Romania manager Mircea Lucescu was rushed to hospital on Sunday after falling ill during a team meeting ahead of the squad’s final training session before travelling to Slovakia.
The 80-year-old, who has previously managed Inter Milan, Brescia and Shakhtar Donetsk, collapsed in front of his players. His assistant, Florin Constantinovici, was first on the scene and called an ambulance. Medical staff stabilised Lucescu and he was taken to hospital, where he is currently reported to be in a stable condition.
Doctors have said the episode was a fainting spell brought on by exhaustion and stress, and was not a heart attack. They have advised him to avoid further stress and to sit out the upcoming friendly in Slovakia, which had been due to be his final match in charge. He is currently under observation at a university hospital in Bucharest for further tests and specialist monitoring.
Lucescu himself spoke to Romanian news agency GSP by telephone, saying: “I feel fine now, I have fully recovered, but I am still undergoing tests so I remain in hospital.”
The Romanian Football Federation released a statement confirming the sequence of events, noting that medical staff acted swiftly, two emergency response teams attended the training ground, and that Lucescu’s condition was quickly stabilised.
Lucescu has been battling an undisclosed illness for several months. He had only recently left hospital to lead Romania in their World Cup play-off against Turkey, the country’s first such match in 28 years, and his words before that game were widely reported.
“When the doctors told me I could carry on coaching, I focused on what I needed to do for my country,” he said. “I spoke with the federation and they told me they couldn’t find another solution. I’m not in my best shape, so I would have stepped aside if there had been another option. But I cannot leave like a coward. We have to believe we can qualify.”
