By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Former Fenerbahce Beko head coach Sasha Djordjevic spoke about his relationship with the Istanbul powerhouse. He revealed that his contract with Fenerbahce was terminated because of a clause that allowed the club to do this.
“I have no hard feelings against Fener. I accepted a contract with a clear clause, even if I didn’t choose a single player apart from Sehmus Hazer, the club could exit the contract in case we didn’t reach the EuroLeague playoffs. I accepted it because I know how important this goal is for the team,” Djordjevic told Area52 in a Twitch interview.
Before his contract was terminated Dojrdjevic led Fenerbahce to the 2022 Turkish championship title. The legendary former point guard is used to the pressure of winning from the time he was a player.
“When I became the coach of the Serbian national team, I said, ‘Our goal was to win, but first of all to be able to beat Spain’. Spain is the most dominant team, it was our goal. I did the same in Virtus: our goal was Milano and we built the roster to be ready to battle it out with them”.
He recollected an anecdote from when he played for Barcelona.
“We were playing the Korac Cup instead of the EuroLeague. President Alemany told us, “For Barca, it’s not prestigious to play competition, it’s prestigious to win it. And we won it.”
He remembered the beginning of his playing career with Partizan, when the team from Belgrade won the EuroLeague in Istanbul in 1992. Th
“In the season we won the EuroLeague, I was earning like today’s 500 euros per month. If I went out for a pizza 3-4 times a month, considering the fuel for the car, I was done. But staying in the gym with Obradovic and Aca Nikolic was priceless”.
Djordjevic also touched on players’ load management. “They need to work and prepare more for the games. Players like to work less and play more games, but it’s the wrong way. Training and studying the game is a key.”