Writing from Berlin: Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
The Serbian mastermind is the most successful coach in Europe with eight Euroleague championship titles under his belt, having win eight of nine finals in his career. But what kind of person he is outside the court? The Eurohoops asked nine Fenerbahce players if they would like to best friends of their coach, trying to find the man behind the coach.
So what do the players say?
Bogdan Bogdanovic: “Buddies with the coach? Yes! He is a very cool guy and I will always remember a piece of advice he gave me that had been given to him by his father:” You have to respect others, in order for them to respect you”.
Pero Antic: “Without a doubt! He is a friend of all of us off the court and our manager on the court. I really like him as a person, as a man and this is the most important thing in life, to be friends with someone”
Jan Vesely: “Yes! He is perfectly straight and honest when he is talking to you. He has a sense of humor, many experiences in life and he has great interest as a person. If you ask, yes I could drink a beer with Obradovic. Business is business on the court, but life outside the gym is something different! ”
Ricky Hickman: “Yes! Coach Obradovic is completely different on and off the court. He is an amazing man. He is someone who cares for his players and he constantly shows it. Whatever time you want to talk, he is available and he is very loose every time we are together off the court. It’s really fun to be around him when he is not working and I enjoy every moment with him”.
Bobby Dixon: “Of course! The coach is a very relaxed guy and I woud like to be his friend. It is not something easy to say that someone can be your best friend, but he certainly is a great man and it’s always nice to hang out with him.”
Kostas Sloukas: “Therer’s big respect and it is hard to see things that way. For sure, though, every man would like to be best friend with Obradovic. He has humor, a great personality and every moment with him is interesting and instructive. He is very honest and that counts too both in professional and personal life”.
Melih Mahmutoglu: “Everyone knows that he is a great guy. He is a very good coach and also a great man.”
Berk Ugurlu: “He is super honest. He talks directly to your face and he tells what he thinks. And also he is so helpful. Me and my other young teammates are so lucky to have him. He shows us what we have to do and how we have to do it.”
Ekpe Udoh: “Yeah…. I mean it’s possible. He is a crazy man. But of course it would be fun to hang out with him off the court and I plan on doing that after the season”