Sports journalist Emanuel Rosu announced the resignation of Romanian specialist Mircea Lucescu from his post as head coach of Dynamo Kiev four days after his appointment. According to him, Kiev fans forced him to do this.

On his Twitter, Rochu published quotes from the coach, who admitted that "he cannot work in an aggressive environment without the support of the ultras, which the club desperately needs at these moments." According to Lucescu, he would like to return to the Ukrainian league, where he worked for a long time and successfully with Shakhtar Donetsk. However, the circumstances forced him to make a difficult decision.

Lucescu's voluntary resignation from his post at Dynamo Kiev has become a central topic in the Romanian sports media. Gazeta Sporturilor published a statement from a specialist, which he allegedly wrote in connection with the dismissal.

“I cannot accept that my team's fans are acting against the interests of the club. I decided not to work for Dynamo. I thank the Surkis brothers, who believed me and invited me to the team, but it is unrealistic to work in such an atmosphere of hostility. I have never been a coward and accepted all sports challenges, working in Galatasaray and Besiktas, in Bucharest Dynamo and Rapid. But I can’t accept when Dynamo Kyiv fans go against the club’s interests. My return was not related to money, but I wanted to work again in Ukraine, where I had successful coaching years, "the publication quotes the statement.

However, Dynamo did not confirm Lucescu's dismissal of his own free will. Thus, the vice-president of the club, Alexander Semenenko, urged the public to be patient, and the president, Igor Surkis, made it clear that the Romanian would remain the team's mentor.

Lucescu's agent Arkady Zaporozhanu completely denied his client's refusal to work at Dynamo. According to him, the statement, called an official comment in the Romanian media, was in fact a personal correspondence between the mentor and Surkis, which took place back on July 25. He added that on the morning of July 28, the specialist will fly to Kiev to start working with Dynamo.

“Lucescu is the head coach of Dynamo. With this letter, he wanted to show that he was not holding on to his chair, that he had not come for the money. If his appointment can interfere with the people of Kiev, then he will quietly leave. The image of the club is much more expensive, ”RIA Novosti quotes Zaporozhan.

The appointment of an experienced Romanian specialist to Dynamo had the effect of a bomb. The fact is that from 2004 to 2016 he coached the main antagonist of the blue and white in the Ukrainian league - Shakhtar Donetsk, with whom he won the UEFA Cup. In this post, Lucescu was remembered, among other things, for his harsh statements about the blue and white. The teams' matches often took place in a fierce struggle, and scandalous situations were not uncommon.

After Shakhtar, the Romanians coached Zenit St. Petersburg, earning an ambiguous reputation in Russia, and the Turkish national team. Nevertheless, active fans of Dynamo have not forgotten his previous "sins" before the club. They issued a statement in which they called the appointment of the coach-legionnaire "a spit in the eyes of all fans" and threatened the leadership of "Dynamo" with protest actions.

“Surkis should be aware of the consequences this will entail. At the moment, we appeal to all Dynamo employees who have at least a drop of self-respect: all that remains for you in the current situation is to write a letter of resignation, ”the fans summed up.

Igor Surkis's reaction turned out to be quite emotional. The president invited his critics to work in the club and noted that "everyone can manage for someone else's money."

The position of the head coach at Dynamo became vacant after the dismissal of Alexei Mikhailichenko. Under his leadership, the Kievites won the Cup of Ukraine this year, but overall the season was unsuccessful. Their lag behind Shakhtar, which won the Ukrainian Premier League, was an impressive 23 points. The blue and white seriously risked missing the second line in the standings, and with it - a ticket to the Champions League qualification.

The last UEFA competition also did not bring satisfaction to the management and fans of Dynamo. In the Champions League, the Kievites finished their way at the stage of the third qualifying round, having failed to pass the Belgian Brugge. And in the Europa League they did not leave the group, letting Swedish Malmö and Danish Copenhagen go ahead.

Another candidate for the position of head coach, Yuri Semin, who previously worked in Kiev for two terms, also caused an ambiguous reaction from representatives of the fan movement. Some expressed confidence that his appointment would benefit the team. Others were categorically against the arrival of a Russian specialist, given the tense relations between the countries.

Commenting on the possible departure of Lucescu from Dynamo, Semin confirmed that Dynamo fans have a certain weight in Kiev.

“This is his decision, only he decides what to do. But I can say that the fans have a huge influence there, "Semin emphasized in a conversation with Sport24.

Most likely, Lucescu speaks of a high interest in working in Ukraine for a reason. According to Football.ua from sources close to Shakhtar, the Romanian wanted to return to the Pitmen's camp in 2018, when the current coach Paulo Fonseca was ending his contract and a new agreement had not yet been signed.

However, the leadership of the orange-and-blacks rejected the offer of the man who had led the team to the championship title in Ukraine eight times. Judging by the comments of Shakhtar officials, the club retained not very warm feelings towards the coach. For example, the Pitmen's general director Sergei Palkin revealed that Lucescu twice asked to return - and both times he was refused.

“Lucescu has exhausted himself. The club grew, went up, but Mircea remained at the same level, ”the functionary believes.

In addition, Palkin condemned the coach's transition to the main opponent of Shakhtar.