The Controversial Story of Neri Castillo Before the Death of Mircea Lucescu

Former striker of the Donetsk football club Shakhtar, Neri Castillo, has published a scandalous story concerning his relationship with Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu, shortly before the official confirmation of Lucescu's death. In his emotional post on Instagram, Castillo not only wished the coach good health but also recalled an old conflict that occurred during their collaboration at the Donetsk club.

In his message, Castillo reminisced about how Lucescu did not allow him to attend his mother's funeral. 'I’m glad your son is now with you in these difficult times. You didn’t let me see my mother when she fell into a coma, and you didn’t even allow me to go to her funeral to say goodbye. Despite this, I hope you recover quickly,' Castillo expressed his feelings towards his mentor.

It is worth noting that the relationship between Lucescu and Castillo was tense throughout their time together at Shakhtar. One of the most memorable episodes occurred during a match when Castillo took a penalty kick on his own instead of the designated penalty taker, Lucarelli, and unfortunately missed. Following this incident, Lucescu ceased to include him in the team, further straining their relationship.

Mircea Lucescu was hospitalized on March 29, 2023, after feeling unwell during a training camp for the Romanian national team following a 0-1 defeat to Turkey in the playoff for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. On April 2, the specialist resigned from his position as the coach of the Romanian team, and on April 3, he suffered an acute myocardial infarction right in the hospital. Later, he was placed in a medically induced coma due to severe cardiac arrhythmias that were unresponsive to treatment.

During a computed tomography scan, numerous signs of ischemic cerebral strokes and pulmonary thromboembolism were discovered in Lucescu. His condition was assessed as critical. Cardiologist Stefan Busnatu, who conducted the examination, noted that several organs—heart, brain, and lungs—were affected, significantly increasing the risks to his life.

Unfortunately, today, April 7, 2023, it became known about the death of Mircea Lucescu. He left a significant mark on Ukrainian football, having worked for 15 years in Ukraine, where he led teams Dynamo and Shakhtar. With Shakhtar, Lucescu became the champion of Ukraine eight times and won the UEFA Cup in 2009, while with Dynamo, he secured victory in the UPL during the 2020/21 season.

Additionally, in the 2016/17 season, he coached the Russian club Zenit. Previously, Mircea had spoken about his home in Donetsk, which he was forced to leave due to the war between Russia and Ukraine. His contribution to the development of Ukrainian football is hard to overestimate, and his death has been a great loss for the football community.