Mircea Lucescu, the 80-year-old head coach of the Romanian national football team, recently attended the high-stakes match between Dinamo and Universitatea Craiova. This encounter took place during the second round of the Superliga playoffs at Arena Națională in Bucharest. Lucescu chose to watch the intense derby from a VIP box, marking his second public appearance at the stadium in 2026.
The significance of the match lies not only in its competitive nature but also in its timing. It was scheduled exactly one week before Romania’s crucial playoff match against Turkey, set for Thursday, March 26, at 19:00 in Istanbul. As the national team’s manager, Lucescu plans to announce the final squad for this important fixture on Friday, March 20, at noon.
Notable Attendees and Pre-Selection Squad
Accompanying Lucescu in the VIP box were several members of his coaching staff, including Ionel Gane, Florin Constantinovici, Leo Toader, and Andrei Butnaraș. Additionally, young talents Costin Curelea and Răzvan Rotaru from the under-21 national team were present.
Currently, only a preliminary squad has been revealed, which includes players competing in international leagues. Here’s a summary of the players selected so far:
- Goalkeeper: Ionuț Radu (Celta de Vigo, Spain) – 7 caps, 0 goals
- Defenders:
- Andrei Rățiu (Rayo Vallecano, Spain) – 36 caps, 2 goals
- Deian Sorescu (Gaziantep FK, Turkey) – 23 caps, 0 goals
- Radu Drăgușin (Tottenham, England) – 27 caps, 1 goal
- Virgil Ghiță (Hannover 96, Germany) – 8 caps, 1 goal
- Bogdan Racovițan (Raków, Poland) – 5 caps, 0 goals
- Andrei Burcă (Yunnan Yukun, China) – 44 caps, 1 goal
- Lisav Eissat (Maccabi Haifa, Israel) – 2 caps, 0 goals
- Midfielders:
- Marius Marin (Pisa, Italy) – 35 caps, 0 goals
- Răzvan Marin (AEK Athens, Greece) – 72 caps, 12 goals
- Vlad Dragomir (Pafos, Cyprus) – 5 caps, 0 goals
- Nicolae Stanciu (Dalian Yingbo, China) – 84 caps, 15 goals
- Adrian Șut (Al Ain, UAE) – 8 caps, 0 goals
- Ianis Hagi (Alanyaspor, Turkey) – 51 caps, 8 goals
- Marius Corbu (Ferencváros, Hungary) – 0 caps, 0 goals
- Valentin Mihăilă (Caykur Rizespor, Turkey) – 33 caps, 5 goals
- Dennis Man (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands) – 43 caps, 11 goals
- Forwards:
- Louis Munteanu (DC United, USA) – 4 caps, 2 goals
- Denis Drăguș (Gaziantep FK, Turkey) – 27 caps, 7 goals
- Ioan Vermeșan (Hellas Verona, Italy) – 0 caps, 0 goals
As the Turkish encounter approaches, the anticipation builds for how Lucescu will finalize his squad and devise a strategy for the pivotal game.
