By Semih Tuna/ info@eurohoops.net
Beşiktaş Gain officially secured its place in the EuroLeague on Friday, returning to Europe’s premier basketball competition after a 13-year absence. Another major development is now on the horizon for the Black Eagles, with Eurohoops sources indicating that the club is on the verge of signing head coach Dusan Alimpijević to a new two-year contract.
Following Beşiktaş’s qualification for the EuroLeague, Alimpijević spoke exclusively to Eurohoops about what the milestone means to him, recalling a dream he shared when he first arrived at the club three years ago.
“Yeah, I said three years ago, when I came to Beşiktaş, after I saw everything—the infrastructure, the fan base, and the passion that the fans showed for basketball—and I saw how big the club is, I said that it was my dream to play in the EuroLeague.
And yeah, now this is a real thing. It’s become a reality.
So, I’m really excited and really happy. But what’s more important is not how I personally feel or how proud I am of this situation. It’s much more important for our club and our fans because today is a really big day for Beşiktaş and all our supporters.”
Looking ahead to the club’s first EuroLeague campaign, the Serbian coach emphasized that expectations will largely depend on the roster Beşiktaş is able to assemble, while underlining the importance of being competitive from day one.
“First of all, we have to see what kind of roster we will build before we can say what is realistic, what isn’t, and what our expectations should be.
But for us, as EuroLeague rookies, we need to show that we can be competitive, that we can play good basketball, and that we can make our fans and the people who love Beşiktaş enjoy our games.
And for sure, all these big names coming to the Beşiktaş gym will make it a great experience for our fans.
As I said, we have to be consistent throughout the whole season. This is something completely different. People who haven’t played in the EuroLeague don’t know how difficult the schedule can be or what kind of ups and downs it can cause.
But for us right now, because we are entering the EuroLeague market later than the other teams, our priority is to build a good roster that can contribute and be competitive in both very demanding competitions.”
Alimpijević also revealed that Beşiktaş did not begin planning its roster around EuroLeague participation before the official announcement, insisting that doing so would not have been the professional approach.
“We didn’t start before this announcement because it would not have been professional to build one roster or another before knowing which league we would be playing in.
So yeah, immediately after the announcement, we started.
Of course, we already had ideas within the club about creating something, and we had worked on that before the announcement. We are very satisfied with it.
Now we are adding players to our roster.”
Speaking about the broader transformation of European basketball, Alimpijević expressed his belief that Turkey deserves greater representation in the EuroLeague and that Beşiktaş can establish itself as a long-term member of the competition.
“First of all, I believe that the Turkish market is amazing. I believe that, in the future, Turkey definitely deserves three clubs in the EuroLeague because of the investments, the infrastructure, the fan bases, and the cities it can offer.
I truly believe that Turkey deserves at least three clubs.
So yes, I believe that Beşiktaş can show that it can be a very good partner for the EuroLeague for many years.
That’s why I believe next season will be a very important year for Beşiktaş to show itself in the EuroLeague, especially with all the discussions about expanding the competition to more clubs—more than 24 or even 30 in the future.
And, as I said, our fans will definitely offer something totally different at the highest level for all the EuroLeague clubs.”
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