Article by Cezar Titor – Published Thursday, April 16, 2026, 11:38 p.m. / Updated Thursday, April 16, 2026, 11:43 p.m.
Răzvan Marin (29 years old), the midfielder of AEK Athens and the national team, scored from the penalty spot in the second leg of the Conference League quarter-finals against Rayo Vallecano. His goal took the score to 2-0 for the Greek team from the first half, after the 0-3 failure in the round.
The Romanian international beat Augusto Batalla without emotion, with a left-footed shot at half-height. After the success, Marin dedicated the goal to Mircea Lucescu, who passed away last week, on April 7, at the age of 80.
Turning his gaze towards the cameras, Răzvan Marin celebrated the goal with an emotional gesture: he formed with his fingers the heart sign and the letter “L”, the initial of the name of his former coach.
PHOTO. Răzvan Marin, gesture of the soul for “Il Luce”, after the success with Rayo Vallecano
It was the third success for Răzvan Marin in the current Conference League season. At one point, he became the national team's top scorer, largely due to his excellent penalty kicks. At the 2024 European Championship, he scored from the penalty spot in the decisive match against Slovakia, which sent us into the last 16 of the competition.
Tonight's penalty was committed by Andrei Rațiu, his teammate from the first Romanian team, who fouled Aboubakary Koita in the box, after the winger from Mauritania “spinned” the Romanian twice, before the tackle sanctioned by the “central” Espen Eskas.
Long distance conflict between the two in the fall
In the autumn, the late Mircea Lucescu and Răzvan Marin engaged in sharp statements from a distance, the conflict later flattened out, in the following actions of the national team, when the midfielder was used again by “Il Luce”.
“I had nothing with Răzvan Marin. But in Cyprus we lost ground because of him. Apart from Marius Marin, who recovered, he was clearly superior to his direct opponent, with the others we lost everything, that's where we lost the game. The same in Vienna. I couldn't go on like this, that's when I made the decision.
That's pretty much what happened, to be honest, but I wanted to do it with discretion, elegance and due respect. I had taken advantage of the fact that he said he was in pain, he was out of practice. He didn't train on Thursday and Friday”, said Lucescu in October.
“I'd rather be told that I'm no longer needed than that I'm injured. We are not children anymore, we are not 20 years old to be scared by certain words or not mature enough not to take things directly. That depends on each coach, I would have preferred him to tell me directly”, replied Răzvan Marin
