Article by Sebastian Vasile – Published Sunday, April 12, 2026, 2:41 p.m. / Updated Sunday, April 12, 2026, 2:41 p.m.
Mircea Lucescu died at the age of 80, on the bed of the emergency hospital in Bucharest. He was accompanied by his wife Neli, but also Răzvan, who came specially from Greece to see his father before he died.
In the mid-60s, when young men were reaching out to young ladies when they got off the tram, a Foreign Trade student and a History student met in the alleys of the campus in Grozăvești. This is how the story about Mircea and Neli Lucescu begins. Revealed by journalist Daniel Nanu.
– How you met has been written before, but there are inconsistencies. Maybe you met at the tram station, maybe at the canteen of the student dormitory…
– Well, no… The story with the tram station is later, we met as students, in the alleys of the campus, we often saw each other in the canteen… The story with the tram, which you mention, was the beginning of our friendship.
“Mircea was shy. He didn't dare take my hand”
– What was Mircea Lucescu like?
– He 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.
– He was a student at ASE. You at…
– History. In 1962 I entered the Faculty of History. I had failed acting, I originally tried acting, but I didn't get in. It is very difficult to enter. I remember that the head of the commission was Sandina Stan. The jury included Mr. Ion Șahighian, a great director, who preferred the type of Irina Petrescu. That kind of actress, more sober, more internalized… I was more into mime, it seemed more interesting to me. So I failed. Maybe I didn't have talent, just a special sensitivity. I had taken theater and ballet classes at Casa Pionierilor in Târgu Jiu and I loved it. Since I couldn't return home after failing college, I studied history and succeeded.
The career of the player Mircea Lucescu. GSP.RO infographic
– I stayed at the meeting in the tram. How long have you actually known each other?
– For several months, I think. We used to meet, as I told you, at the cafeteria, in the alleys… He was playing at Sportul then, and they, as athletes, ate at the cafeteria in Grozăvești, where we also ate. Probably being smaller, the cooking was better at that canteen.
Smiles from the end of the tram
– He told me about an episode when you protested that they were given bigger portions.
– Yes! I caught his attention! He was a few people in front of me and I noticed that he was given a larger portion than the rest of us. Then I asked why this differentiation is made? He said something like, being athletes, they have a nutritional supplement, something like that.
– When does the meeting in the tram take place?
– Let me calculate… I was going home, to Târgu Jiu, during the winter vacation… So it was in December. We got married in 1967, we were friends for a year and a half. Yes, December 1965. The tram went down near Dâmbovița, from Grozăvești to Eroilor. I used to go to an aunt who lived on Ștefan Furtună street. In the tram, I was at one end, he was at the other. We just smiled… When I got off, he got off too. He asked if he could help me get my suitcase.
Mircea Lucescu, with his wife, Neli / Photo: GSP Archive
“That's how I noticed Mircea, after the overcoat”
– Did you know who it is?
– Yes, sure. How can I tell you now… We knew each other by sight. Mircea was often in the company of another player from Sportul, Dan Angelescu, Iordan was his first name. And they both had two overcoats, so, two identical clothes, they had taken from a trip of theirs in Poland. It suited them very well. That's how I noticed him. Well, he led me to my aunt's. We talked on the way, it was a pleasure. He asked me where I was going, I told him that to Târgu Jiu. He asked me for the address there. He told me that he will go to the camp in Predeal and write to me.
– I wrote to you, didn't I?
– Yes, he wrote me some illustrations. He also wrote to my mother, and to impress her, probably, in French. Something poetic, something about big snowflakes falling from the sky…
– Have you decided to meet when you return to Bucharest?
– When? So, on the tram? No, we didn't set a specific meeting, but it was clear that we would meet again in Bucharest. The first outing was at the Student House, at a show. It's that show I told you about, how he was trying to take my hand… A concert by Dan Spătaru. Around February 1966. It was then a very fashionable song by Giani Morandi, “I return on my knees to you”, which Dan Spătaru played tremendously. That was our first outing. So many years have passed since then, on June 21, 1967 we got married and that's it…
Enzo Bearzot and sweetcorns
– What is the best success of Mircea Lucescu's coaching career for you?
– There were so many, but for me the first place is the match with Sweden, from those preliminaries when Mircea qualified the national team for the European Championship in 1984. The first match of that campaign was played in Hunedoara, 3-1 against Cyprus, and Mircea was already challenged for caring too much about Hunedoara and the players from Corvinul. He won against Sweden 2-0, with the goals scored by Andone and Mişa Klein, God rest him. That is, exactly two of Hunedoara's children. Late at night when I got home, I remember that I went to the restaurant, at Lido, Mircea said to me: “Neli, we are on the right track”.
The next day, Enzo Bearzot, the coach of Italy, world champion at that time, visited us at home, on Știrbei Vodă. I served it with sweet croissants. I gave him an icon, I think, and a pipe. I took him to the airport, how fast Mircea drove! I was running late… Then, of course, there's the win against Italy. Oh, and a match at Modova Noua!
Neli Lucescu, Mircea's wife
Mircea Lucescu in a Dinamo – Corvinul from 1982 (photo: GSP archive)
– New Moldova?
– Yes, a match with Corvinul, in the year Mircea was promoted to division A. It was towards the end of the year, but it was so beautiful outside… A spring-like sun. At halftime, those from Moldova Noua were leading, 1-0. Mircea scolded the boys very badly in the dressing room. In the end, we won 3-1. Promotion was starting to show. And when he promoted with Brescia in Serie A it was very nice. We returned from Venice, where the last match had taken place, to Brescia by boat. And the supporters, with another ship, we were next to each other, created a dream atmosphere.
– The less pleasant memories?
– The match with Northern Ireland. I think I barely got a few words out of him in a week… And when they sacked him after that 4-0 with Austria it was a very difficult time. He did not understand why they did this, he always felt that he had been wronged. It was as hard then as it was after Northern Ireland.
