Romania has always been a fertile ground for champions, and names like David Popovici, Ilie Năstase or Simona Halep are clear proof of this. Mircea Lucescu recently spoke about what, in his opinion, is the basis of the success of these great athletes.
Mircea Lucescu, Romanian national team selector Photo/ Facebook FRF
The national coach explained that his team’s success against Austria did not come from a physical superiority, but from the mental strength of the players.
“They have some natural, special qualities!”
Lucescu emphasized that it was the mental strength of the “tricolors” that tipped the balance in the preliminaries match.
“In this match I thought about how we can compensate for the strength of these players. In football you have to rely a lot on talent, which is something exceptional. Everyone has to support talent, it can create unforeseen and extremely favorable situations.
You have to choose your players very well, you see that at the moment, in European football, there has been a massive influx of players from Africa. They have some very and very special natural qualities. You choose your players based on the qualities of your opponent.
You can, through training, improve your speed by 10-15%. You can take the resistance, the physique 20-25% more. With the mind, with the mental aspect, that means 40-45%!“declared Mircea Lucescu.
“Here I give Popovici an example. He beat him mentally!”
The selector emphasized the importance of mental preparation, giving examples that show that the power of the mind can be more decisive than the physical. He mentioned David Popovici and Simona Halep, athletes who achieved remarkable performances thanks to exceptional mental discipline.
At the same time, Mircea Lucescu also mentioned Ilie Năstase, a special case, where native talent was the dominant factor, but, as the selector noted, such examples are rare in performance sports.
“Here I give Popovici an example. He mentally beat everyone else. He is so strong mentally! Physically, they are all about the same. He knew how to organize his training, his life and everything around him to reach the ultimate performance.
“Halep, so small, had excellent mental strength!”
David Popovici has excellent mental strength, and this applies in general, to other sports as well. For example, Ilie Năstase did not manage to reach that level with mental strength, but with talent, but these are rarities.
Halep, small as she was, had tremendous mental strength. She trained in the direction she thought she could help. She had tremendous playing stamina… To do 5-6 sprints from side to side at high speed is quite special. That just goes without saying!“added Mircea Lucescu, according to Fanatik.
