By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
Starting from Giannis Sfairopoulos leaving Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet on October 9 and Joan Penarroya parting ways with FC Barcelona on November 9, the trend of head-coaching departures in the EuroLeague spread to Ettore Messina stepping down from his position at EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, Zeljko Obradovic leaving Partizan Mozzart Bet, and Igor Kokoskov exiting Anadolu Efes this week.
Five head-coaching changes in the first 13 games of the 2025-26 EuroLeague Regular Season is a big number for this demanding job.
The five departures over 13 games set a new record with the current format in place since the 2016-17 season, an exhausting schedule for many involved parties, including those guiding the teams from the bench.
And to think, last season only three teams went into different head-coaching options.
- AS Monaco: Vassilis Spanoulis for Sasa Obradovic
- Virtus Segafredo Bologna: Dusko Ivanovic for Luca Banchi
- Anadolu Efes: Luca Banchi for Tomislav Mijatovic
The fewest changes in a single season were two in the 2022-23 installment, with Dusko Ivanovic replacing Vladimir Jovanovic at Zvezda and Christos Serelis replacing Dejan Radonjic at Panathinaikos. The most were eight in 2018-19, all dismissals, including two for Herbalife Gran Canaria.
| EUROLEAGUE 2025-26 | |
| TEAM | COACH |
| Anadolu Efes | Igor Kokoskov (2025) → ❓ |
| EA7 Emporio Armani Milan | Ettore Messina (2019-25) → Peppe Poeta |
| Valencia | Pedro Martinez (2024-…) |
| LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne | Pierric Poupet (2024-…) |
| Virtus Bologna | Dusko Ivanovic (2024-…) |
| Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet | Giannis Sfairopoulos (2023-25) → Sasa Obradovic |
| Zalgiris | Tomas Masiulis (2025-…) |
| Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv | Oded Kattash (2022-…) |
| AS Monaco | Vassilis Spanoulis (2024-…) |
| FC Bayern Munich | Gordon Herbert (2024-…) |
| FC Barcelona | Joan Penarroya (2024-25) → Xavi Pascual |
| Kosner Baskonia | Paolo Galbiati (2025-…) |
| Dubai | Jurica Golemac (2024-…) |
| Olympiacos | Giorgos Bartzokas (2020-…) |
| Panathinaikos Aktor | Ergin Ataman (2023-…) |
| Paris | Francesco Tabellini (2025-…) |
| Partizan Mozzart Bet | Zeljko Obradovic (2021-25) → ❓ |
| Real Madrid | Sergio Scariolo (2025-…) |
| Fenerbahce Beko | Sarunas Jasikevicius (2023-…) |
| Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv | Dimitris Itoudis (2024-…) |