Mircea Lucescu dies of heart attack, not leukemia, nephew says

Mircea Lucescu, the celebrated Romanian football coach, passed away on 7 April 2026 at the University Emergency Hospital in Bucharest, where he had been admitted since 29 March. He was 80 years old.

His nephew, Matei Lucescu, told Digi Sport that Lucescu was not suffering from leukemia. He said the coach had a chronic hematologic condition, but the fatal event was a heart attack triggered by stress from recent high‑pressure matches, including a game against Turkey. A French doctor arrived too late to intervene.