Head-coach of the year in 2020

Razvan Lucescu is head-coach of the year 2020 on RRI

Florin Orban, 07.01.2021, 13:45

Romanian sports at world level is represented by dozens of head-coaches activating in many sports disciplines, and some of them have been doing their job at top-notch level. Needless to say that football head-coaches enjoy the greatest notoriety. In 2020, four names of football head-coaches have hit the headlines. With title holders CFR Cluj, for instance, Dan Petrescu won a new edition of the domestic championship and saw his team getting through to the Europa Leagues group stage.

Lucescu was at the helm of Dynamo Kiyv, taking the team all the way up to the Champions Leagues group stage. In China, Cosmin Olaroiu won Chinas Superleague with Jiangsu Suning. In Saudi Arabia, with Razvan Lucescu at the helm, Al-Hilal won the domestic championship and the Kings Cup. Thanks to the two trophies he won this year, Razvan Lucescu outclassed the other three head-coaches and was designated Head-coach of the Year in 2020 by Radio Romania International.

Răzvan Lucescu is the son of former great Romanian footballer and head-coach Mircea Lucescu. He was born in Bucharest on 17 February 1969. As a footballer, Razvan was goalkeeper for such Romanian teams as Sportul Studenţesc, FC Naţional, FC Braşov and Rapid Bucharest. As a head-coach, Razvan Lucescus best results were provided by his stint with Rapid Bucharest. The team won Romanian Cup twice. In 2006 Rapid reached as far as UEFA Cups quarterfinals, the teams blazing trail back then including wins in games against Feyenoord Rotterdam, Shakhtar Donetsk, Hertha Berlin and SV Hamburg. Yet Rapid failed to qualify in the semifinals, conceding defeat, on aggregate, to Steaua Bucharest, after two draws.

Over 2009 and 2011, Razvan Lucescu was the head-coach of Romanias national team. In 2019, he won the Greek domestic championship and the Cup of Greece with PAOK Thessalonica. Lucescu Jr also won the Asian Champions League with the Saudi team Al-Hilal and was designated the head-coach of the year at the Romanian Football Gala in 2019. The two trophies he won in 2020 yet again earned Razvan Lucescu a place among the best Romanian coaches.

(Translation by Eugen Nasta)