UPFROnT
24 November 2020 FourFourTwoMIRCEA LUCESCU
INTERVIEW
Did you always know you were going
to become a manager?
Yes, I knew that all along. I was always
a ‘thinker’ of football. I liked to analyse
it. It wasn’t by chance that I became
national team captain when I was just- I used to get the players together
in my room and talk about the games.
What was it like to be the coach of
Romania during communism?
In the communist regime, every time
I wanted to leave the country with my
team there were problems with visas.
The authorities were afraid that some
players might leave and never come
back. I used to go to politicians myself
and ask them for support. At one point,
I held talks with [former Real Madrid
and Yugoslavia coach] Milan Miljanic
regarding a regional league between
Serbia and Romania. I wanted teams
from the western part of Romania to
play Serbian sides from the east, but
[president] Nicolae Ceausescu found
out and was very unhappy. He said he
was the only one able to speak about
such things, and I was questioned by
the federal board.When you joined then-Serie A outfit
Pisa in 1990, you managed a young
Diego Simeone. What did you make
of the Argentine?
Technically he was a catastrophe, but
he was a very intelligent footballer. He
was playing just behind the striker but
didn’t have the attributes required for
the role. He didn’t have good dribbling
or shooting abilities, but he did possess
an excellent feel for the game. I’m not
surprised by what he went on to do as
a player at Atletico Madrid and Inter,
then as a manager. He’s always been
a good communicator.You managed Shakhtar Donetsk for
12 years, winning eight league titles
and the 2009 UEFA Cup (top right)...
The club developed fantastically and
the owner, Rinat Akhmetov, deserves
credit for it. My satisfaction was that
we managed to rebuild the side three
times. Players left, but others came in
and we made it work. The president
was a very intelligent man and never
made a decision based on emotion. It
would have been completely different
if Shakhtar hadn’t been forced to move
all around Ukraine after the military
conflict began in Donbass. My biggest
satisfaction was watching five former
players of mine in the Brazil national
team. If you have one or two, it can be
accidental. But five? I felt like my work
was rewarded. Fernandinho messaged
me a while ago, thanking me for the
contribution I made to his career. You
can’t know how that makes me feel.Having coached for four
decades, the 75-year-old
risked the ultras’ wrath
when he joined Dynamo
Kiev – but now they’re in
the Champions League
Andrea Pirlo also made his debut for
Brescia under your management.
I care about Andrea – he was 15 when
I gave him a chance at Brescia. I sent
him onto the pitch and had huge faith
in what he could do. He had a brilliant
career. At some point, I think he even
deserved to win the Ballon d’Or.You spent only 22 games as coach of
Inter in 1998-99. What happened?
[President] Massimo Moratti said I was
the only one who understood Roberto
Baggio, and that I was his favourite
boss. We scored 25 goals in five home
matches and were playing attacking
football, but the newspapers claimed
Marcello Lippi was going to take over
at the end of the season. There were
10 players who were out of contract in
the summer, and they all jumped at
me. Moratti loved his No.10s – every
president does, I think! We had four of
them, so it was really difficult to play
them all at the same time. Impossible.What was it like to coach Ronaldo?
He was a delight to watch – sadly, he
trained with me for a short time. He
had a special relationship with Moratti.
We were playing Manchester United
in the Champions League, and I sent
Nicola Ventola on to replace Ronaldo.
He wanted to play but didn’t train, soI substituted him. He left the stadium
and went straight to the airport, then
to Brazil. When I asked where he was,
people at the club said the president
allowed him to go because his mother
was ill. During carnival time, he would
have been in Rio anyway.