By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
After its failure in Slovenia, Greek national team hopes to a world cup wildcard which will be given by FIBA based mainly on financial criteria, as the recent press release reassured us. This situation makes also Fotis Katsikaris the favorite to be the new coach of the team and replace Andrea Trinkieri.
The Greek coach who is still searching for a job and his priority is Liga Endesa, was also the favorite to be the head of the Greek national team coach before Trinkieri got the job. At that time and during his talks with the Greek federation (EOK), Katsikaris decided to accept the alluring offer of the Russian federation, which turned out to be a disaster for him personally and also for the Russian national team
Greek federation president Giorgos Vasilakopoulos who has the lion’s share of responsibilities for the last two failures of the Greek national team (preolympic tournament and Eurobasket 2013), once more will decide by himself what’s the best solution. Our sources insists that he will chose a Greek coach and will complete the deal that was left unfinished last winter with Katsikaris.
According to persons close to the situation, neither Vasilakopoulos or any other high ranking member of the Greek federation hasn’t contacted yet Trinkieri after the end of Eurobasket and that’s an indication for his future, despite having a contract for one more year.
However, at this time the main priority of the federation is not the issue of the coach, but the wildcard hunt. The situation is expected to be clear in November and until then the federation will not be in any hurry to take decision about the coach and the future planning about the national team.
The question is if Greece will have the chance to compete for something big during 2014, or if the absence from the FIBA world cup will push the team towards the direction of a full make over. It’s not a secret that in order to gain a wildcard, you have to spend a respectable amount of money. That’s not easy in the very fragile financial Greek environment in which everything can change – for the worst – in a moment and f the possible new coach has a high price range, no decision will be easy.
The – part time – contract of Trinkieri is more than affordable, so if the Greek federation is forced to spend big in order to get the wildcard and his a financial deadend, the Italian coach can hope that he will stay on the bench and will have the chance to redeem himself. This scenario, thought, has the slightest of chances for fruition since Vasilakopoulis is notorious for using coaches as scapegoats.
That’s brings us to an other issue, which may be the most important. If the tactics of the federation remain the same, if there isn’t a strict planning about the identity and the rules of the team on and off the court – and that mainly means protecting it from the negative effects of the ongoing hate between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos – nothing will change, no matter who will be the coach.