By Stelios Toromanidis/ info@eurohoops.net
If there is one coach whose name can be linked to the Final Four institution, that’s no other than Zeljko Obradovic. Eurohoops looks back at Zoc’s more than a few doings in the major appointments of the Euroleague, highlighting his biggest achievements.
He has been nicknamed the “Lord of the Rings” and not without reason. After all, we’re talking about the man who has lifted the Euroleague trophy eight times, and has reached the Final Four 15 times (including this year’s qualification)!
In fact, in nine of the 14 appearances in the Final Four to date, he led his team to the final (a success rate of 64,3%). Regarding the games that decide the title, he’s almost… unbeatable. The only time he has left the court a loser was in the 2000-01 season, in the only Final Four of the Suproleague.
To Zoc’s significant achievements, add the fact that he remains the only one to have won a triple crown in just his first year as coach (!), while he has won a European title in every club he’s worked in so far, a record that he would like to expand with Fenerbahce.
What he does against Spaniards in the semifinals
In Friday’s semifinal (13/05) he will come up against Laboral Kutxa. Obradovic counts two wins and two defeats against Spanish teams.
Euroleague semifinals Obradovic vs Spanish team (2-2 record)
| YEAR | FINAL FOUR | SEMIFINAL | FINAL
RANKING |
| 1994 | Tel Aviv | Badalona-Barcelona 79-65 | Winners |
| 1996 | Paris | Real Madrid-Barcelona 66-76 | 4th place |
| 2007 | Athens | Panathinaikos-Tau Ceramica 67-53 | Winners |
| 2015 | Madrid | Fenerbahce–Real Madrid 87-96 | 4th place |
A look back at the 14 Final Fours and the 8 titles!
Just before the very experienced Serbian coach’s 15th participation in a Euroleague Final Four, Eurohoops collected all the previous ones and presents them to you in a list that will take you back in time and remind you of the greatest moments of the most successful coach in the history of the competition.
Start the countdown…
Final Four: Istanbul (14-16/04/1992)
Team: Partizan
Semifinal: Partizan – Philips Milan 82-75
Final: Partizan – Badalona 71-70
Place: 1st
In his maiden appearance in a Final Four, Obradovic won the Euroleague in Istanbul in perhaps the most… epic way. He led the ultimate outsiders, Partizan, to the title, relying on a youthful team from which Djordjevic and Danilovic stood out. In the semifinal the Serbs overcame the hurdle of Philips Milan and in the final they came up against Badalona. The Catalans were ahead 70-68 a few seconds before the end, but Sasa Djordjevic’s three-pointer as the game expired gave Partizan their only Euroleague title.
Final Four: Tel Aviv (19-21/04/1994)
Team: Badalona
Semifinal: Badalona – Barcelona 79-65
Final: Badalona – Olympiacos 59-57
Place: 1st
Obradovic took over Badalona midway through the 1992-93 season and one year later the Spaniards reached the Final Four in Tel Aviv as outsiders and went all the way up to the top step of the podium! In the semifinal they easily overcame the obstacle of Barcelona and in the game for the title they defeated the Olympiacos of Tarpley, Fasoulas and Paspalj thanks to Cornelius Thompson’s three-pointer just before the end!
Final Four: Zaragoza (11-13/04/1995)
Team: Real Madrid
Semifinal: Real Madrid – Limoges 62-49
Final: Real Madrid – Olympiacos 73-61
Place: 1st
Zoc’s third Final Four in his third year in the Euroleague and with the third different club. Of course this time Obradovic was sitting on the bench of the best team and not an outsider. The Real of Sabonis and Arlauckas had been playing excellently throughout the entire season and kept doing so in the Final Four where they got two easy wins, reaching their eighth Euroleague win in their history.
Final Four: Paris (9-11/04/1996)
Team: Real Madrid
Semifinal: Barcelona – Real Madrid 76-66
Third place playoff: CSKA Moscow – Real 74-73
Place: 4th
A year after the triumph in Zaragoza, and this time without Arvydas Sabonis who had left for the Portland Trail Blazers, Zoc led Real to a second Final Four in a row. In the semifinal he faced Barcelona and while the “queen” were leading by 20 points, with Karnisovas and Godfread the main protagonists the Blaugrana turned the game around and got a 76-66 win. The Madrilenos were defeated by CSKA in the third place playoff, staying at 4th place.
Final Four: Barcelona (21-23/04/1998)
Team: Benetton Treviso
Semifinal: Benetton Treviso – AEK 66-69
Third place playoff: Partizan – Benetton Treviso 89-96
Place: 3rd
Obradovic’s Benetton reached the big appointment in Barcelona with a 16-5 record. But there, Giannis Ioannidis’s AEK put a stop in Zoc’s… onslaught as they prevailed 69-66 in the semifinal against the Italians. In this way, the “blond one” got a little revenge on the Serbian coach for the two times he cut him off on the road to the trophy in Tel Aviv (’94) and Zaragoza (’95). In the end Benetton were… consoled with 3rd place following their win in the third place playoff against Partizan (96-89).
Final Four: Thessaloniki (18-20/04/2000)
Team: Panathinaikos
Semifinal: Panathinaikos – Efes 81-71
Final: Panathinaikos – Maccabi Tel Aviv 73-67
Place: 1st
In the summer of 1999 the Giannakopoulos brothers brought the “Lord of the Rings” to Greece on behalf of Panathinaikos and they were instantly vindicated. The Final Four was held on Greek territory (Thessaloniki) and the greens took part, getting there with great ease (17-4 record). In the semifinal they imposed themselves on Efes and in the big final they overcame Maccabi’s resistance. In this way, Obradovic reached his 4th Euroleague title and Panathinaikos their 2nd.
Final Four: Paris (11-13/05/2001) (Suproleague)
Participants: Maccabi Tel Aviv – Panathinaikos – Efes – CSKA Moscow
Team: Panathinaikos
Semifinal: Panathinaikos – Efes 74-66
Final: Panathinaikos – Maccabi Tel Aviv 67-81
Place: 2nd
In the year of the… split (2000-01) Panathinaikos decided to take part in the Suproleague, in fact reaching the Final Four. After first overcoming the obstacle of Efes, they subsequently faced Maccabi Tel Aviv in the déjà vu of the previous season’s final. But Obradovic could not lead his team to the title for the second year in a row.
Final Four: Bologna (03-05/05/2002)
Team: Panathinaikos
Semifinal: Panathinaikos – Maccabi Tel Aviv 83-75
Final: Panathinaikos – Kinder Bologna 89-83
Place: 1st
In Bologna, Panathinaikos won the most impressive European title in their history and Obradovic celebrated another epic… trophy. Initially, the greens imposed themselves on the Suproleague champions, Maccabi, in the semifinal and in the final they prevailed over Messina’s Kinder at home, in fact turning around a 14-point deficit (!). In this way, Jaric, Ginobili, Rigaudeau, Andersen and Smodis were left… feeling hungry as they watched Bodiroga, Kutluay and Papadopoulos defeating in the final a team hosting the Final Four for the first time.
Final Four: Moscow (06-08/05/2005)
Team: Panathinaikos
Semifinal: Maccabi – Panathinaikos 91-82
Third place playoff: CSKA Moscow – Panathinaikos 91-94
Place: 3rd
Zoc’s Panathinaikos returned to a Final Four after three years, but were… unlucky as they stumbled on the supersonic Maccabi of Jasikevicius, Parker, Vujcic who proved to be an insurmountable obstacle (91-82 defeat) in the semifinal. Despite this, the greens prevailed over the hosts, CSKA, in the battle for third place with an stunning overturn in the score, with Mike Batiste on a big day (28 points, 10 rebounds).
Final Four: Athens (04-06/05/2007)
Team: Panathinaikos
Semifinal: Panathinaikos – Tau Ceramica 67-53
Final: Panathinaikos – CSKA Moscow 93-91
Place: 1st
Five years without a Euroleague trophy were too many for the European Midas of the benches. So in 2007 Panathinaikos reached yet another Final Four and in fact at home, as the competition was held in OAKA. There, with Diamantidis, Batiste and Siskauskas leading the effort, Zoc celebrated his 6th title by beating in turn the Tau Ceramica of Scola, Splitter and Prigioni, and the CSKA Moscow of Papaloukas, Langdon, Holden, and Smodis in what was an excellent final.
Final Four: Berlin (01-03/05/2009)
Team: Panathinaikos
Semifinal: Panathinaikos – Olympiacos 84-82
Final: Panathinaikos – CSKA Moscow 73-71
Place: 1st
In the 2008-09 season, Zoc had to manage perhaps the best roster in Panathinaikos’s history (Diamantidis, Spanoulis, Jasikevicius, Nicholas, Pekovic, Batiste, etc.). In the quarterfinals, Obradovic’s armada subjugated Siena (3-1) to reach the Final Four in Berlin. There they got a big win in the semifinal against the “eternal” enemy, Olympiacos, while in the final they subjugated CSKA Moscow for the second time in three years. In this way, Zoc beat the Russians’ coach, Messina, one more time, and the “three-leaf clover” blossomed at the top of Europe for the fifth time.