By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With the wheels turning in the EuroLeague and many things happening with an eye to the future and the possibility of an expansion, the EuroLeague Head Coaches Board executive director Goran Sasic gave an extended interview to the Russian outlet “Championat” not only about the seven coaches changes that have already happened but also about the future of the league.
This future is expected to include sooner than later a team from Dubai, but as Sasic explains not necessarily from next season, while an expansion may mean more teams from core basketball markets like Lithuania, Turkey, Greece, and Israel, and of course the return of the Russian clubs.
Sasic who visited Russia during the practice week of coach Pascual with the participation of the EHCB Coaches Academy students, gives his two cents on the issue, based on his own experience as a Serb whose country was also banned from international competition during the 90s and the was in former Yugoslavia.
Here are the main parts of the interview.
– There have already been seven coaching changes in the Euroleague this season. And everything is going to be a record in this respect. Many Russian fans especially consider Itoudis’ dismissal from Fenerbahce unfair. How would you comment on the situation with resignations this season?
“When we first started, there were already seven coaching resignations that season by December. It’s not good. I always give the following examples: Real Madrid and Pablo Laso, Zeljko Obradovic and Fenerbahce, Zeljko Obradovic and Panathinaikos, Dimitris Itoudis and CSKA, and let me give you a great example from soccer. Sir Alex Ferguson, right? 27 years old, if I’m not mistaken. Definitely over 20 years. And if I remember correctly, in each of those seasons, Manchester United played in the Champions League. And now they’ve dabbled in that tournament, only a few years later. There is a correlation between success and stability.
If you are the one making the decisions to sack coaches, all I can say is that such tactics do not bring any success. We are in the sports field, which means it is very important to have stability, you have to have patience and realize that you are not working with robots, but with people. I saw a Japanese robot recently that performs throws across the court and hits it every time. If you want robots to compete, then create your own separate league. Then you can predict the results of the games. But as long as you want to watch people playing basketball, you have to realize that it takes a lot of time to succeed.
If you talk about the situation of Itoudis and Fenerbahce, you need to realize that you are talking about the man who is our president. Also, I consider him not only as the president of our organization but also as my basketball brother. During personal conversations, I always say that Željko is my basketball father and Dimitris is my brother. So understand that I am biased in this matter. I know a lot about Fenerbahce since Obradovic’s time, I have visited this team 54 times and always stayed with them for a week or two. During Dimitris’ tenure, I also visited them several times and spent a lot of time with them.
I think every club has the right to fire whoever they want, every president has the right to do what they want, I just make sure that they fulfill all their obligations under labor laws and I was very happy that Fener did the right thing in that regard. I had no doubt that they would do what they needed to do. But what I don’t understand is why would you fire a coach who won the Euroleague twice as a head coach and five times as an assistant. After only a year and a half? Here again, I’ll talk about stability. How many years did they wait for Obradovic to lead them to a title? Success takes time. Why didn’t you give Itoudis the same amount of time as Obradovich? That’s what I don’t understand. I would never have made that decision if I were in their shoes”.
– You have already commented on Tony Parker’s words to Pozzeco. Will there be any sanctions against ASVEL?
“In general, I’m not the right person to ask about this. First of all, you should ask Euroleague executives. But based on my experience there, I would like to say that I think he acted ungentlemanly, these words violated ethical norms, and they were factually incorrect. But those statements did not violate a single Euroleague rule.
Also, I am a fan of free speech, I believe that everyone has the right to say whatever they want. But when you say something, you have to realize that other people have their own opinions and you have to take that into consideration. I wouldn’t mind if I knew that Tony would want to answer me, I would want that, to know his point of view. However, if he doesn’t want such conversations to be made public, we can discuss it in private so he can explain what he means and what he thinks about the situation. In any case, to use sanctions is overkill. I am in favor of free speech”.
– Are you not afraid to visit Russia given the geopolitical situation? Aren’t you afraid of claims from Zalgiris, for example?
“You’re talking to a person from Serbia (laughs), I think you understand. We had wars in the 1990s, we were under sanctions ourselves. So I don’t think you need to be afraid of me. To give you an example of a recent situation, I met with the owner of Hapoel Tel Aviv. He, together with members of the board of directors, invited me to Tel Aviv. I immediately stated that I was not afraid to come there. You will not scare the Serbian people with something like that. The owner of Hapoel told me that the only pilot he managed to find, was a Serb.
You don’t scare us with any situation. So when people ask me about traveling in Russia, it makes me laugh. I’m happy I came here. I was so unintimidated by this visit that I brought my wife, my daughter, and my three-year-old son to Russia. Before coming to St. Petersburg on business, I was in Moscow for 18 days for personal reasons. So I am certainly not afraid.
Claims from Zalgiris? I already said in another interview that I’m tolerant of people with different positions. During my time in the Euroleague, I learned to look at things from 18 different points of view, each of which I respect. They have their opinions, but they shouldn’t impose them on me, just like I won’t impose mine on them. Sports has taught me respect. Respect means accepting different points of view, but don’t try to force them on me. I’m old enough to have my own opinion and my political views are my own business, we shouldn’t be talking about this topic at all. My position requires me to talk about sports.
I even find it strange that people are always trying to talk to me about politics, I always answer that I am a sports executive. You can talk to me about sports politics. There is no problem at all, we can discuss it for days, for years. We can discuss legal systems in sports, etc. And when we discuss this topic, do you even know that my country was the only one that was sanctioned by the UN? I was not in agreement with it, but I accepted it. Can you show me some law, some line of regulation that would prove the legality of imposing sanctions on Russia in sports? I would really like someone to explain it to me, in case I don’t understand sports laws. I’ve been working in this field for decades, I think I have a good understanding of sports. So again, I’d like someone to show me the legal basis for these sanctions. I don’t think anyone is going to be able to do that”.
– Do you follow the work of Xavi Pascual and Velimir Perasovic in the VTB United League? Pascual, for example, led the team to its first-ever championship after his suspension.
“Of course, I follow the work of coaches Pascual, Perasovic, and other coaches in the VTB United League. Pascual and Perasovic showed their character by deciding to stay in Russia. They acted like true gentlemen, they understood sports ethics, and I support them in this decision. But let’s not forget about the players, you have American basketball players and French basketball players. I applaud the ethics of their sportsmanship, I honor that. It’s a great example of not mixing sports and politics. It has a positive effect, they show what real sport is, and some fundamental principles it lives on.
Speaking about the first Zenit championship that Pascual managed to win, I had no doubt that he would be able to do it. This is exactly what I was talking about. Give a great coach time and he can win titles for you. We’re used to seeing CSKA winning all the time, just like we’ve been used to seeing Crvena Zvezda with the Adriatic League title for 10 years, but last season it was Partizan who won. Although, one year the title winner was Buducnost”.
In general, people get used to when teams win titles year after year, so when there is a new winner, it always cheers everyone up. I’m telling you the truth, I watched the VTB League playoffs, and I can tell you it was fantastic. It was fantastic basketball, the fight to the very end, Pascual’s work and the way he affects the game, the fans were great. That playoffs was a true fairy tale, I even heard a documentary was made on those events. I already said yesterday that I will definitely watch that movie. I think it’s a great one. It’s a great example of when you give a specialist time and they end up succeeding”.
– Rumors are growing that there will be a team from Dubai in the Euroleague as early as next season. If that happens, CSKA could be interested in returning to the tournament and playing all of its games in Dubai. Maccabi on the other hand, is currently playing in Serbia. Would you personally like to see Russian teams, and CSKA in particular, as a shareholder of the league, return to your tournament?
“First of all, I want to say that these are rumors, I don’t trust anything until an official document has been signed. Let’s just say that I wouldn’t put my money on a team from Dubai playing in the Euroleague next season. Nevertheless, I would like it. It’s not just about the team from Dubai, we’re talking about Virtus, Valencia, Partizan, and Crvena Zvezda as well. I would also like to see a second team from Lithuania, a third team from Turkey, a third team from Greece, and a second team from Israel. These are all clubs I would like to see in the Euroleague. On the business side, Dubai will have its advantages, the sponsors of the clubs will be extremely interested in it, whether it’s Turkish sponsors or Russian sponsors, they would see the benefit in it. Let’s not forget that Real Madrid‘s main sponsor is Emirates. The clubs themselves would be interested in hosting such matches.
As for Maccabi playing in Serbia, so is Hapoel playing in the Eurocup. I am very proud that we Serbs have opened our doors to Israeli teams. For the Russians, I would like to say that a similar offer was sent to Russian clubs. We, as a sporting nation that has already been under sanctions, believe that matches should be played, regardless of the circumstances. You can’t bring politics into sport.
We are very happy that we are helping Israeli clubs. The national government and the city government, together with the clubs, our entire basketball ecosystem is helping them in whatever way it can so that they can have the opportunity to play. Don’t forget that because of sanctions, Partizan also had to play in another country. The same was true for the Yugoslav national team, which played for three years in Greece. The Serbs will never forget that. We will always be grateful to them. And now we ourselves are helping others in return.
Do I agree that CSKA should return to the Euroleague? Not only CSKA. Before the sanctions, three Russian clubs participated in this tournament. Don’t forget how much these teams lost because of this whole situation. We need to compensate for their losses and give three clubs from Russia the opportunity to participate in the tournament. In the long run, also Zenit and not only CSKA can become a shareholder club. The city of St. Petersburg is an extremely attractive place for any fan. Do we need to talk at all about the prospects of what Gazprom can give to the Euroleague? They sponsored the Champions League.
To generalize: Do I want Russian clubs to come back? First of all, as a Serb, yes. Secondly, as someone who worked in the Euroleague for nine years, as the executive director of the EuroLeague Head Coaches Board, I would welcome it and I would like it to happen as soon as possible”.