 Lucescu in 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mircea Lucescu[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1945-07-29)29 July 1945 (age 80) | ||
| Place of birth | Bucharest, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Romania (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1961–1963 | Școala Sportivă 2 București | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1963–1977 | Dinamo București | 250 | (57) |
| 1965–1967 | →Știința București (loan) | 39 | (12) |
| 1977–1982 | Corvinul Hunedoara[a] | 111 | (21) |
| 1990 | Dinamo București | 1 | (0) |
| Total | 401 | (90) | |
| International career | |||
| 1966–1979 | Romania | 64 | (9) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1979–1982 | Corvinul Hunedoara (player/coach) | ||
| 1981–1986 | Romania | ||
| 1985–1990 | Dinamo București | ||
| 1990–1991 | Pisa | ||
| 1991–1995 | Brescia | ||
| 1995–1996 | Brescia | ||
| 1996 | Reggiana | ||
| 1997–1998 | Rapid București | ||
| 1998–1999 | Inter Milan | ||
| 1999–2000 | Rapid București | ||
| 2000–2002 | Galatasaray | ||
| 2002–2004 | Beşiktaş | ||
| 2004–2016 | Shakhtar Donetsk | ||
| 2016–2017 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | ||
| 2017–2019 | Turkey | ||
| 2020–2023 | Dynamo Kyiv | ||
| 2024– | Romania | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Mircea Lucescu (Romanian pronunciation:[ˈmirtʃe̯aluˈtʃesku]; born 29 July 1945) is a Romanian professionalfootballmanager and former player, currently the head coach of theRomania national team. He is one of the most decorated managers of all time.[3]
Lucescu is also one of the most successful players of theRomanian league championship, having won all seven of his titles withDinamo București.[4] He also had spells atȘtiința București andCorvinul Hunedoara, and made 64 appearances for theRomania national team, which hecaptained at the1970 FIFA World Cup.[5]
Lucescu has coached various sides in Romania, Italy, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia. He is well known for his twelve-year stint in charge ofShakhtar Donetsk, where he became the most successful coach in the club's history by winning eight Ukrainian Premier League titles, sixUkrainian Cups, sevenUkrainian Super Cups and the2008–09 UEFA Cup.[6] He also won trophies in Ukraine with Shakhtar'srival Dynamo Kyiv, as well as Divizia A titles with Dinamo București andRapid București, andTurkish Süper Lig titles withGalatasaray andBeşiktaş.[5]
Lucescu was namedRomania Coach of the Year in 2004, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2021, and Ukraine Coach of the Year in 2006 and between 2008 and 2014.[7] In 2013, he was awarded the Manager of the Decade award in Romania,[8] and in 2015, he became the fifth person to coach in 100UEFA Champions League matches, joiningAlex Ferguson,Carlo Ancelotti,Arsène Wenger andJosé Mourinho.[9] He is also ranked third in terms of official trophies won, with 38.
_1965.jpg)
Lucescu was born on 29 July 1945 inBucharest, Romania and began playing junior-level football in 1961 at Școala Sportivă 2 București.[2][10][11] He was brought toDinamo București by coachTraian Ionescu, where he made hisDivizia A debut on 21 June 1964 in a 5–2 victory againstRapid București.[2][10][11][12][13] In his first two seasons with Dinamo, Lucescu won the championship in both of them, playing a total of three Divizia A games.[2][10][11][12] He was loaned for the following two seasons toDivizia B clubȘtiința București.[2][10][11][12]
After the loan ended, he returned to play forThe Red Dogs, winning the1967–68 Cupa României, scoring a double in the 3–1 victory in thefinal againstRapid București after coachBazil Marian sent him in the 77th minute to replaceNicolae Nagy.[2][14] In the following three editions of theCupa României, the club would reach the final in each of them, Lucescu scoring a brace in the1971 final, but they were all lost torivalsSteaua București.[15] Lucescu would also win another four league titles.[2][10][11][12][16] In the first one he worked with coachesNicolae Dumitru and Ionescu who gave him 23 appearances in which he scored three goals.[2][16] In the following oneIon Nunweiller used him in 28 matches in which he netted a personal record of 12 goals.[2][16] In the third edition, he scored four times in 31 games while working with Dumitru, and in the final one, he played 19 games, netting seven goals under Nunweiller's guidance.[2][16] Lucescu has a total of 12 seasons spent at Dinamo, in which he appeared in 250 Divizia A games and scored 57 goals, including nine in thederby against Steaua.[2][17] During these years he also played 15 games in which he scored three goals in European competitions (including three appearances in theInter-Cities Fairs Cup).[2] He scored against each of theMadrid giantsReal andAtlético in theEuropean Cup, but on both occasions Dinamo did not succeed to get past the Spaniards further in the competition.[2][18] For the way he played in 1971, Lucescu was placed fourth in the ranking for theRomanian Footballer of the Year award, and in 1974, he was second.[19]
In July 1977, Lucescu joinedCorvinul Hunedoara, where he became the team's coach in January 1979, while still an active player.[2][10][20][21][22] The team was relegated toDivizia B at the end of the season, but Lucescu remained with the club, helping it gain promotion back to the first division after just one year.[2][10][20][21][22] He played a key role in helping the club finish third in the1981–82 Divizia A season, retiring from playing at the end of that campaign to focus on his coaching career.[2][10][20][21][22]
He came out of retirement while coaching Dinamo, as many of the team's players were called up toRomania's national team training camp to prepare for the1990 World Cup.[11][23] Thus, Lucescu registered himself as a player and on 16 May 1990, he entered the field in the 76th minute to replaceIonel Fulga in a 1–1 draw againstSportul Studențesc București.[2][11][23] He was champion as both a player and a coach that season.[2][11][23] At 44 years, 9 months and 17 days, he became the oldest player to appear in a Divizia A match, a competition in which he amassed a total of 362 matches and scored 78 goals.[2][11][23]
Lucescu made a total of 64 appearances forRomania, serving as captain in 23 of them and scoring nine goals.[24] He made his debut under coachIlie Oană on 2 November 1966, in a 4–2 victory againstSwitzerland during theEuro 1968 qualifiers.[24][25] In those qualifiers he made a total of six appearances and netted two goals in both victories againstCyprus.[24]
Lucescu played six games in the successful1970 World Cup qualifiers.[24][26] He was used by coachAngelo Niculescu as captain in all three matches in thefinal tournament which were a win againstCzechoslovakia and losses toEngland andBrazil, as his side failed to progress from their group.[24][26] For the last game against Brazil, Lucescu bought the team's blue equipment from his money, because theRomanian Football Federation provided just one set of equipment which was yellow, same as that of the Brazilians.[10][27]
He played seven matches and scored two goals during the1972 Euro qualifiers, managing to reach thequarter-finals where Romania was defeated byHungary, who advanced to thefinal tournament.[24] In the following years, Lucescu played two games in the1974 World Cup qualifiers, three matches in which he scored one goal in a 3–1 victory againstGreece during the1973–76 Balkan Cup and made six appearances in which he netted a goal in a 6–1 win overDenmark in theEuro 1976 qualifiers.[24] He made his last appearance for the national team on 4 April 1979 in a 2–2 draw againstSpain during theEuro 1980 qualifiers.[24]
For representing his country at the1970 World Cup, Lucescu was decorated byPresident of RomaniaTraian Băsescu on 25 March 2008 with the Ordinul "Meritul Sportiv" – (The Medal "The Sportive Merit") class III.[10][28][29]
Lucescu learned many things about coaching fromViorel Mateianu, being very impressed by his working methods.[30] He would go to study his training sessions atFC Baia Mare, sometimes asking Mateianu to extend them so he could see more of his methods.[30] He would also go to his home where they would talk all night about football and draw tactical game schemes together.[30]
Lucescu started coaching while still an active player atCorvinul Hunedoara in January 1979, when he replacedIlie Savu.[10][20][21][22] His first match took place on 28 February 1979 in the round of 32 of the1978–79 Cupa României, losing with 3–1 after extra time toDivizia B clubMetalul București.[22] Three days later, he made hisDivizia A debut in a 2–0 victory againstPolitehnica Iași in which he scored a goal.[22] However, the team was relegated at the end of the season toDivizia B, but Lucescu stayed with the club, helping it gain promotion back to the first division after one year.[10][20][21][22] Then he helped the club finish third in the1981–82 Divizia A, after which he left them to focus on his work at thenational team, which he was coaching simultaneously since November 1981.[10][20][21][22][31] During his time at Corvinul, Lucescu demonstrated his ability to discover and promote young players such asIoan Andone,Mircea Rednic,Michael Klein,Dorin Mateuț andRomulus Gabor.[32]
Lucescu's debut asRomania's head coach took place on 11 November 1981 in a 0–0 draw againstSwitzerland in the1982 World Cup qualifiers.[10][22][31][33] He qualified the team toEuro 1984 by winning aqualification group composed ofCzechoslovakia,Sweden,Cyprus and1982 World Cup winner,Italy, earning a 0–0 away draw and a 1–0 home victory against the latter.[12][22][31][33][34] In thefinal tournament, which was composed of eight teams, Romania earned a point after a 1–1 draw againstSpain, but lost the other two games toWest Germany andPortugal, thus failing to progress from their group.[10][12][22][31][33] He was close to earning qualification for the1986 World Cup, finishing just one point below second place,Northern Ireland.[33][35] Lucescu left after a 4–0 victory againstAustria in theEuro 1988 qualifiers that took place on 10 September 1986.[12][31][33] He is also the coach that gaveGheorghe Hagi his national team debut at age 18 in a 0–0 friendly draw againstNorway, and also gave him the captain's armband at the age of 20.[12][32][36]
Lucescu was named coach atDinamo București in November 1985, while still working forRomania's national team.[10][12][22] At the end of his first season spent at the club, he managed to win aCupa României with a 1–0 victory in thefinal againstSteaua București, theirrival and recentEuropean Cup winner.[10][12][22][37] Over the course of almost five years, Lucescu created a team by promoting players from the club's youth center, includingBogdan Stelea,Ionuț Lupescu andFlorin Răducioiu, transferred young players likeDănuț Lupu andIoan Sabău, mixing them with players he coached atCorvinul such asIoan Andone,Mircea Rednic,Michael Klein andDorin Mateuț.[10][12][22][32] Thus he created a team that reached the quarter-finals of the1988–89 European Cup Winners' Cup, where they were eliminated on theaway goals rule after 1–1 on aggregate bySampdoria.[32][38] In the following season they won theDivizia A title and theCupa României after another win over Steaua in thefinal.[10][12][22][32] They also reached the semi-finals of the1989–90 European Cup Winners' Cup, where they were eliminated 2–0 on aggregate byAnderlecht.[10][12][39]
After the1989 Romanian Revolution, Lucescu went in July 1990 to coach inItaly atSerie A clubPisa.[22][40] After a good start, in round six of the season they lost 6–3 toInter Milan and he had his first problems with the club's president, Romeo Anconetani.[22][40] Despite these issues, he managed to stay 24 rounds, being dismissed in March 1991, but even with his departure, the team was still relegated at the end of the season.[22][40] During this period he coached 20-year-oldDiego Simeone and met Adriano Bacconi.[32][41][42] The latter was a fitness trainer tasked by him with writing statistical data about players during matches, as Lucescu had previously done atCorvinul, because he wanted to know as many details as possible about the players' performances.[42] He and Bacconi also worked together atBrescia where in 1994 they each invested$35,000 to create a software called FARM (Football Athletic Results Manager) which was the first football data monitoring program.[42] Subsequently, in 1996 Lucescu sold his part of the company which became known as Digital Soccer Project and Bacconi sold it toPanini for€2 million.[42]
Lucescu signed withSerie B clubBrescia in July 1991, winning promotion toSerie A after just one season.[22][41][43] The club were relegated the following season after a play-off defeat againstUdinese, but promoted again the following season, during which Brescia also won the1993–94 Anglo-Italian Cup.[43] However, they were relegated from Serie A again the following season, and Lucescu was sacked.[22][41][43] He was promptly re-hired to lead the team inSerie B, but was dismissed again because of poor results, the club being in danger of falling intoSerie C.[43] During this period, the club was nicknamed "Brescia Romena", as Lucescu brought Romanian playersGheorghe Hagi,Florin Răducioiu,Dorin Mateuț,Ioan Sabău andDănuț Lupu to the club.[43] He also promoted 15-year-oldAndrea Pirlo to train with the senior team, but could not give him his senior debut because the rules of theItalian Federation did not allow players so young to play for senior squads.[12][22][32][41][43]
In July 1996, Lucescu signed withSerie A clubReggiana, bringingIoan Sabău with him.[22][41] However, his spell lasted only until November 1996, being dismissed because of poor results, the team finishing in last place at the end of the season.[22][41]
In July 1997, Lucescu returned to Romania, coaching atRapid București where he formed a team by promoting young players such asBogdan Lobonț,Răzvan Raț andDaniel Pancu, mixing them with players he coached in the past likeDănuț Lupu,Ioan Sabău andMircea Rednic.[10][12][22][32][44] Their first performance was securing the1997–98 Cupa României after a 1–0 win overUniversitatea Craiova in thefinal.[10][12][45] Then after a short spell atInter Milan, he came back to Rapid, winning the1998–99 Divizia A, which was the first championship title won by the club after 32 years.[10][12][22]The Railwaymen also won the1999 Supercupa României after a 5–0 victory againstrivalsSteaua București.[12][46]
In December 1998, Lucescu was named coach atInter Milan, working with players such asRonaldo,Roberto Baggio,Andrea Pirlo,Javier Zanetti andIvan Zamorano.[10][12][22][41] They managed to reach the quarter-finals of the1998–99 Champions League, being eliminated 3–1 on aggregate byAlex Ferguson'sManchester United, who eventually won the competition.[47] He left the club in March 1999, one of the reasons being a conflict withRonaldo.[10][12][22][41][48]
In June 2000, he replacedFatih Terim at Turkish clubGalatasaray, with whom, alongside Romanian playersGheorghe Hagi andGheorghe Popescu, he won the2000 UEFA Super Cup, after a 2–1 win againstReal Madrid.[10][22][49][50][51] Under Lucescu's leadership, Galatasaray reached the quarter-finals of the2000–01 Champions League season, where after a 3–2 victory in the first leg againstReal Madrid, they lost the second leg 3–0.[50][52] The following year, Galatasaray qualified to the second group phase of theChampions League and won theTurkish League title.[10][12] Lucescu was sacked at the end of the season, despite winning the league championship, and was replaced byFatih Terim.[10][12][22][49]
Shortly after his departure fromGalatasaray in June 2002, Lucescu signed a contract with rivalsBeşiktaş.[10][12][22] It was a very important season for Beşiktaş as in 2003, the Turkish club was celebrating its 100th year since its foundation.[53] He managed to win the Turkish title, having only one loss and collecting 85 points – a record points tally in a singleSüper Lig season.[10][12][53] The team also reached the2002–03 UEFA Cup quarter-finals, losing with 3–1 on aggregate toLazio.[54]
In the following season, the team could not progress from a difficultChampions League group, but was able to get a ticket to the2003–04 UEFA Cup by finishing third in its group – only to be knocked out byValencia in the third round, who eventually won the competition.[55][56][57] On 25 January 2004, during a home game againstSamsunspor, referee Cem Papila showed five red cards to Beşiktaş players.[58] After this match, the team's performance declined drastically, Lucescu blamed theTurkish Football Federation for one-sided decisions by the referees.[58] He left the club after finishing the championship in third place, claiming that it was stolen.[58] During the period spent at Beşiktaş, he brought Romanian playersDaniel Pancu,Adrian Ilie andMarius Măldărășanu to the club.[55][59]
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In May 2004, Lucescu joined Ukrainian sideShakhtar Donetsk and led their rise to prominence in Ukraine the following years.[60] His first trophy with the club came in the2003–04 Ukrainian Cup, defeatingDnipro Dnipropetrovsk 2–0 in thefinal on 30 May. In his first full season with the club, he secured the2004–05 Premier League title.[61]
The following season, he secured both thePremier League and theSuper Cup.[62] He failed to win any trophies the followingseason, however, though he made up for it in the 2007–08 season, winning thePremier League title and theUkrainian Cup.[63] His only domestic success in the 2008–09 season came in the Super Cup, although he was able to guide Shakhtar to their first ever European trophy, winning the lastUEFA Cup before it was renamed the UEFA Europa League. He won thefinal againstWerder Bremen 2–1 after extra time.[64]
The2009–10 season saw Shakhtar regain thePremier League title.[65] The2010–11 season was very successful for Lucescu. He guided Shakhtar to a domestic treble, winning thePremier League, theUkrainian Cup and the Super Cup.[66] They also had their most successfulChampions League campaign, reaching the quarter-final stage before being defeated by eventual winnersBarcelona.[67]
The followingseason saw Shakhtar retain theirPremier League andUkrainian Cup titles.[68] This gave Lucescu his sixthPremier League and fourthUkrainian Cup with the club. Shakhtar had a disappointing Champions League campaign, finishing in fourth place in theirgroup.[69] His son,Răzvan Lucescu, is a former goalkeeper who at several points managedRapid București, a team his father had also previously managed. Coincidentally, Shakhtar and Rapid met in the group stage of the UEFA Cup, the duel was disputed in only one leg atDonetsk in November 2005 ending with 1–0 win for Rapid.[70][71]
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On 22 May 2009, Lucescu received, from thePresident of RomaniaTraian Băsescu, the National Order "Cross of Romania" in the rank of Knight, "as a sign of high appreciation of the entire football activity and the performances obtained as a coach, crowned by winning the UEFA Cup 2009, in the final in Istanbul" and on 29 May 2009 he was granted the title "Honorary citizen ofDonetsk" by the city council of Donetsk for "earning the UEFA Cup, development and popularization of theUkrainian football, improvement of the Donetsk,Donetsk region and Ukraine authority in the world".[10][72][73][74]
In December 2009, he turned down an offer to coach theUkraine national team, his reason being to avoid another potential clash with his son, Răzvan, who then managed theRomania national team and could qualify forUEFA Euro 2012, which Ukraine was to host.[75][76]
"Mircea Lucescu is the best coach in the world. He achieved results everywhere he went and knows how to adapt to every situation. He is a man of immense culture and a very humble person."
Lucescu has won the Coach of the Year award in Ukraine in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
He led Shakhtar into the semi-finals of Europa League during hislast season in charge, being eliminated by defending champions and eventual winnersSevilla. He announced his resignation in early 2016, ending a 12-year period in charge of Shakhtar and becoming the club's greatest manager. In his last match in charge, he won the2015–16 Ukrainian Cup after defeatingZorya Luhansk 2–0 in the final.
Early in his time at Shakhtar, Lucescu had RomaniansFlavius Stoican,Cosmin Bărcăuan,Daniel Florea,Ciprian Marica andRăzvan Raț under his command, but only the latter stayed with him to win the2008–09 UEFA Cup.[77][78] In later years he relied heavily on young Brazilian players such asWillian,Fernandinho,Douglas Costa,Luiz Adriano,Elano,Alex Teixeira,Ilsinho,Jádson,Brandão orMatuzalém.[32][77][79]
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On 24 May 2016, Lucescu agreed to a two-year deal with Russian clubZenit Saint Petersburg, with an extension option for another year.[80] He won the2016 Russian Super Cup after a 1–0 victory againstCSKA Moscow.[81] However, he was dismissed roughly one year later, as Zenit failed to qualify for the Champions League after finishing third in theRussian Premier League.[82]
On 2 August 2017, he was appointed as the new head coach ofTurkey, succeedingFatih Terim.[83] On his debut a month later, he lost 2–0 away toUkraine in2018 FIFA World Cupqualification.[84] The team failed to qualify for the World Cup, with their campaign ending with a 3–0 home loss toIceland in the penultimate fixture on 6 October.[85]
In theinaugural season of theUEFA Nations League, Turkey were relegated to League C in November 2018.[86] The following February, his contract was terminated by mutual consent.[87] During his tenure as coach of the Turkey national team, Lucescu debuted several players, notablyZeki Çelik,Merih Demiral, andİrfan Can Kahveci.
On 23 July 2020, Lucescu returned to Ukraine after signing a two-year contract with themain rival of his former club Shakhtar Donetsk,Dynamo Kyiv.[88] His spell started in a controversial way, as he attempted to resign from his position after only a couple of days. The reason behind his actions was that Dynamo Kyiv fans fiercely protested the decision to hire Lucescu because of his long-term spell at Shakhtar. Dynamo presidentIhor Surkis initially told press that he knew nothing about the resignation, and later that day both sides confirmed that their cooperation will in fact continue.
On 20 October, in Dynamo Kyiv's opening Champions League match of the season againstJuventus, Lucescu became the oldest manager to take charge of a game in the competition, at the age of 75 years and 83 days; The match ended in a 2–0 home loss.[89] Lucescu secured his first league title with Dynamo Kyiv on 25 April, following a 5–0 victory againstInhulets,[90] and on 13 May he secured the double with a 1–0 win overZorya Luhansk in the2021 Ukrainian Cup Final.[91] In his first season at the club, he transferred compatriotTudor Băluță on a one-season loan fromBrighton & Hove Albion.[92]
Lucescu was living inKyiv in February 2022 whenRussia invaded Ukraine. He initially wanted to stay put,[93] but fled to his homeland on the advice of the Romanian embassy, as a way to help Dynamo's foreign players get to safety.[94]
On 3 November 2023, Lucescu announced that he would step down as the manager of Dynamo Kyiv after a 1–0 home defeat against their rivals Shakhtar Donetsk, and on the following day he was succeeded byOleksandr Shovkovskyi.[95]
On 6 August 2024, Lucescu returned as the head coach of the Romania national team, 38 years after his first tenure.[96] His first match in charge was on 6 September, an away 3–0 victory againstKosovo in theNations League C.[97] He ultimately won the Nations league group, winning all six matches and achieving promotion to the Nations League B. In thequalifiers for the 2026 World Cup, Romania ultimately underperformed, losing at home and away toBosnia and drawing againstCyprus, leading to Lucescu's team missing out on both direct qualification and an easier play-off route for theWorld Cup. Despite the lacklustre results, Romania's performances in the nations league still managed to ensure progression to the play-offs, albeit with a more difficult adversary.
Lucescu is apolyglot. He speaksEnglish,Portuguese,Spanish,Italian,French andRussian in addition to his nativeRomanian.[98][99] He often tells his players that going to the theatre or reading a book is far more beneficial than going to clubs or bars.[100] He also pressured his players to go to university.[100] His son,Răzvan, was also a footballer, and is currently managing Greek clubPAOK.
Lucescu joined theRomanian Humanist Party in March 2000.[101]
On 15 July 2009, Lucescu suffered an attack ofpre-infarct angina, and was operated in an emergency hospital in Donetsk.[102]
On 6 January 2012, he was involved in aroad accident inBucharest and was seriously hurt.[103]
In 1980, Lucescu briefly wrote chronicles, commentary, and match analysis for theDrumul Socialismului newspaper.[104] He also authored two volumes on football:[105][106][107]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Dinamo București | 1963–64 | Divizia A | 2 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | |||
| 1964–65 | Divizia A | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 1967–68 | Divizia A | 17 | 1 | – | 17 | 1 | ||||
| 1968–69 | Divizia A | 28 | 8 | 1[b] | 0 | 29 | 8 | |||
| 1969–70 | Divizia A | 24 | 4 | – | 24 | 4 | ||||
| 1970–71 | Divizia A | 23 | 3 | 3[c] | 0 | 26 | 3 | |||
| 1971–72 | Divizia A | 26 | 7 | 3[d] | 0 | 29 | 7 | |||
| 1972–73 | Divizia A | 28 | 12 | – | 28 | 12 | ||||
| 1973–74 | Divizia A | 25 | 5 | 2[d] | 1 | 27 | 6 | |||
| 1974–75 | Divizia A | 31 | 4 | 3[e] | 1 | 34 | 5 | |||
| 1975–76 | Divizia A | 26 | 6 | 2[d] | 1 | 28 | 7 | |||
| 1976–77 | Divizia A | 19 | 7 | 1[e] | 0 | 20 | 7 | |||
| Total | 250 | 57 | 15 | 3 | 265 | 60 | ||||
| Știința București (loan) | 1965–66 | Divizia B | – | |||||||
| 1966–67 | Divizia B | – | ||||||||
| Total | 39 | 12 | 39 | 12 | ||||||
| Corvinul Hunedoara | 1977–78 | Divizia A | 34 | 7 | – | 34 | 7 | |||
| 1978–79 | Divizia A | 27 | 5 | – | 27 | 5 | ||||
| 1979–80 | Divizia B | – | ||||||||
| 1980–81 | Divizia A | 27 | 7 | – | 27 | 7 | ||||
| 1981–82 | Divizia A | 23 | 2 | – | 23 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 111 | 21 | 111 | 21 | ||||||
| Dinamo București | 1989–90 | Divizia A | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 401 | 90 | 15 | 3 | 416 | 93 | ||||
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 December 1966 | GCP Stadium,Nicosia, Cyprus |  Cyprus | 2–1 | 5–1 | Euro 1968 qualifiers |
| 2 | 23 April 1967 | Stadionul 23 August,Bucharest, Romania | Cyprus | 1–0 | 7–0 | Euro 1968 qualifiers |
| 3 | 9 February 1970 | Estadio San Martín de Porres,Lima, Peru |  Peru | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 4 | 22 September 1971 | Olympic Stadium,Helsinki, Finland |  Finland | 4–0 | 4–0 | 1972 Euro qualifiers |
| 5 | 24 November 1971 | Stadionul 23 August, Bucharest, Romania |  Wales | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1972 Euro qualifiers |
| 6 | 29 May 1974 | Stadionul 23 August, Bucharest, Romania |  Greece | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1973–76 Balkan Cup |
| 7 | 19 March 1975 | İnönü Stadium,Istanbul, Turkey |  Turkey | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 8 | 11 May 1975 | Stadionul 23 August, Bucharest, Romania |  Denmark | 5–0 | 6–1 | Euro 1976 qualifiers |
| 9 | 5 June 1976 | Stadio San Siro,Milan, Italy |  Italy | 1–2 | 2–4 | Friendly |
| Team | Country | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Romania |  | 1 November 1981 | 2 October 1986 | 58 | 24 | 19 | 15 | 77 | 63 | +14 | 041.38 |
| Dinamo București | | 1 November 1985 | 30 June 1990 | 177 | 132 | 28 | 17 | 494 | 167 | +327 | 074.58 |
| Pisa | | 1 July 1990 | 11 March 1991 | 24 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 32 | 49 | −17 | 033.33 |
| Brescia | | 1 July 1991 | 19 February 1995 | 151 | 47 | 59 | 45 | 197 | 188 | +9 | 031.13 |
| Brescia | | 1 July 1995 | 25 February 1996 | 29 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 32 | 36 | −4 | 024.14 |
| Reggiana | | 1 July 1996 | 25 November 1996 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 22 | −9 | 007.69 |
| Rapid București | | 1 July 1997 | 25 November 1998 | 57 | 41 | 11 | 5 | 122 | 42 | +80 | 071.93 |
| Inter Milan | | 1 December 1998 | 21 March 1999 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 26 | 26 | +0 | 023.53 |
| Rapid București | | 1 April 1999 | 30 June 2000 | 49 | 32 | 9 | 8 | 103 | 49 | +54 | 065.31 |
| Galatasaray | | 1 July 2000 | 30 June 2002 | 106 | 64 | 22 | 20 | 210 | 111 | +99 | 060.38 |
| Beşiktaş | | 1 July 2002 | 17 May 2004 | 89 | 53 | 19 | 17 | 162 | 98 | +64 | 059.55 |
| Shakhtar Donetsk |  | 17 May 2004 | 24 May 2016 | 573 | 395 | 90 | 88 | 1,220 | 452 | +768 | 068.94 |
| Zenit Saint Petersburg |  | 24 May 2016 | 28 May 2017 | 40 | 25 | 7 | 8 | 74 | 34 | +40 | 062.50 |
| Turkey | | 2 August 2017 | 11 February 2019 | 17 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 25 | −8 | 023.53 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | | 23 July 2020 | 3 November 2023 | 126 | 70 | 21 | 35 | 216 | 126 | +90 | 055.56 |
| Romania | | 6 August 2024 | present | 16 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 39 | 17 | +22 | 068.75 |
| Total | 1,543 | 919 | 314 | 310 | 2,937 | 1,406 | +1531 | 059.56 | |||
| Competition | Games | Won | Draw | Lost | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ukrainian Premier League | 357 | 273 | 49 | 35 | 817 | 234 |
| Ukrainian Cup | 71 | 57 | 7 | 7 | 175 | 45 |
| Ukrainian Super Cup | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 22 | 12 |
| Europe | 134 | 60 | 30 | 44 | 206 | 161 |
| Total | 573 | 395 | 90 | 88 | 1220 | 452 |
Dinamo București
Corvinul Hunedoara
Individual
Corvinul Hunedoara
Dinamo București
Brescia
Rapid București
Galatasaray
Beşiktaş
Shakhtar Donetsk[110]
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Zenit Saint Petersburg
Dynamo Kyiv
Individual
Orders
Romania squads | |||||||
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