By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Milan Tomic has agreed to return to Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet, as reported by Serbian outlet Meridian Sport and confirmed by the Serbian club later Thursday.
With rumors about a potential exit from EA7 Emporio Armani Milan circulating over recent weeks, he will be moving on from the coaching staff of Ettore Messina to a reunion with Giannis Sfairopoulos and the Belgrade-based club, taking over as the new general manager.
Tomic, 51, has been serving as an assistant coach under Messina at Scarpette Rosse since the start of the 2023-24 season. His coaching career previously featured a run as the head coach of Zvezda from the top of the 2018-19 season to early in the 2019-20 season, including three games in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Working as an assistant under current Zvezda play-caller Sfairopoulos at Olympiacos between 2014 and 2018, his efforts went into two Greek League championships and two runner-up finishes in the EuroLeague.
A former FIBA EuroLeague champion with the storied Greek club as a player in 1997, the native of Belgrade has a strong connection with both Olympiacos and Zvezda. Following successful playing days, including a long run with the Reds from 1991 to 2005, covering the majority of his career, he went on to become the interim head coach, replacing Dragan Sakota in 2004 and Giorgos Bartzokas in 2014, in addition to his assistant roles under Sfairopoulos, Bartzokas, Dusan Ivkovic, and Panagiotis Giannakis.
A head-coaching job with Peristeri down the stretch of the 2021-22 campaign adds to his post-playing experience.