The love story between Neli and Mircea Lucescu. The coach was sending letters in French to his future mother-in-law
The love story between Neli and Mircea Lucescu began in the mid-60s, in the alleys of Grozăvești, when the two were students of Foreign Trade and History respectively. Journalist Daniel Nanu, who was preparing a book about Mircea Lucescu, spoke with Mrs. Neli before the coach's death.
Neli Lucescu, in 2009, when Mircea won the UEFA Cup PHOTO Facebook
“We met as students, in the alleys of the campus, we often saw each other in the canteen… Mircea was shy. And sentimental. I remember how, at first, we were at a show, he kept trying to take my hand. But he didn't dare. At one point, as we were sitting with our hands on the arms of the armchairs, I put my hand over his… He impressed me with this shyness. I really liked that“, said Neli Lucescu, who in 1962 entered the Faculty of History, after failing the Acting exam.
The two often crossed paths at the student cafeteria. “Il Luce” was a student sports player. They parted promising to keep in touch through the means of that time.
While he was in the training camp, the footballer at that time wrote to him illustrated. “He also wrote to my mother, and to impress her, probably, in French. Something poetic, something about big snowflakes falling from the sky…“, reveals Mrs. Neli.
Their first outing was at the Student House, at a show. It was a concert by Dan Spătaru, in February 1966.
They got married a year later, in 1967. Mircea Lucescu said that the wedding took place in a crowded sports context. At the beginning of their marriage, they lived in a modest room, without many utilities, until Mircea began to establish himself at Dinamo and they received a more spacious home.
Neli Lucescu graduated from the Faculty of History, but never practiced in the field. In a gesture of devotion, he chose to put his career on the back burner to follow Mircea everywhere.
“She was my balance. Without Neli, I wouldn't have been able to have this longevity in football. She took care of Răzvan's education, the house, everything that means my peace“, said “Il Luce” in an interview.
