by Yiğit Alp Kalkancı & Buğra Uzar, Translation: M. Bahadır Akgün / info@eurohoops.net
Having gone through a huge change during the offseason, Besiktas Sompo Japan appointed Dusko Ivanovic, one of the most experienced coaches of Europe, as head coach following Ufuk Sarıca‘s departure.
After working at EuroLeague powerhouses for many years, Ivanovic faces a new challenge with Besiktas, trying to restore the pride of the “Black Eagles” as the club is nicknamed. Despite the fact that Besiktas built its roster relatively late, it seems that the experienced coach has already shown his impact on the team. Besiktas won two out of three games so far in the season failing only against one of the best teams in Europe, Fenerbahce, against which they really put up a fight.
Eurohoops met with Dusko Ivanovic and talked about his decision to take over Besiktas, his goals with the team, the best players he’s worked with and his message to Besiktas’ fans.
– After a one-year break, you are back in action as a head coach. Did you miss basketball? Was it hard for you to be away from the sport?
“Sometimes it’s good to have a little holiday. However, I remained related to basketball during that period as well. I saw games in person by traveling all around. I guess I was 13 or 14 years old when I started playing basketball. Basketball is my life. It does not matter if I am on a sabbatical, it’s always in my mind”.
– How did you decide to accept Besiktas Sompo Japan’s offer in the summer?
“I saw the desire for competition and to be better when I spoke to the Besiktas officials. I could see that they love basketball and they have the same mindset with me. These were the main reasons for me to come here. Besiktas is a really great club in my opinion. I believe that we can accomplish something special”.
– It has not been so long since you came here, but what would you like to say about the Besiktas organization?
“It has just been a month, and I have not seen much yet, but so far everything has been great. I can see that it’s a great organisation. People over here are coming to work willingly, happily. Besides that, when I watched football games of Besiktas, I saw the incredible support of the fans”.
– Speaking of which, will we see you at Vodafone Park, the Besiktas football team’s home stadium, in the future?
“I already watched two games. Everything was amazing. I was impressed by the fans”.
– You started building the roster a little bit late this year. Do you think this will be a huge disadvantage for you? The team looked pretty good during the first games. How did you manage it?
“Yes, we built the roster a bit late. I signed late, we made our moves late and we started practicing late. However, none of these are excuses. We should definitely play hard and do our best with the roster we have. My players are working really hard and right now everyone is focused. Hopefully, it will continue to be the same way”.
