Lucescu returned to Brașov in 2004 for his first role as a manager, before moving to Rapid where he guided the team to the Cupa României in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons.

[8] On 29 April 2009, he was appointed head coach and general manager of Romania, leaving Braşov after a ninth-place finish in the first division and replacing Victor Piţurcă in this position.

[9] After two years in control he gave up the national team, following the 3–0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, leaving it with chances of qualifying to the UEFA Euro 2012.

Lucescu's Rapid side defeated Polish champions Śląsk Wrocław 4–2 on aggregate in the play-off round to qualify for the UEFA Europa League group stage.

[12] In his first season in charge Lucescu won the 2012–13 Qatari Stars Cup[13] and led his side into the knockout stages of the AFC Champions League.

[14] His contract with El Jaish was terminated in January 2014 and he was replaced by coach Nabil Maâloul who led the club to the runner-up spot in the Qatar Stars League.

Despite a bad start in the Super League, his team amassed an impressive winning streak to reach first place in the league table until the derby with AEK Athens on 11 March 2018, where in the 90th minute of the match a Fernando Varela goal was disallowed in a controversial fashion,[19] leading to incidents culminating in the club's president Ivan Savvidis storming the pitch.

Lucescu received wide praise from PAOK fans and became a major figure in the club after leading it to its most successful season by that point.

[22] Despite the departure of star player Aleksandar Prijović in January, Lucescu led his side to league triumph without a single defeat, a milestone last reached by Panathinaikos 65 years before, and finished the season with a record-breaking 80 points.

[23] On 28 June 2019, Lucescu parted ways with PAOK after receiving an offer to manage Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal.

[37] In the 2022–23 season, PAOK without the necessary transfer support charged to the team president Ivan Savvidis finished in fourth place in the league table, while in the cup, they reached the final, where they were defeated 2–0 by AEK Athens.

[40] In the 2023–24 season, PAOK eliminated Beitar Jerusalem, Hajduk Split and Heart of Midlothian in succession to reach the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage.

[41] Then, in the group stage with Eintracht Frankfurt, Aberdeen and HJK, they finished first,[42] qualifying for the round of 16, where they eliminated Dinamo Zagreb and made it to the quarter-finals.