Former Shakhtar and Dynamo coach Mircea Lucescu has set a coaching record for the longest career at the helm of one national team, the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) reports.
Mircea LucescuIn August, 79-year-old Lucescu took over the Romanian national team for the second time in his coaching career. Since then, the team has won all three matches in Division C of the Nations League: against Kosovo (3-0), Lithuania (3-1) and Cyprus (3-0), consistently scoring three goals each.
The last match against Cyprus meant that 42 years and 336 days had passed since Lucescu's first day as coach of the Romanian national team, a new world record.
This is the first time the IFFHS has compiled a rating. It does not take into account the periods during which coaches led other teams, but indicates the date of the first and last matches for specialists in one national team.
Lucescu played his first match in charge of Romania back in November 1981, when they failed to determine the winner against Switzerland (0:0). Mircea remained in office until 1986 and for almost a year combined it with his work at Dinamo Bucharest.
Until now, Manuel Fleitas Solich, a former player and coach of the Paraguayan national team, has been the record holder: he first led the team in 1922 and played his last match in 1965.
Coaches-record holders for the longest career in national teams: top 5
- Mircea Lucescu (Romania) - 42 years, 336 days
- Manuel Fleitas Solich (Paraguay) - 42 years, 332 days
- Juan Cutillas (Philippines) - 37 years, 75 days
- Vittorio Pozzo (Italy) - 36 years, 37 days
- Mario Zagallo (Brazil) - 35 years, 62 days
