By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Hapoel Tel Aviv head coach Dimitris Itoudis recently spoke with the Greek Basketball Federation radio regarding his team’s major achievement—securing a direct spot in the EuroLeague play-offs.
However, beyond the court results, Itoudis used the platform to address a growing concern within the European basketball ecosystem: the lack of job security for head coaches.
Speaking in his capacity as the President of the EuroLeague Head Coaches Board (EHCB), Itoudis did not hold back regarding the high turnover rate seen across the league this season.
“There is a sense of… ‘cannibalism,’ a ‘coach-eating’ trend that we have seen in the EuroLeague this year. I am speaking also as the president of coaches of the EuroLeague. It is sad when you hire someone for three years or renew them for two years and you fire them after ten days. I think the problem is not in the person who is fired, but in the person who hired him. Since you hired him, you must respect the agreement you made. It is inconceivable that contracts are signed that are not respected,” Itoudis stated.
He further elaborated on the work of the coaches’ union and their relationship with the league’s leadership.
“We have managed, within the EuroLeague ecosystem, for coaches to continue receiving their salary, plus the agreement they have made with their previous team, regardless of whether they have found another team or not. We want to achieve other things too and we are in frequent communication with Dejan Bodiroga and Chus Bueno, so that we can offer our ideas. We coaches are the ones who manage the athletes and the clubs, so our voice must be heard. We have several issues that will ‘run.’ For me, it was an honor that I served this position for four years. In the summer we have our Seminar and our elections. The expansion has already started, it will be followed and the trade union body of coaches will become even stronger regarding the promotion of ideas. Let’s not forget that the play-in system is a proposal of the coaches.“