Radio Romania International Sports Club
Head-coach Razvan Lucescu, again a champion in Greece
Eugen Nasta, 22.05.2024, 13:45
Romanian football head-coach Razvan Lucescu this past Sunday won the Greek domestic championship title with PAOK Thessalonica. The decisive 2-1 win occurred in the fixture PAOK played against the other Thessalonica team, Aris. The win occurred in the Group 1’s last round. We recall that Aris had defeated PAOK in this season’s two direct games, 2-1 at home and 1-nil, away. According to the table, PAOK had 80 points on their record sheet; thy are two points clear of the past season’s champion, AEK Athens. Following in descending order are Olympiakos Piraeus, with 74 points and Panathinaikos, with 72.
Răzvan Lucescu is the son of former great Romanian footballer and head-coach Mircea Lucescu. He was born in Bucharest, on February 17, 1969. As a football player, Razvan was a goal keeper, being signed up by a string of Romanian teams, among which Sportul Studenţesc, FC Naţional, FC Braşov and Rapid Bucharest. As a head-coach, Razvan Lucescu’s peak results in Romania occurred with Rapid Bucharest. Razvan twice won Romania’s Cup in football. In 2006, he reached as far as the UEFA Cup’s quarterfinals, having outclassed such teams as Feyenoord Rotterdam, Shakhtar Donetsk, Hertha Berlin and SV Hamburg. However, Razvan Lucescu wasted the opportunity to advance to the semifinals, in the wake of two draws against Steaua Bucharest. Between 2009 and 2011, Razvan Lucescu was the head-coach of Romania’s national football team.
With PAOK Thessalonica, he won the Cup of Greece for the first time in 2018. In 2019, he won the Greek championship title, as well as the Cup of Greece. Razvan Lucescu also compelled recognition in the League of Asian Champions with the Saudi team Al-Hilal. In 2020, with Lucescu at the helm, Al-Hilal won the Saudi Arabian championship and the King’s Cup. Lucescu then returned to Greece, and in 2022 his team, PAOK Thessalonica, was the runner-up squad in the Greek domestic championship. In 2023, PAOK played the Greek Cup final.
