The myth has come home. Zeljko Obradovic (Cacak, Serbia, 62) has been in charge of Partizan Belgrade since last year, the side where he rose from player to coach one day in 1991. No legend like him on the bench, nine-time European champions: 1992 with Partizán, 1994 with Joventut, 1995 with Madrid, five titles with Panathinaikos (2000, 2002, 2007, 2009 and 2011) and a last one with Fenerbahçe in 2017. Gomelsky, Ferrándiz, Maljkovic and Messina, each with four crowns, look at him from below. Obradovic crossed Spain this week to play against Barcelona and Madrid (two defeats) in the Euroleague. In between a conversation with EL PAÍS about his passion.
Questions. How do you feel back in Partizan, your home?
Answer. I am very happy. It’s the team I want that’s inside me. Partizán historically deserves to be in the Euroleague for many years, but that depends on us. We have 11,500 subscribers, more than any other team in Europe. In four games in the Euroleague we have brought almost 80,000 people. We are hungry.
Q Do you remember your first day as a coach?
R 1991. I was in the national team. The next day we had to go to Germany. The director of Partizan calls me Dragan Kicavonic, where I played, a former player and the man who changed the history of the club. He offered me to stop being a player and become a coach. I asked him to go to the European Championships with the team in the summer. “No,” he replied, “you either take it or leave it.” It was a very difficult decision. That’s how I became a coach.
Q Where did you enjoy it more, on the pitch or on the bench?
R i enjoy everything It’s something fundamental. You ask me where I get my motivation from and it’s very simple. I love my job, standing in the arena and thinking about the team and the players all day. As long as this continues, I’ll keep going.
Q How did this love for basketball come about?
R In the year 73. Kicanovic who is from my town [Cacak], won the Barcelona European Championship with Yugoslavia. I was 13 years old. I was very proud and started training very seriously.
Q What has changed from the first Zeljko coach to today?
R Very much. Basketball has changed a lot in more than 30 years. When I started I had an assistant. Also in Joventut and Madrid. Today I have four assistants, fitness trainers… You train less, you play more. You have to adapt. When basketball changes, you have to be willing to change yourself. If you think you know everything, this will be over very soon. I learn every day.
Q And the game?
R Today the game is much faster and more physical, and many go to the NBA. Some things you see there and vice versa apply. In Europe, in the national leagues and the Euroleague, every basket, every defense, every game counts. In the NBA, the three-second rule changes everything and that’s why there’s more one-on-ones.
Obradovic, on Tuesday during the match between Partizán and Barcelona at the Palau Blaugrana AFP7 via Europa Press (Europa Press)
Q Is talent not so crucial today?
R But what is talent? I’ve coached great players. For me, talent means that a player surprises me. Talent is that you understand that you have a lot of things to improve because no one is born to dribble a ball. When you see a great player and try to copy him and add something of your own, it’s talent. The great player comes out between talent and work.
Q Are the new generations so different from yours?
R Yes, with all of today’s technology, they have a lot more things than I did when I was young. As for the game, it’s very difficult for you to get promoted to the first team at 18 unless you’re exceptional. It used to be a lot easier. Today there are many more foreigners. Although there is no point in looking at the passport where you come from. you are good or not You either devote time to basketball or you don’t. It doesn’t matter if you are Spanish, American, Serb or Greek. Of the big three Europeans in the NBA, Doncic, Antetokounmpo and Jokic, only Luka was Euroleague MVP with Madrid. The other two have previously played in modest teams. They went there and they were a surprise. But that’s not a good example. How many European players are left on the bench or playing little? Like Willy Hernangómez now. It’s very difficult for him. Young people want to play in the NBA, but I ask them: which is better, stay and play in Europe or sit on the bench there?
Q Does the coach have to be authoritarian?
R Character is very important in life. It’s something you see after two days with a player and that’s hard to change. You can try up to a limit.
Q And the coach has to control every action on the track?
R No, that’s impossible. I try to make the players read the game and have some freedom. I have my game philosophy, a game plan, but basketball is beautiful because different things happen. The exceptional player is the one who thinks faster, just like the coach. Basketball is not chess, nor can players move like pawns. That does not exist. Some coaches allow more freedom, others speak of basketball control. But there isn’t a coach who doesn’t let his players run and makes easy baskets. You have to give them freedom because they decide the games.
Q Don’t you mind if a player skips the script?
R Not me. If you have that talent, fine. If he does something stupid, I’ll stop him.
Q Is winning the most important thing?
R Kind of yes. The coaches depend on the results. Personally, I’m at peace with myself because I know that I always give my all. Of course I want to win. People say you’re only as good as your last game. is it fair? No, but life is like this today. We’re going crazy. Everyone has an opinion, everyone thinks they know everything. It is believed that he can become a football or basketball coach or that he knows how to fly an airplane. I’ve been playing for 16 years and training for 31 years. It’s almost half a century. And I devote a lot of time to that every day. I respect what others say. But I’m very careful when they praise me and say I’ve done very well. Praise is always worse than criticism.
Q What advice would you give to a child who is starting to play?
Q Hard work. The big players come to practice in their free time. Nothing works in life without passion.
Q You coached Jasikevicius and Laso. Were you a coach before you were a player?
A. Yes, Jasikevicius spoke of his colleagues because of his character. One day I called him and said, “Saras, you say 90% of what I say. You’re right. But you can’t talk to them like I can. Be careful”. He has it. He was one of his players with the freedom to do something else. And Laso was very smart, you could see he was going to train. I want to see him on a bench very soon.
Q Your stage in Spain?
R The first year in La Penya and we won the Euroleague. And the first year in Madrid, and also. Phenomenal. I was 34 years old. If they chose me, it would be for something.
Madrid squad and coaches, with Zeljko Obradovic and Ramón Mendoza in the middle with the trophy, celebrate the 1995.as European Cup
Q What do you think of the Spanish team?
R Spain has something that my country had before. Everyone wants to play for the national team. You are a pineapple. They die along the way. Look Rudi. He is injured and wants to continue playing. No other country in Europe has that.
Q Could he train in the NBA?
R I never really had a choice. After training, I spent a year with the Detroit Pistons. I don’t even think about it anymore. I’m very happy in the club of my life.
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