Ulcinj hosted the Friendship World Cup in recent days, and Saša Obradović was also at the event that brought together numerous sports legends. The legendary basketball player, who was a three-time European champion with Yugoslavia and once a world champion, and who also has Olympic silver and European bronze in his collection of national team medals, dedicated himself to a coaching career after playing, and is currently unemployed after parting ways with Monaco in November last year.
In an interview for "Vijesti", Obradović spoke about the Friendship World Cup, the recently concluded EuroBasket, Red Star, but also the club where he spent part of his brilliant playing career - Budućnost.
- This is my first time at the Friendship World Cup. I see the players and coaching idols I grew up with, who shaped me as a player and as a person. I'm glad I saw some coaches I haven't seen in a long time and who I can laugh with again - said Obradović at the start of the interview for "Vijesti".
Numerous legends of the old Yugoslavia stayed in Ulcinj, people who wrote the history of sports not only in this region, but throughout the world.
- I regret everything we had as the old Yugoslavia, I regret the entire country that was beautiful. I regret that evil people managed to separate us. I am glad that I managed to maintain good relations with everyone, but also to raise that relationship to an even higher level. Such meetings and events work to bring people closer together, to refresh the ties that made us the best country, but also a sporting nation - said Obradović.
SERBIA SHOULD HAVE BEEN WHERE MANY HAVE SEEN IT
The European Basketball Championship recently ended. Many expected Serbia to win gold, the "Eagles" were the first favorite, but a disaster struck in Riga, and Serbia ended its participation in the round of 16, losing to Finland.
- The order of the teams is expected, except when it comes to Serbia. We should have been where they put us before the start of the championship. That is also a lesson - that too high expectations can be harmful in relation to what happens afterwards. Expectations were not small. The big change was when Bogdan Bogdanović got injured, and there are many other things that we may not know about, which happened inside - said Obradović.
There was also talk about Montenegro's results at the recent EuroBasket.
- Montenegro may have achieved a realistic result in terms of quality. We from this region always have unrealistic expectations. I'm sorry for Nikola Vučević for saying goodbye to the national team in this way, I wish he could have done more with the national team.
A few days ago, Fenerbahçe coach Šarunas Jasikevičius spoke about the quality of basketball at EuroBasket and pointed out that the level was not overly high. Obradović commented on this statement:
- That's what I would say about the Euroleague that he won. I would say that it was much weaker than it was the year before, and the upcoming one will certainly be much better. I would agree with that to some extent, these trends that are coming give smaller teams a chance to make surprises. That happened through the Euroleague, for example in Paris, it will happen in the next Euroleague season, and it also happened to Serbia against Finland at the European Championship.
ABOUT EUROLEAGUE...
The new Euroleague season starts tonight, and one game will even be played in Podgorica, where Anadolu Efes will host Maccabi Tel Aviv (on Friday at the “M:tel Morača Hall”, in the 2nd round, the Turkish team will host Hapoel Tel Aviv).
Every Euroleague season brings excitement, the league has expanded to 20 teams, including debutants Dubai (who welcome Partizan) and Hapoel, and returnee Valencia.
- Dubai, Valencia and Hapoel are teams that have play-offs, even bigger ambitions, they have raised the standards when it comes to paying contracts in the Euroleague. A strong, good Euroleague season, with more games, than was the case last season, which is good for everyone who loves this sport. You have to be smart, time your form for when it is most needed, potential injuries to key players can determine the path. Coaches are under a lot of pressure, sometimes they don't have the ability to calculate, although that has to be there in order to be able to carry out the season. The preparatory games that I followed showed the current form, but it is far from being possible to draw a conclusion about who is where and how the season will go - assessed Obradović.
Obradović is currently without a contract. After parting ways with Monaco, he had an offer from Baskonia, but the cooperation did not materialize.
- I wasn't super happy with Baskonia's offer. Baskonia is a good team, but the old expectations remained, and the possibility of building a team that is competitive with others wasn't there. I didn't have the best reaction to that - explained Obradović.
As in previous seasons, the region is represented in the Euroleague by Partizan and Red Star Belgrade, the club where Obradović spent a large part of his playing career and later coached.
- Partizan has a squad from last year, Red Star does not and needs to create chemistry. Partizan more or less knows who is where and that is certainly a certain advantage, but that does not have to be an advantage either. The fact is that both teams have the potential to be in the playoffs. On the other hand, for my taste, if a better combination could be made between local players and foreigners. No one wants to forgive a bad result, everyone expects only the best, to win and that is where the importance of local players is lost. But, people who are not in it may not understand that better. Maybe at some points the expectations placed on the coach are unrealistic. Red Star has a solid schedule at the beginning, but that does not have to mean anything. It is important to start well, and after that everyone will vary throughout the season - said Obradović.
THE FUTURE IS DOING A GOOD JOB
During his impressive playing career, Saša Obradović was in Podgorica.
This happened in the 2000/2001 season, when the double crown was won, and Budućnost also played in the Euroleague.
- Buducnost is doing a good job, becoming more respectable in bringing in players, which is quite important, and also in promoting basketball. Last season was excellent, they fell a little short in the finish due to injuries. They can have expectations in the Eurocup, maybe there will be a chance to attack that competition - said Obradovic.
Bonus video:
