Former Romania head coach Mircea Lucescu, 80, was reported on Sunday evening to have suffered a deterioration in his condition overnight after being taken ill in hospital.
According to the report, Lucescu is being treated in the intensive care unit at the University Hospital in Bucharest and was placed in an induced coma after suffering a heart attack two days earlier, shortly before he had been expected to be discharged following a previous health scare.
The same report stated that three resuscitation procedures were required to save the former coach, who managed several Italian clubs in the 1990s, including Inter and Brescia. It also claimed that he suffered a second cardiac episode and was again successfully resuscitated, before developing serious arrhythmias overnight.
Lucescu had insisted on being on the bench for Romania’s World Cup play-off semi-final defeat to Turkey. Romania’s failure to reach the next World Cup reportedly led to his dismissal.
The Romanian Football Federation posted a message of support on Facebook, saying that there are moments in football when the score no longer matters, and the only victory worth fighting for is life, adding that the whole Romanian football family was behind him.
It is also said to be a difficult time for the Lucescu family. His son, Razvan, still took charge of PAOK in their derby against Panathinaikos on Sunday, a match which ended goalless, and is expected to travel to Romania afterwards to be with his father and family.
