Mircea Lucescu signs two-year contract to coach Zenit St. Petersburg

Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu has signed a two-year contract, with an option for an additional season, with Russian football team Zenit St. Petersburg, agent Arkadi Zaporojanu has announced, quoted by TASS.

“The contract was signed tonight (Monday to Tuesday). The agreement is a ‘2 + 1’, but we can say that it is a contract for three years because it has a clause reading that, after the end of the second year, if neither party notifies the other in writing to terminate the contract, then the contract automatically enters into force for the third year,” the agent said.

Mircea Lucescu, 70, has recently left the Ukrainian team Shakhtar Donetsk after 12 seasons. Since 2004 Lucescu won with Shakhtar eight titles of champion of Ukraine, six Cups and 7 national Supercups. In the 2008/2009 season, the Romanian technician managed to win the last edition of the UEFA Cup with Shakhtar Donetsk.

Zenit St. Petersburg, a team sponsored by oil giant Gazprom, ended the season on the third place in the Russian championship, under the command of Portuguese coach Andre Villas Boas, who prepared Zenit since March 2014.

With the Portuguese technician at the helm, Zenit won the national championship in the 2014/2015 season, the Super Cup (2015) and Cup of Russia (2016).

Mircea Lucescu was born on July 29, 1945.

He was named Romania Coach of the Year in 2004, 2010, 2012, and in 2014. In 2013 Lucescu was awarded the manager of the decade award in Romania.

After coaching the Romanian national team, he had a long career in Italy, where he coached clubs such as Pisa, Brescia, Reggiana and Inter Milan. He won with Galatasaray the UEFA Super Cup against Real Madrid. Under Lucescu’s managership, Galatasaray qualified to the quarter-finals in the UEFA Champions League in the 2000–01 season. In the quarter-finals, they lost to Real Madrid. The same year, he lost the Turkish League title to rivals Fenerbahçe. The next year, Galatasaray qualified to the second phase of the UEFA Champions League and won the Turkish League title. Lucescu was sacked at the end of the season, despite winning the league champion title, and was replaced by Fatih Terim.

Shortly after his departure from Galatasaray, in June 2002, he signed a contract with rivals Beşiktaş. It was a very important season for Beşiktaş since, in 2003, the reputable Turkish club was celebrating its 100th year since its foundation. They won the Turkish title, having only one loss and collecting 85 points – a record points tally in the Turkish Super League in a single season.

Beşiktaş reached the quarter final of the UEFA Cup in 2002–2003, only to lose to Lazio.