Former Inter manager Mircea Lucescu has admitted that he chose to leave and was not sacked by Inter in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport, which appeared in yesterday’s print edition.
The Romanian, who is one of the most decorated managers of all time, spent a few months in charge of the club between January and March 1999.
He managed the club in 17 matches across all competitions but was far from successful with him winning just four of those matches.
“I resigned, I was not sacked. The biggest mistake was that Lippi’s arrival for the following season had already been announced and it was as if I had been destabilised in the eyes of the team. I could only leave,” he remarked.
Lucescu also went on to admit that Il Fenomeno Ronaldo was the best player who he ever managed, even though he only managed the Brazilian for a few months whilst at Inter.
“Ronaldo is the greatest player I have ever coached. Unfortunately, that year he had many physical troubles. Yes, Baggio also played in that Inter, he was a top player, but not like Ronaldo.”
Upon leaving Inter he has went on to manage the likes of Galatasaray, Besiktas and most notably Shakhtar Donetsk, who he led to no less than 22 trophies, including the 2008/09 UEFA Cup. The 74-year-old was last in charge of the Turkish national team between 2017 and 2019
