Răzvan Lucescu
Lucescu as PAOK manager in 2018
Personal information
Date of birth (1969-02-17) 17 February 1969
Place of birth Bucharest, Romania
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 PAOK (manager)
Youth career
1981–1985 Dinamo București
1985–1987 Sportul Studențesc
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1992 Sportul Studențesc 24 (0)
1992–1993 Crema Calcio 3 (0)
1993–1996 Sportul Studențesc 81 (0)
1996–1997 Național București 31 (0)
1997–1998 Sportul Studențesc 31 (0)
1998–1999 Național București 23 (0)
1999–2000 Brașov 13 (0)
2000–2001 Rapid București 26 (0)
2001–2002 FCM Bacău 10 (0)
2002–2003 Rapid București 1 (0)
Total 243 (0)
International career
1989 Romania U21[1] 2 (0)
1998 Romania B[1] 1 (0)
Managerial career
2004 Brașov
2004–2007 Rapid București
2007–2009 Brașov
2009–2011 Romania
2011–2012 Rapid București
2012–2014 El Jaish
2014 Petrolul Ploiești
2014–2017 Xanthi
2017–2019 PAOK
2019–2021 Al Hilal
2021– PAOK
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Răzvan Lucescu (Romanian pronunciation: [rəzˈvan luˈt͡ʃesku]; born 17 February 1969) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently managing Greek Super League club PAOK.

As a player, he operated as a goalkeeper and spent most years of his career at Sportul Studențesc during three stints. Lucescu also represented Național București, Brașov, Rapid București and FCM Bacău in his country, as well as Crema Calcio abroad. He won his only national title with Rapid in the 2002–03 campaign.

He returned to Brașov in 2004 for his first role as a manager, before moving to Rapid where he guided the team to the Cupa României in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. Between 2009 and 2011, Lucescu was in charge of the Romania national team. His other managerial honours include six domestic trophies with El Jaish, PAOK and Al Hilal combined. With the latter side, he also won the AFC Champions League in 2019.

Playing career

Born in Bucharest, Lucescu made 240 appearances in the Divizia A for Sportul Studențesc, Național București, Brașov, Rapid București and FCM Bacău.[2]

Managerial career

Brașov

He began his coaching career with FC Brașov in the 2003–04 season spanning 15 matches in the first league.[3]

Rapid București

In June 2004, he was named coach of Rapid București.[4] In his first season, he qualified for the UEFA Cup, finishing third in the domestic league.

In the 2005–06 season, he had a dramatic start of the season, being dismissed for one night, before the owner of the club, George Copos, decided to take him back. Lucescu and his side managed to defeat teams such as Feyenoord Rotterdam, Shakhtar Donetsk (his father's team),[5][6] Hertha Berlin and Hamburger SV, reaching to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup. Rapid was taken out by city rivals Steaua Bucharest after two draws. In the league, he finished as runners-up, after being sixth at the half of the season.

The 2006–07 season was not as good. Rapid got eliminated from the UEFA Cup group stages after 4 draws, finishing fourth. However, in 2007 Lucescu decided not to continue with Rapid, after a fallout with some of the supporters and several disagreements with the club owner. He opted to return to Braşov.

Răzvan won the Romanian Cup with Rapid in 2006 and 2007, both leading Rapid into the UEFA Cup.[7]

Return to Brașov

Lucescu decided to start all over and, instead of accepting to manage bigger clubs from abroad, he decided to coach FC Brașov, who relegated two years before and finished 10th in the last season of the second division. He didn't disappoint and won promotion from the first place. Bringing Braşov back in the first league.[8]

Romania national team

Lucescu in 2009

On 29 April 2009, he was appointed head coach and general manager of Romania, leaving Braşov after a ninth-place finish in the first division and replacing Victor Piţurcă in this position.[9] After two years in control he gave up the national team, following the 3–0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, leaving it with chances of qualifying to the UEFA Euro 2012.[10]

Return to Rapid București

In June 2011, Lucescu returned to Rapid București for a second spell as coach. Lucescu's Rapid side defeated Polish champions Śląsk Wrocław 4–2 on aggregate in the play-off round to qualify for the UEFA Europa League group stage. The club finished fourth in Liga I and reached the finals of the 2011–12 Romanian Cup.[11]

El Jaish

On 31 May 2012, he was appointed at the helm of Qatari side El Jaish on a two-year deal.[12] In his first season in charge Lucescu won the 2012–13 Qatari Stars Cup[13] and led his side into the knockout stages of the AFC Champions League.[14] His contract with El Jaish was terminated in January 2014 and he was replaced by coach Nabil Maâloul who led the club to the runner-up spot in the Qatar Stars League.

Petrolul Ploiești

In March 2014, he was named the head coach of Liga I side Petrolul Ploiești replacing Cosmin Contra.[15] He was sacked six months later, Petrolul finished third in the domestic league and were knocked out in the semi-finals by Astra Giurgiu in the Romanian Cup and also eliminated in the play-offs of the Europa League.

Xanthi

On 24 September 2014, Lucescu signed a one-year contract with Greek Super League club Skoda Xanthi.[16] He guided them to their first Greek Cup final in their history.[17] Lucescu went on to extend his contract with the Akrites for a further two seasons.

Lucescu during a press conference with PAOK in 2018.

PAOK

On 11 August 2017, Lucescu would return to the benches of Superleague Greece as he signed a three-year contract with PAOK.[18] His tenure at the club started against Ostersund for the play-off round of 2017–18 UEFA Europa League. PAOK went to win the first leg in Thessaloniki, 3–1, but a 0–2 defeat in Sweden in the second leg eliminated them from the competition, as they failed to reach the Europa League group stages for the first time in 5 years. At the home front, PAOK had a turbulent season, as they found themselves fighting for the league title with real chances. However, the derbies came to disastrous outcomes, with PAOK losing to Olympiacos due to an awarded 3–0 win, as the match was suspended for fan behavior. Against rivals AEK Athens, the president of the team, Ivan Savvidis, stormed onto the pitch with a pistol in his holster after a late PAOK goal was overturned after protests from AEK, causing the league to be suspended.[19] PAOK was later punished with a reduction of 3 points and the awarding of the game to AEK by 0–3. The awarded derbies, as well as the court deduction, played a big role in PAOK losing the league title to AEK, as they finished the championship 2nd, 6 points behind their double-headed eagle rivals. Afterwards, PAOK won the Greek Cup after defeating AEK 2–0 in the Cup final in OAKA, Athens, which was viewed as a consolation prize for the lost championship.

In the 2018–19 season, PAOK begin their European adventure in the Second Qualifying Round of the UEFA Champions League, eliminating Basel and Spartak Moscow, before losing in the play-offs against Benfica and dropping to the UEFA Europa League group stages. PAOK finished fourth in a group with Chelsea, BATE Borisov and Videoton, only winning 4–1 against BATE in Barysaw and losing all the other matches.

Despite the early European exit, the team enjoyed a great domestic season. On 21 April 2019, PAOK won their third league title and their first in 34 years after beating Levadiakos at home with 5–0.[20] Lucescu led his side to league triumph without a single defeat, a milestone last reached by Panathinaikos 65 years before, and finished the season with a record-breaking 80 points.[21]

Al-Hilal

On 28 June 2019, Lucescu parted ways with PAOK after receiving an offer to manage Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal.[22] The club reportedly paid PAOK the manager's €2M release clause. Răzvan had rejected the proposal from the specific team in May, however he changed his mind after a strong disagreement with the president of PAOK Ivan Savvidis and his son Giorgos Savvidis who had different plans for the team from them, that Lucescu had. As a result, he judged that he had no reason to stay in the team if his own plans for the team were not accepted, and so he left taking advantage of the fact that Al Hilal again proposed to him.[23][24] He brought the club to its third AFC Champions League-era title and first continental title in 17 years, after a 3–0 win on aggregate over Urawa Red Diamonds in the 2019 AFC Champions League Final.[25] He was dismissed after a 1–0 defeat against Damac in February 2021.[26]

Return to PAOK

After two years in Saudi Arabia, Lucescu returned to PAOK for a second term, signing a three-year contract with a salary of €1.7 million without including the bonuses and became the highest paid coach in the history of PAOK.[27][28][29][30] In the Super League, PAOK finished 2nd 19 points behind the champion Olympiacos,[31] which, however, eliminated in the semifinals of the Greek Cup[32] to find PAOK for the 5th time in 6 years in a cup final where it suffered a 1–0 defeat by Panathinaikos in the final in which there were many protests for refereeing against PAOK.[33][34] In the Europa Conference League he managed to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament where he was eliminated by Marseille where there were also protests against refereeing against PAOK.[35]

Personal life

Lucescu's father, Mircea, also coached the Romania national team and Rapid București, and is one of the most decorated managers of all time.[36]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 10 January 2024
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team Nat From To Record Ref.
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Brașov Romania 5 February 2004 10 June 2004 15 5 3 7 20 15 +5 033.33 [37]
Rapid București Romania 10 June 2004 27 May 2007 133 74 37 22 227 110 +117 055.64 [38]
Brașov Romania 14 June 2007 11 June 2009 73 40 21 12 121 52 +69 054.79 [39]
Romania Romania 29 April 2009 4 June 2011 21 7 7 7 25 26 −1 033.33 [40]
Rapid București Romania 4 June 2011 31 May 2012 48 25 11 12 78 47 +31 052.08 [41]
El Jaish Qatar 31 May 2012 15 January 2014 68 39 9 20 112 67 +45 057.35 [42]
Petrolul Ploiești Romania 11 March 2014 16 September 2014 28 13 9 6 48 24 +24 046.43 [43]
Xanthi Greece 24 September 2014 11 June 2017 109 38 37 34 123 109 +14 034.86 [44]
PAOK Greece 11 August 2017 28 June 2019 92 68 12 12 194 61 +133 073.91 [45]
Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia 1 July 2019 14 February 2021 72 45 17 10 146 67 +79 062.50
PAOK Greece 26 May 2021 present 136 76 32 28 232 126 +106 055.88
Total 797 430 195 172 1,326 700 +626 053.95

Honours

Player

Național București

Rapid București

Manager

Rapid București

Brașov

El Jaish

Xanthi

PAOK

Al-Hilal

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 "Răzvan Lucescu profile". 11v11. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  2. ↑ "The playing career of Răzvan Lucescu". RomanianSoccer.ro. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  3. ↑ "Răzvan Lucescu in 2003–04 with FC Braşov". Labtof.ro. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  4. ↑ "Rapid appointment for Lucescu". UEFA. 10 June 2004. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  5. ↑ "Shakhtar Donetsk 0–1 Rapid București". UEFA. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  6. ↑ "SAHTIOR – RAPID 0–1 Dulce si amar" [SAHTIOR – RAPID 0–1 Bitter and sweet] (in Romanian). jurnalul.ro. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  7. ↑ "Lucescu makes Rapid exit". UEFA. 28 May 2007. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  8. ↑ "Coaching profile Răzvan Lucescu". UEFA. 31 May 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  9. ↑ "Romania appoint Lucescu". Worldsoccer.com. 29 April 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  10. ↑ "Lucescu leaves Romania post". UEFA. 5 June 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  11. ↑ "Dinamo a învins Rapid scor 1–0 si a câstigat Cupa României". Mediafax (in Romanian). 23 May 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  12. ↑ "El Jaish signs deal with new coach Lucescu". Qatar Stars League. 31 May 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  13. ↑ "El Jaish clinch Qatar Stars Cup". The Peninsula Qatar. 25 March 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  14. ↑ "El Jaish 3–1 Al Jazira". The AFC. 3 April 2013. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  15. ↑ "Lucescu takes charge at Petrolul". Eurosport. 11 March 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  16. ↑ "Lucescu, Sa Pinto take Greek club coaching jobs". Sports.Yahoo.com. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  17. ↑ Λουτσέσκου: "Ο Ολυμπιακός άξιζε το Κύπελλο". Sport24.gr (in Greek). 23 May 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  18. ↑ "Greece's PAOK names Răzvan Lucescu as new coach". Associated Press. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  19. ↑ "Greek Super League: Angry PAOK owner Ivan Savvidis storms pitch with gun - Goal.com". goal.com.
  20. ↑ "PAOK fans celebrate their 1st Greek league title in 34 years". The Washington Post. 21 April 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  21. ↑ "PAOK 1st undefeated team in Greek league season for 55 years". Yahoo! News. 5 May 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  22. ↑ "Al Hilal name Romanian Lucescu as head coach". Asian Football Confederation. 30 June 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
  23. ↑ "Λουτσέσκου: Από τον ΠΑΟΚ έφυγα γιατί δεν μπορούσα να πείσω τον Σαββίδη να προσαρμοστεί στις ιδέες μου". ProtoThema (in Greek). 25 July 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  24. ↑ "Λουτσέσκου: "Ο ΠΑΟΚ είναι στην ψυχή μου"". www.tzantzaras.gr. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  25. 1 2 "Final – 2nd Leg: Al Dawsari, Gomis strikes seal Al Hilal title". Asian Football Confederation. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  26. ↑ "'We achieved a dream,' says departing Al-Hilal coach Răzvan Lucescu". Arab News. 16 February 2021.
  27. ↑ "ΠΑΟΚ: Ανακοίνωσε επίσημα τον Λουτσέσκου για τρία χρόνια". ProtoThema (in Greek). 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  28. ↑ Team, Onsports (26 May 2021). "ΠΑΟΚ: Καλωσόρισε τον 'στρατηγό' Ραζβάν Λουτσέσκου για τα επόμενα τρία χρόνια! (video+photos)". Onsports.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  29. ↑ "Ο Ραζβάν Λουτσέσκου επιστρέφει στον ΠΑΟΚ!". www.gazzetta.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  30. ↑ "Ο Λουτσέσκου έγινε ο πιο ακριβοπληρωμένος προπονητής με 5,1 εκατομμύρια ευρώ". www.sport24.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  31. ↑ "Δεύτερος ο ΠΑΟΚ, έσπασε το αήττητο του Παναθηναϊκού στα πλέι-οφ: η τελική βαθμολογία της Super League". SDNA (in Greek). 17 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  32. ↑ "Ολυμπιακός - ΠΑΟΚ 1-1 παρ.: 'Χρυσός' Τσόλακ στο 108' και μεγάλη πρόκριση του Δικεφάλου στο Καραϊσκάκης". www.sport24.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  33. ↑ "ΠΑΟΚ: Επιστολές διαμαρτυρίας στον Κλάτενμπεργκ και στους φορείς του τελικού Κυπέλλου". Pronews.gr (in Greek). 23 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  34. ↑ "ΠΑΟΚ: Στέλνει επιστολές διαμαρτυρίας σε Κλάτενμπεργκ, ΕΠΟ, υπουργεία και αστυνομία για τα επεισόδια στον τελικό Κυπέλλου". Newsbeast (in Greek). 23 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  35. ↑ Μαρκάτος, Νίκος (10 April 2022). "Μαρσέιγ - ΠΑΟΚ: Δεν αδικήθηκε απλά, τον "εσφαξαν" - Και το δεύτερο γκολ offside! (vids)". sportime.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  36. ↑ "Europe's ultimate footballing families". UEFA. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  37. ↑ "Răzvan Lucescu in 2003–04 with FC Braşov". Labtof.ro. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  38. ↑ "FC Rapid București: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  39. ↑ "FC Brașov: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  40. ↑ "Romania: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  41. ↑ "FC Rapid București: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  42. ↑ "El Jaish: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  43. ↑ "Petrolul Ploiești: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  44. ↑ "Xanthi: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  45. ↑ "PAOK FC: Matches". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  46. ↑ "Έτσι έφτασαν στον τελικό Ολυμπιακός και Ξάνθη!". www.sport24.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  47. ↑ "Ο ΠΑΟΚ πρωταθλητής Ελλάδας 2018-2019". www.sport24.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  48. ↑ "Η ΑΕΚ άξια Πρωταθλήτρια 2018". AEK F.C. Official Web Site (in Greek). Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  49. ↑ ΙΝ, Σύνταξη (5 May 2022). "Super League: Ο Ολυμπιακός πρωταθλητής στο… εξοχικό του". in.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  50. ↑ "Σαν σήμερα το 2018: Ο τελικός του Αντρέ και της λύτρωσης για τον ΠΑΟΚ! (pics-vids) | Gazzetta". www.gazzetta.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  51. ↑ Βιδάλη, Αθανασία. "Τελικός Κυπέλλου 2019: Κυπελλούχος ο ΠΑΟΚ - Τρομερό ντάμπλ για τον «Δικέφαλο» του Βορρά!". www.dikaiologitika.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  52. ↑ "Σύλλογος μεγάλος και Κυπελλούχος ξανά, ο ψυχωμένος Παναθηναϊκός 1-0 τον ΠΑΟΚ". www.sport24.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  53. ↑ "Προπονητής της χρονιάς στη Ρουμανία ο Λουτσέσκου". tempo24.news (in Greek). 21 December 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  54. ↑ "Προπονητής της χρονιάς στη Ρουμανία ο Λουτσέσκου". SDNA (in Greek). 2 December 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  55. ↑ "Luna juniorilor » Octavian Popescu a fost ales "Jucătorul lunii martie", iar Răzvan Lucescu - "Antrenorul lunii"! Cum s-a votat" [Month of the juniors » Octavian Popescu was chosen "Player of the month in March", and Răzvan Lucescu - "Coach of the month"! How the voting took place]. Gazeta Sporturilor (in Romanian). 4 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  56. ↑ "Καλύτερος προπονητής ο Λουτσέσκου, καλύτερος παίκτης ο Φορτούνης". Matrix24 (in Greek). 9 May 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  57. ↑ "لوشيسكو وجونز ورومارينهو يحصدون أول جوائز الأفضلية". spl.com.sa (in Arabic). Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  58. ↑ "لوشيسكو وجوفينكو وبن مصطفى يحصدون جوائز الأفضلية لشهر يناير".
  59. ↑ "لوشيسكو والجبلي والمعيوف يحصدون جوائز الأفضلية لشهر فبراير".
  60. ↑ "أفضلية نوفمبر تذهب إلى رازافان والسومة وبخاري".
  61. ↑ "AFC MEN TEAM 2020". IFFHS. 16 December 2020.
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