By Niki Bakouli/ bakouli@eurohoops.net
One of the most iconic figures of European basketball decided this season to rest. Still, Zeljko Obradovic has a lot to say and he did to Ivan Bogunovic and Mondo.rs in a really long interview. Eurohoops has the privilege to post the highlights of the second part with Zoc speaking about his future, the Euroleague, the NBA, Dimitris Diamantidis and Vasilis Spanoulis.
So, what kind of team he would like to coach in the future? “It has to be a team with the biggest possible goals, but that can mean various things. Is their goal to be better than they are now? Is their goal to win trophies? … I always like to ask “What it is that you expect from me? Why is it exactly me that you want? How do you think I can help you?”… After they give me the answer, I’ll say, “OK, I can do this and this and this, and I can do it this or that way”, so that there can be no surprises after we make a deal. And that’s basically it. Negotiations are not complicated stuff”.
And would he like to return next season in basketball? “I would like to. But even if I don’t receive any offers, I will not complain. I like the way I am living right now – meeting friends, have a coffee, go to a concert… From time to time, me and Dimitris (ed. note: Itoudis) attend coaching clinics, and I also lecture businessman about universal things and values, such as winning, motivation, staying on top of your profession etc. I will do a coaching clinic in Sweden soon and I can’t wait to find out how it’s like up there”
In an other recent interview in Spanish magazine “Gigantes del Baloncesto” he spoke about the possibility of a closed league, but he adds: “I have never called for ‘closed’ Euroleague. I just want to see the games being played in full arenas, we have to find a way to make that happen. In my opinion, we can’t have only one round of Euroleague every week, we have to have three rounds, so that fans know that they will have a great game on offer every two or three days. That competition don’t have to have 24 teams, it could have 32, it could have more than that… Historical clubs such as Partizan, or Red Star, or Cibona, or Zalgiris, must have their places in it, no matter how big or small their budgets are”.
That must be done as soon as possible according to him, as the NBA still can be a threat to the popularity of European basketball: “On January 17 there will be official NBA game in London, between Detroit and New York. I will be there, too. Let’s put ourselves in position of the Americans. To them, the flight from New York to London is same as flight from New York to Los Angeles. So, why do you think they would have a problem putting up new NBA division in London, Paris and Spain? I am sure they think about it as a way to move forward and develop their product. I think we must act accordingly and improve our product before it’s too late”.
However the new Top16 format is a step forward: “Look at these two groups of eight and tell me is there one team that doesn’t think about making quarterfinals? Maybe somebody will say ‘Hey, Bamberg has no chance’, but have they ever been to Bamberg? That is one of the toughest away games for any Euroleague team!”
Obradovic was also asked about his opinion for Diamantidis and he spoke about him and also praised Spanoulis for his work ethics: “Diamantidis is one of the humblest persons I know, humble to the point that he feels awkward when he has to speak to media about himself and all the successes he had. That hug we gave to each other after the finals versus Maccabi wasn’t planned, but it didn’t happen randomly. That was a testament to the personal bond we had made and to me, such things are more important than any trophy. As a player, he came to Panathinaikos with literally thousand shortcomings, but with the help of a system we had and with hours of hard work, he had become what he is today. For him, there wasn’t such thing as day off, he had to be in a gym every day. Spanoulis was the same. Diamantidis is the type of player that takes care of himself, rarely goes out at night, fully dedicated to basketball. I think he can play at the highest level for 5 more years”.