Obradovic, the “Lord of the Rings” in the Final Four!

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)

A look back at the 14 Final Fours and the 8 titles!

Just before the very experienced Serbian coach’s 15^th 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: 1^st

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: 1^st

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: 1^st

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: 4^th

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 4^th 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: 3^rd

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 3^rd place following their win in the third place playoff against Partizan (96-89).