By Giorgos Adamopoulos/ info@eurohoops.net
Olympiacos finished last regular season on top, only to lose in the EuroLeague Final Four semifinal against Monaco.
This year, things are different, and coach Giorgos Bartzokas is welcoming the change.
As he said to Eurohoops during the media day of the Greek club: “If you want to say that no one considers us the big favorite anymore, like last year, it really favors me, so that I can manage the situation better. There’s no value for everyone to say that since the beginning of the season that you are the No. 1 favorite. This does not lead anywhere, so we should have a more modest philosophy, to get where we can, as best we can”.
On a personal level, he added: “I have been in this job and also on the bench of Olympiacos, which is very peculiar. It has a lot of positives and, for me, also some negative things. So I am ok with all that”.
Speaking about the Final Four, which will be held in Athens at the home-court of cross-town rival Panathinaikos, Bartzokas explained that this is too far: “In a big club like Olympiacos, a lot of things happen every day. So it would be utopic to think about what may happen in May. I don’t know if I will be on the team, if Olympiacos will be in the Final Four, or not. There’s a long way to go, and through this path we may get there”.
Still, he admitted, “after four straight Final Fours, there’s a ‘must’ for Olympiacos. Of course, getting to four straight Final Fours is not easy to achieve. Everyone inside basketball understands that”.
“As long as they want me, I also want to be here no matter what”
And the road to getting there as a coach is totally different: “People change, we will make new mistakes, not the same, but there’s a base in each person, his own character, the way he thinks. What I can say is that I am grateful for the seventh straight season in my second tenure at Olympiacos. This is not easy, it’s priceless, and even on a hard day, a “black” day, I am thinking that it’s a great joy to be here, work with these people, and have success”.
On his personal relationship with the fans of Olympiacos, he explained that after leaving the club forcibly at the start of the 2014 season, his return was totally different: “I don’t know how this bond happened. I guess it’s the way we played, the fact that we had great runs, like beating Panathinaikos 14 times. If that didn’t happen, things wouldn’t be like this. I think that it was also valued that in my first tenure, we played good basketball, we won the EuroLeague, and I left awkwardly, but after all those years, after working abroad, we have to look at today and tomorrow, because that’s what the club wants”.
With his contract expiring this summer, Bartzokas was also asked if this season may end up being his “last dance” with the team he admitted he loves and didn’t exclude anything: “This is also a stereotype. Nobody knows what life holds for him. I could never have imagined that I would stay in Olympiacos for so many years. I like this environment, I enjoy it, and despite having bad days or periods, I have to look at the big picture. I am in an environment where, as long as they want me, I also want to be here no matter what”.