PHOTO/VIDEO Thousands of Romanians say goodbye to Mircea Lucescu, at the National Arena. A major league coach knelt in front of the coffin
Supporters, football lovers, well-known names from local sports and more continued to go to the National Arena to pay tribute to Mircea Lucescu, on Thursday, the day before the funeral. Access is allowed until 8 p.m.
Among those who went on Thursday to pay tribute to the most titled Romanian coach in history was Daniel Pancu, the current technician of CFR Cluj, who in his playing career collaborated with Mircea Lucescu both at Rapid and at Beşiktaş.
Pancu crossed himself, knelt down and stayed for a few moments at the head of the former coach, according to GOLAZO.
“It's hard, I don't think there's a word to describe him. He was God's gift to football. I lived with Mircea for four years (…). He was a man in whom you could find everything, education, culture, passion taken to the extreme. A man of details, he found the simplest way to make you go far. Without Mircea Lucescu, I would not have been even half as far. Maybe I would have been lost, it was a chance, a luck to have him I have been since I was 19. A huge loss,” said Daniel Pancu.
“If he was born in another country, he would have been called Sir Mircea Lucescu”
Among those present at the National Arena on Thursday was Marius Șumudică, another former player of Mircea Lucescu during the time he coached Rapidul.
“A man who gave everyone the best that he had in him (…). If he was born in another country, he would have been called Sir Mircea Lucescu. And he deserves it, because he is a gentleman from all points of view. You see what is happening all over the world with moments of silence, everywhere the newspapers wrote whole pages, this means to have value, to be a man who left his mark on this much-loved phenomenon”, said Șumudica, quoted by Agerpres.
UEFA decided to organize some moments of silence in memory of Mircea Lucescu before the matches taking place this week in the European cups.
Traian Băsescu: “I have only one word to say”
The former president of Romania was at the National Arena on Thursday with a wreath of white flowers, which he placed at the base of the catafalque. The crown was carried by two representatives of the Romanian Gendarmerie, who also guard the catafalque, according to Agerpres.
“I have only one word to say: respect for Mircea Lucescu. He had an extraordinary life, dedicated to sport and Romania. Respect for Lucescu”, said Traian Băsescu at the exit.
In 2009, after Mircea Lucescu won the UEFA Cup with Shakhtar Donetsk, former president Traian Băsescu decorated him with the National Order “Star of Romania” in the rank of Knight.
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan was also at the National Arena on Thursday morning, who said he was there “as a sign of respect for the lifelong work and career of a man with a prestigious career.”
Mircea Lucescu, the third most titled coach in the world, died on Tuesday, at the age of 80, and will be buried on Friday, at the Bellu Cemetery in the Capital, with military honors.
