What Mircea Lucescu meant for football and football for Mircea Lucescu. Rednic: “He came with infusions on the bench. He didn't leave anyone in trouble!”
Mircea Lucescu died at the age of 80, on an April evening, which left Romanian football poorer. Admitted to the Bucharest University Hospital, where he had been in a coma for several days, the most famous Romanian coach left discreetly, leaving behind a huge legacy.
Mircea Rednic and Mircea Lucescu Photo/Facebook
Among those deeply affected by this loss is Mircea Rednic, who spoke with a broken voice about the man and coach who influenced entire generations. For him, Mircea Lucescu was not just a big name, but a model of ambition, discipline and genuine love for football.
Rednic confessed that he wished someone had convinced Mircea Lucescu to stop in time, to detach himself from Romania's technical bank before the burden became too heavy. In his opinion, maybe the game against Turkey should not have found him there, in the front line.
“We were bound. It's like something's missing!”
“We have been connected for over 40 years. We played together. At 18, I came from Luceafărul and he was more than a coach. The man who guided my career, my life. It helped me become a man. I can't even talk, I'm so sorry (no crying). Tomorrow is my birthday and I am sitting at the coffin of nea Mircea.
We were connected, he gave me advice all the time. He told us some things that helped us in our careers. An extraordinary man and one of the best coaches in history. He had the knowledge of football, of socializing with the people around him, with the leaders, because it was not easy at all, especially at that time. He managed huge performances.
It's like something is missing, he was always showing up at matches. That's what he wanted, football meant life to him. Even when we went out to a restaurant, he only talked about football. He did nothing else, tactics, training. He lived 100% for football. He did a lot of good for football. I had discussions with him when he came to the national team, because I knew how it is in Romania.
“But he never let anyone down!”
That's how we Romanians are, we quickly forget everything. He really wanted the national team to reach the World Cup, although he was aware that the team was not the best. Ok, Soul Generation, but you can't do it with just the soul, you need results. It is clear that the match against Turkey affected him. He suffered, especially after the comments before and after the game. I had a heart attack on the bench during the match with Steaua, it consumes you enormously. It all adds up, year after year. Work with 30 different characters, keep everyone happy. I regret that we didn't have the strength to convince him to give it up, but we couldn't. It also came with infusions on the bench. He didn't want people to say that he was letting the team down. But he never let anyone down.
“The FRF should have spoken to him!”
Health is more important than anything. I saw after the match against Turkey that he had some problems, he was not well, he was suffering enormously and he had to intervene since then. He was sick when he was analyzing, because he was consuming himself. When you get empty the way you get, it's normal to get upset. It's not the coach's fault.
He was aware that he would be attacked after missing the qualification. He was left alone, the players and those from the Federation escaped. I don't want to get into the discussion now. He didn't even need a coach, it was about qualifying for the World Cup. I had gone to Belgium, but I came back. I was actually talking to those around me, nea Mircea called the assembly!”said Mircea Rednic, according to digisport.ro.
