In an interview with Russian newspaper "Sport Den Za Dnem", Romanian coach Răzvan Lucescu, talked about his experience in Qatar, the 2022 World Cup and his father Mircea Lucescu, the legendary coach of Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk, in addition his thoughts about the idea of a united Ukrainian and Russian Football League.
Check the full interview published on January 30th 2014.
The 44-year-old joined El Jaish club of Qatar in 2012 and led them to third place finish in only their second ever season in the top flight, in addition to a first appearance at the knockout stage of the AFC Champions League, but a string of poor results this season costed him his job, despite the fact that his club was still in contention for the title.
Here are the most important quotes from the interview,
Did you enjoy working in the Middle East? Is it different than working in Europe?
"In my opinion, life is about gaining experience and working in Doha was a good experience for me. Of course, every country is different. Europe is Europe, it has another style of work, different mentality, culture, different education for sport. When coming to a new country ,you automatically face different aspects, such as connecting with education, with mentality, you need to come out with a different approach for work. It's all an interesting and good experience. Also Doha is an international hub for football. Coaches and players from all over the world come here; South America, Europe, Asia, I have learned a lot while working in Qatar".
What about the level of football in Qatar Stars League? Could you compare it with any other leagues in the world?
"Actually the level of football in Qatar Stars League surprised me. It is good, maybe the rhythm of the games is not very high, but the teams are starting to be very well organized. I could compare the level of teams here with those in United Arab Emirates, they also have very good players and coaches. Success in the Asian Champions League shows that the league competition is very balanced. I think the level of Qatar stars league is improving year after year."
Qatar will host the World Cup in 2022. Do you think the country is capabale of hosting this tournament?
"For me its too early to speak about this. But, the investments being made and the specialists who come to Qatar to work on the tournament from all over the world will surely help the country to do the best they can to host a great Mondial. We still have eight years to go before the World Cup, it is a lot of time. The project is fantastic, but we will see".
What is your opinion on the weather issue? Is it physically bearable to play football during summer?
"I think that the best solution is to play during winter or the end of autumn. Of course, the Organizing Committee is capable of building air-conditioned stadiums. For example, Al Sadd Stadium already operates under advanced air conditioning system. We have played there; it was very hot outside and cold inside, and It was mid May. But I think for the guests that will be visiting Qatar during the tournament, it is better to host the World Cup during winter."
About his future plans
According to some information on the internet, you are leaving Doha to Bucharest, where you will be coaching local team 'Dinamo'. Is it true?
"No, it's not true."
Mircea Lucescu, your father, is the head coach of Ukraine's most famous football club Shakhtar Donetsk. Would you be happy to coach an Ukrainian or a Russian football team?
"For me every possibility is open. I came here, in the Middle East to coach for an interesting experience, and I might go all over the world to get more experience. Everything is open for me. It's my job to coach teams all over the world."
But your father is approaching 70, is that true that he will retire soon?
"We did not talk about this. But in my opinion, he should continue. He must do that because he is happy doing his job. He has a lot of energy, enthusiasm, he goes to the training sessions with pleasure. When you have all of this you must carry on."
Have you heard about an idea to combine Russian and Ukraine championships into one league? What is your opinion on that?
"I have heard about this and it seems to be a very interesting idea. Ukrainian and Russian championships will be combined and fans all over the world could watch very interesting games, very special games. The value of the United league will increase a lot. I don’t know if it's easy or possible at all to happen. But in any case it could be fantastic."
This is a translation of the interview conducted by Doha-based journalist, Anna Lidster and published in Russian language newspaper www.sportsdaily.ru
Anna Lidster is a bilingual journalist based in Doha. She contributes for a number of newspapers and broadcasting companies in Russia, UK and Qatar; few of which are Sports daily newspaper St Petersburg (Russia), British newspaper Daily Mail and Doha-based broadcasting company Al Jazeera English.
Follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/AShlyakhtenko
"In my opinion, life is about gaining experience and working in Doha was a good experience for me. Of course, every country is different. Europe is Europe, it has another style of work, different mentality, culture, different education for sport. When coming to a new country ,you automatically face different aspects, such as connecting with education, with mentality, you need to come out with a different approach for work. It's all an interesting and good experience. Also Doha is an international hub for football. Coaches and players from all over the world come here; South America, Europe, Asia, I have learned a lot while working in Qatar".
What about the level of football in Qatar Stars League? Could you compare it with any other leagues in the world?
"Actually the level of football in Qatar Stars League surprised me. It is good, maybe the rhythm of the games is not very high, but the teams are starting to be very well organized. I could compare the level of teams here with those in United Arab Emirates, they also have very good players and coaches. Success in the Asian Champions League shows that the league competition is very balanced. I think the level of Qatar stars league is improving year after year."
Qatar will host the World Cup in 2022. Do you think the country is capabale of hosting this tournament?
"For me its too early to speak about this. But, the investments being made and the specialists who come to Qatar to work on the tournament from all over the world will surely help the country to do the best they can to host a great Mondial. We still have eight years to go before the World Cup, it is a lot of time. The project is fantastic, but we will see".
What is your opinion on the weather issue? Is it physically bearable to play football during summer?
"I think that the best solution is to play during winter or the end of autumn. Of course, the Organizing Committee is capable of building air-conditioned stadiums. For example, Al Sadd Stadium already operates under advanced air conditioning system. We have played there; it was very hot outside and cold inside, and It was mid May. But I think for the guests that will be visiting Qatar during the tournament, it is better to host the World Cup during winter."
About his future plans
According to some information on the internet, you are leaving Doha to Bucharest, where you will be coaching local team 'Dinamo'. Is it true?
"No, it's not true."
Mircea Lucescu, your father, is the head coach of Ukraine's most famous football club Shakhtar Donetsk. Would you be happy to coach an Ukrainian or a Russian football team?
"For me every possibility is open. I came here, in the Middle East to coach for an interesting experience, and I might go all over the world to get more experience. Everything is open for me. It's my job to coach teams all over the world."
But your father is approaching 70, is that true that he will retire soon?
"We did not talk about this. But in my opinion, he should continue. He must do that because he is happy doing his job. He has a lot of energy, enthusiasm, he goes to the training sessions with pleasure. When you have all of this you must carry on."
Have you heard about an idea to combine Russian and Ukraine championships into one league? What is your opinion on that?
"I have heard about this and it seems to be a very interesting idea. Ukrainian and Russian championships will be combined and fans all over the world could watch very interesting games, very special games. The value of the United league will increase a lot. I don’t know if it's easy or possible at all to happen. But in any case it could be fantastic."
This is a translation of the interview conducted by Doha-based journalist, Anna Lidster and published in Russian language newspaper www.sportsdaily.ru
Anna Lidster is a bilingual journalist based in Doha. She contributes for a number of newspapers and broadcasting companies in Russia, UK and Qatar; few of which are Sports daily newspaper St Petersburg (Russia), British newspaper Daily Mail and Doha-based broadcasting company Al Jazeera English.
Follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/AShlyakhtenko