lucescu, on video call with Ionuț Lupescu. Photo: Cristi Preda (GSP)
Serious medical problems for “Il Luce”
Mircea Lucescu went through difficult moments. He fainted during a technical session and was urgently transported to the Bucharest Emergency University Hospital.
Doctors have diagnosed arrhythmias, major heart rhythm disturbances that can cause fast, slow or irregular heartbeats.
Symptoms include dizziness, palpitations and chest pains, and the episode was allegedly triggered while the technician was analyzing the game against Turkey, as the coach himself stated.
