By Aris Barkas / barkas@eurohoops.net
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade and Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade are two basketball institutions. Together, they create one of the fiercest rivalries in sports and the notorious Belgrade derby.
However, no matter who wins on Thursday, this game will make history.
For the first time, two Spanish coaches, Joan Penarroya for Partizan and Ibon Navarro for Zvezda, will be in charge.
This is more than rare: only two other head coaches not hailing from the former Yugoslavia – Greek coach Giannis Sfairopoulos with Zvezda and Italian Andrea Trinchieri who is also half Croatian on his mother’s side – have coached either club, but never in the same season.
With Zvezda enjoying a good start (4-2) and Partizan just one step behind (3-3), the stakes are high, as always. A sold-out crowd is expected, and bragging rights until the next meeting are up for grabs.
Still, having two Spanish head coaches makes all the difference.
Traditionally, Spanish basketball is considered to be played at the highest pace in Europe, while the Serbian school leans more on a methodical, shooting-driven approach.
Can Navarro and Penarroya inject some fresh ideas into teams that are a huge part of European basketball lore, and how will they handle the fans’ pressure, which is miles away from the customs of Spanish basketball?
This is more than an interesting subplot in a game that’s always must-see television for basketball fans all over the world.
In a way, this is going to be the first “Spanish” Belgrade derby, giving extra motivation, especially to viewers from the Iberian Peninsula, to tune in.
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