By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Crvena Zvezda coach Giannis Sfairopoulos discussed the 2024-25 edition of the team, the goals for the upcoming EuroLeague and ABA League as well as the reported interest of his club for current Olympiacos Piraeus big man Filip Petrusev.
Here’s what Sfairopoulo said, per Meridian:
On how the roster was built:
“This is the team I made together with my colleagues, management, and president, whom I want to thank. All summer we try to make the right choices. This is a team that will give us more, I believe, than last season. Because the strategy was for this team to be physically better, secondly to have three players in each position, so that we could cover ourselves if there were injuries during the season. The last but very important parameter, we brought in experienced players from the Euroleague, along with a group of players from last season. That group will be the base of the team. In addition to the Serbian players who played important roles last season, we also extended the contracts of three foreigners. With the newcomers who have come, we believe that we have made a team good enough to fight for every goal, to fight for the three trophies we won last season, but also to be better in the Euroleague, to try to be among the ten teams and to we are fighting for the playoffs.”
“Of course. When the summer comes my job is different, but I still work 12 months for the club. We also work during the summer, because we have to sort out all the details, we are always on the phone, talking about players, about signings, about preparations, about all the details, tournaments, matches. We are in contact all the time. On the other hand, there were times when I could rest with my family, with my children. Now I’m ready to start the season.”
“There are two differences. The first is athleticism, the second is experience. The players we brought in are good athletes with a lot of experience from the Euroleague. They also played in the playoffs, some played in the final four, some even won the Euroleague. We have brought players who are ready for the highest level.”
On pressure:
“I don’t feel pressure. I also said last year that stress is felt by someone who has to support a family, who has problems with his job, has children… With covid and all these economic crises, there is no way to raise children and bring food to the family. It’s stress. And if we feel pressure because we play the basketball we love, I don’t understand that. The pressure from the fans… I understand that, because everyone wants to succeed. Otherwise, I don’t like to work in clubs that don’t care if they win or lose. That’s why I personally put the pressure that I put on my team, my players. That’s the way to be a champion. That you can play even under difficult circumstances. We build that mentality every day through our training, as well as generally through the games we will play. I know there are high expectations. But I have even higher expectations than anyone else. I am the first one who wants the success of this club.”
On Filip Petrusev:
“Filip Petrusev is an Olympiakos player, he has a contract with them. It is not in our hands what can be done there. Of course I would like him to come, because he is a Serbian player, a member of the national team, he has quality… Who wouldn’t want him?! But it is not the same whether I want him and whether he is free. He has a contract with another team, we respect that, we value Olympiakos. They will decide what to do with him. It depends on Olympiakos.”
On Zvezda having many Serbian players:
“Maybe. But I, as a coach, have a philosophy that wherever I work, I want to have the best local players. When I was in Olympiakos, I had the best Greek players and we managed to go to the Final Four twice, we were in the final twice, we were champions of Greece. When I was at Maccabi we had the best Israeli players. We managed to go to the playoffs. It was the year of the covid pandemic, so the season was interrupted. I wanted to do the same here. When I came here, we had a lot of Serbian players. But I wanted us to have the most that we could have. Because that’s how you first preserve the character of the team. Also, they know each other, they have played together for many years, most of them are national team members. You understand that you have a connection that you cannot find easily.”
On Nikola Kalinic and Codi Miller-McIntyre:
“Kalinić and Miller-McIntyre were my two first options. I really wanted them both. I am happy because now I will coach Kalinić, until now I have only played against him. It was always hard to guard him. I also told him that I was happy to finally coach him. We want his leadership, his character, experience and quality. Plus, he’s Serbian. He was one of my primary targets. I’m happy because he came. Surely he will be one of the main players. We have Teo [Milos Teodosic], we have him, and many other players who can lead the team. Codi, Canaan… We have players who can lead on different days, who on their good days can “kill” the opponent. We have the quality to always have someone else step up, if someone is not given time. I also expect that Jago will play better. Giedraitis also, Bolomboy… All of them can give more to the team this year. That is very important to me.”
On the new EuroLeague season overall:
“There are teams that have improved a lot, that have strengthened. I don’t want to talk about names. All teams wanted to make better lineups. The Euroleague will be more difficult, some teams can be favorites for the final four, but you never know what will happen. The season is long, with many unexpected situations, injuries… Many things can happen. On paper, many teams are better now. So is our team. We are also better on paper, but we have to show it on the field. We have to work hard to play at our best. I expect the season to be more difficult for everyone.”
“You have to understand that my club, which I love very much, Crvena Zvezda, was not the first option for top-level players. We finished in 16th place last season, it’s not easy for players who were in the final four to get here. Right? I had to talk to everyone before they came and explain to them that we are trying to do something better, something good, that we have better conditions, that everyone in the club is trying to provide the best for the team. To try to make a better team on the field, but also off it because our expectations are high. That was the moment when he realized that we wanted to be competitive and that’s how I convinced him to come.”
On Andrea Trinchieri’s comments that Zvezda can finish 7th in the upcoming EuroLeague:
“I respect Andrea, he is a great coach, my friend. I’m not a prediction type of coach. I don’t like it. I cannot predict the unexpected. And it depends on whether you will succeed or not. It is important for us to be competitive, we do not put numbers, some positions. For sure we want to qualify for the playoffs. We will fight to be placed as well as possible. We have to work hard, go game by game. I know you don’t like these answers. But that’s the reality. that’s the way to succeed. Not to think too far ahead, what will happen. Because no one knows what will happen in the future. I don’t have a crystal ball, I’m a coach. I do my job to the best of my ability. We will put every victory in the bag, if the bag is full, we will move on.”