Milos Teodosic returns to his official blog on Eurohoops and writes about the big dream of qualification and… distinction in the Olympic Games in Rio! The captain of the Serbian national team won every title he played for with CSKA Moscow this year, he’s a European Champion and at 29 years of age he boasts the silver medal from the 2009 EuroBasket, the silver medal from the 2014 World Cup and the huge distinction of best playmaker in two consecutive World Cups!
What can be missing from such a golden collection? An appearance in the Olympic Games and a distinction in Rio! The highest honor not just for himself, but his entire generation and the whole of Serbia!
The countdown has already begun for the pre-Olympic tournament. Our preparation takes place in special circumstances, lasts very few days and we have to prepare our mind and body for the big challenge.
To be honest, there is fatigue. Up until a few days ago I was playing in the finals of the VTB League with CSKA Moscow. When you represent your country and your goal is that big, though, you put everything aside. The fact that the tournament takes place at home raises the demand of qualification.
We have big dreams, but we have to take it step by step. The first and most important is to qualify for Rio! It’s in our hand, but we’re not expecting the qualification to come easy. We have to fight for it and be tough, disciplined and totally focused in the two knockout games.
For everyone on the national team, every time we play with the national emblem on our chest, it’s thrilling. It’s the best thing that can happen to an athlete! We have won a medal in the World Cup and the EuroBasket, but this summer we’re treating it as a milestone.
No one from my generation has played in the Olympic Games. The chance is right in front of us and it’s big! The career of every athlete at this level has an expiration date. How many times are we going to have the opportunity to play with the national team in the Olympic Games and have this experience of taking part in the biggest sporting event in the world?
We have to fight like there’s no tomorrow. The fact that the final stage takes place in Rio is another huge motivation! For me, my generation, all my teammates, the coaches, the federation and the people of Serbia, the Olympic Games in Rio are a dream. We’re on a mission, we have to make it a reality!
We have to be ourselves
The secret for me is simple. We all know each other very well and there is a main body in the national team that’s been the same for many years, with some guys that have been added in the last summers and have tied harmoniously with the group. We have quality, we have experience and I believe that, compared to other national teams, we also have better chemistry since we have competed together in many tournaments.
We don’t have to do anything more than combine our fighting spirit with our brains and be ourselves. Another advantage is the atmosphere in the locker room. We are a real family! We love each other and we feel that we have to fight all for one and one for all.
All these elements make me optimistic and I can’t wait for the games to begin! The distinction in the Olympic Games is missing from the national team of Serbia and we know this well and everyone on the team has that in mind.
You never reach the top with one step. It takes many and steady steps. The effort has already begun and we are going to do whatever it takes to get to the place we believe we deserve to be. We ask the people to be at our side and give us even more energy than we have in us.
Actually, that’s not necessary… We’re talking about the national team of Serbia here!
It’s shocking, I have no words
Some things happen nowadays that go beyond not just sports, but the value of human life, which has to be unsurpassed. Like the rest of the world, I am shocked with what took place at the airport of Istanbul.
I am an athlete and aside from basketball there is nothing else that I know well. But, I wonder, why should things like this happen in the world? Why should so many innocent people lose their lives from one moment to the next and families be destroyed?
We have all been to that airport so many times. Anyone could have been in the position of the victims. It is only a matter of luck and timing, nothing else.
It is not only Turkey. There have been so many incidents in recent years that it is inconceivable. From the bottom of my heart, I would like to wish courage to the grieving families, and we always hope that this thing will finally stop.
We feel now that we are nowhere safe and that is cruel and unfair. Human life should be above all else and each one of us should fight for that.
Be well, Milos