By Nikos Varlas
At 23 years of age Milos Teodosic was already a totem for Serbian basketball, the Euroleague’s MVP and the FIBA European player of the year 2010. Now he is 25 years old and everybody expects from him to win the Euroleague for the first time as a player of CSKA Moscow!
It was hard for Eurohoops.net to resist. We wanted to… interrogate him about everything and the time, after Panathinaikos’ qualification to the Final Four, was right. Some call him “Djordevic-heir”, some others compare him, because of his relaxed stare during the games, to the legendary Pete Maravich. For his friends, he is just a special “brate”! And if you know Milos, you can bet that he will never be afraid to speak his mind!
– Milos, did you get used to the life and… weather of Moscow?
“In the beginning it was strange and hard. It took some time for me to get used to it. The weather is quite similar to what I was used to in Serbia, but not in Athens! After two months, I adapted. The most important think is that I live near the gym and I don’t get stuck in Moscow’s traffic. Now, I am feeling very well. I am happy”.
– You are the favorites to win the Euroleague. Does that puts extra pressure on you? In 2005 CSKA Moscow went to the Final Four without a loss and they lost the semifinal.
“We know that we are among the favorites and a lot of people waiting from us to win the Euroleague. Some say that it will be easy for us. I don’t agree. Every final four team is strong. And in one game, anyone can win. To be honest, there is some extra pressure on us, but we don’t think about the past and what happened in 2005. We are a young team with a lot of talent. If we play the way we can, I believe that everything is going to be alright”.
– Having Andrei Kirilenko as your teammate makes things more simple?
“When your have Kirilenko, Krstic, Siskauskas, Shved and Khryapa everything is easier. They are great players and great persons. It’s an honor for me to have those teammates. We understand each other perfectly”.
– We knew Milos who was the leader in his teams and was taking many shots, like in Olympiakos and in Team Serbia. Do you like your role in CSKA?
“I am always happy when I win, my friend! That’s what counts! In the beginning it was a little hard to adapt, because my role was indeed different in my other teams. Now, I like to play for this team and set up my teammates”.
– Are you still thinking the possibility of playing in the NBA? You and Ricky Rubio are considered the greatest talents of your generations and the Spaniard is already having a career in Minnesota.
“I can’t lie and say that I don’t care. Every basketball player has the childhood dream to play one day in the NBA. It’s something that I still think a lot of times”.
– Not even one of the great Serbian point guards of the past did not make it to the NBA. Is this an extra motive for you?
“(10 second pause…) I never thought of it this way! You are right, nobody did it. With questions like this one, you get me to think more about it”.
– Panathinaikos – CSKA Moscow. What do you think about this semifinal?
“This semifinal will not have anything to do with the two regular season games between us. It will be a big game, a spectacle worth seeing. They got one of the best coaches in Europe and a great Final Four tradition. It will be a very hard game”.
= Your team has the biggest bodies in Europe. Do you think that the semifinal will be decided by speed and energy, or it will be a close call with set plays and a lot of tactic?
“It will be a combination of energy and tactic. Of course we want to impose our game and our rhythm on the court. But if the game is close till the end, then maybe Panathinaikos will have the advantage. They play many years together and they still are the Champions of Europe”.
– You had played many times against Panathinaikos as a player of Olympiacos. The semifinal will be just one more game?
“For me it was never just one more game when I was playing Panathinaikos. It’s only natural, being for so many years a player of Olympiacos. Now I am more experienced and I believe that I can handle better this game”.
– What is your prediction for the duel between Olympiacos and Barcelona? How do you explain what Olympiacos did this year? Nobody expected from him to be in the Final Four…
“Barcelona is the favorite. Olympiacos is a young team that plays great the last two months with a lot of energy. They play tough, strong defense. It’s important that they have a great coaching stuff and a leader like Billy Spanoulis. Nobody expected from the team to be in Istanbul, so they didn’t have any pressure and that helped them”.
– Are you rooting for someone in this semifinal?
“Of course I root for Olympiacos! You know that! I wish them from my heart to be in the final”.
– You are still a fan favorite in Piraeus. How do you explain it? Do you still remember the fans’ song that you singed after your first cup with the team?
“Certainly I do! You are something magic in the mind… you know the rest! Honestly, I don’t want how to answer. I still feel bad about not winning a championship with Olympiacos and I know that it’s a great honor to be loved by those fans. I played with my heart for this team and I am bound to them”.
– Do you know what is happening in Greece because of the economic crisis?
“Yes, I do and it makes me sad. I still have many friends and I know how things are… We been there in Serbia and in my home country people are still suffering, like in Greece. I don’t know what to say. I hope that things will soon change for the better and that you can be happy again. I believe that the Greeks can make it”.
– In the semifinal of FIBA World Championship 2010 you lost the semifinal after an incredible game against Turkey. This year’s Final Four is held in the same gym “Sinan Erdem”. Do you want to win the Euroleague in that court?
“Why do you remind me of that? I hope to live a great joy in that place! It will be nice to happen…”
– Your national team made Serbians proud again in 2009, after the semifinal win against Slovenia. Last summer in Lithuania was a failure. Do you believe that your generation will lead one of the most prominent European basketball powers to new glories?
“After two tournaments with good results, we didn’t succeed in Eurobasket 2011. We were disappointed and the worst thing is that we disappointed also our country. We had injuries and we didn’t have any luck. We still have many years ahead of us and there will be other chances to succeed. But we feel awkward not having the chance to qualify for the Olympic Games. Serbians know, thought, that this generation still has time to make it…”