By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
Giorgos Bartzokas, the first Greek coach who won the Euroleague, resigned today from Olympiacos’ bench, after losing to Panathinaikos in the Greek cup quarterfinal. Bartzokas met with the managment of the club and the two sides decided that it was better to end their collaboration.
Milan Tomic, former player of the team and member of the coaching stuff, will be the interim head coach, while the names of Alexandar Djordjevic, Fotis Katsikaris and Giannis Sfairopoulos are already rumored to be possible candidates for the bench of the Reds. UPDATE: Coach Djordjevic said to Zurnal.rs that he is not willing to negotiate any kind of offer by Olympiacos, if an offer is made, and his agent “will explain why I am not in the position to do so”.
Coach Bartzokas issued a written statement after his decision to resign: “Sometimes in your life you should be the change that you are longing for. For me this moment arrived today, two years after the day I signed with Olympiacos. For me this was not a strictly professional relationship. As much the joy and the pride was in big wins, even bigger was my sorrow in defeats.
I work with faith and dedication, believing that every decision I made was for the best of the team. After all, that’s should be the only criterion for anyone who has the honor to work for a club like Olympiacos.
I want to thank the owners for their trust, their support and the work conditions they provided, all the players I worked with, my stuff, the management and the fans who supported us with their unique way.
I honestly believe that this season’s team has a lot of potential and great quality that can led it to a deserving success.
I wish the best to Olympiacos family, as it’s expressed by our owners in their chosen difficult role”.
The owners of Olympiacos Aggelopoulos brothers also issued a statement thanking coach Bartzokas for his contribution to the team.