Romania turn to 79-year-old Lucescu for World Cup qualification

Romania turned back the clock on Tuesday when they appointed 79-year-old Mircea Lucescu as their new national coach - 38 years after he left the post.

Lucescu, who managed the side between 1981 and 1986, takes over from Edward Iordanescu, who stepped down after taking Romania to the last 16 of Euro 2024 in Germany.

"I did everything I could to decline the offer," said Lucescu who told a press conference in Bucharest it should have been someone younger.

"But I can't say no to the national team, that would have been cowardly of me."

Lucescu, who has signed a two-year contract, played for Romania between 1966 and 1979, featuring at the 1970 World Cup.

As coach he qualified Romania for the 1984 European Championships but left in 1986 after they failed to make that year's World Cup in Mexico.

His club coaching career has taken him across Romania, Italy where he was in charge of Ronaldo at Inter Milan, Turkey and Ukraine, winning over 30 titles in the course of his career.

He also managed the Turkish national team between 2017 and 2019, missing out on the 2018 World Cup.

Lucescu said he hoped to make up for the age "handicap" with his "experience".

"I know how to rebuild teams, promote and train young players," said the man who gave Gheorghe Hagi his international debut at the age of 18 and then promoted him to captain when he was just 20.

Romania have not qualified for the World Cup since 1998 and the federation has set him the goal of returning them "to the world elite" by qualifying for the 2026 edition in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.