Lucescu named Rapid president

FC Rapid Bucuresti have taken the unusual step of naming their 33-year-old former goalkeeper Tazvan Lucescu as the club's new president.

'Good for the club'
George Copos, Rapid's main shareholder, said of his decision to appoint Lucescu as a replacement for Marian Albu: "It's for the good of the club that leading positions here are filled by former players. I had the idea of bringing Lucescu in and I am glad that he accepted."

Son of Mircea Lucescu
Lucescu, the son of former Rapid coach Mircea Lucescu, currently in charge of Besiktas JK in Turkey, is much loved by the Valentin Stanescu stadium faithful, having played the majority of his 240 Romanian top-flight games for Rapid. He also kept goal for CF Sportul Studentesc, FC National Bucuresti and FCM Bacau.

Knee operations
Lucescu was going to retire at the end of last season as two knee operations were taking their toll on his fitness but a fortnight ago he signed a one-year contract with SC Astra Ploiesti. However, Lucescu yesterday informed the club that he would not be flying to their pre-season training camp in Austria.

'A man of honour'
Petre Buduru, an executive director of Astra, was not shocked by Lucescu's decision. "It's not a surprise for us because we obviously knew his medical history," Buduru said. "Maybe Lucescu felt that he could not resist Rapid any more and accepted what is a leading role at a prestigious club. We cannot be upset by his decision because we know he is a man of honour."

Linca returns home
Meanwhile, another Divizia A club, FC Arges-Dacia Pitesti, have also appointed a new president, Viorel Linca. Linca returns to Pitesti after standing down as FC Universitatea Craiova president at the end of last season.