After a few years of break, you are back to Germany / Bavaria. So, I want to start with this: How does it feel to be back? What did you miss the most?
Well, Germany is a very specific country. It is a country of great discipline, great organization. All of these are the things that a coach likes because working in an organized club is every coach’s dream. I don’t like to say what I missed, because I don’t want to make the mistake of thinking that I’m going back to Germany. It’s like I’m here for the first time, I want to enjoy it like this I don’t want to look back too much.
My work is very fast, everything changes very very quickly. I know the country. Munich has always been a phenomenal city; it is similar to Milan. I’m from Milan, so I feel at home. Every day I approach this new experience as if it is completely new. And I don’t like bringing too many memories because things have changed: I am different, Germany is different, basketball in Germany is different.
Belgrad
How was the experience in Belgrade? Given also that you are Croatian / Yugoslavian…
It was one of the most important experiences of my career in sports. It was extremely full of things. It was one of the most controversial choices from my side, but also the most successful I’ve ever been. All of it was a lot. It was a sensational experience. I arrived in a club that was in a tough situation. With a lot of work and help of the fans with their unconditional love for the team, we delivered. Now it is a serious club with strong players who have become strong during the last one and a half years that we have been together. Partizan took important buyouts for some players -Marinkovic, Landale- We won three titles and was ready for a lot more.
It is a very difficult job because being the coach of Partizan is a very special thing. It’s like being the coach of one of the greats like Real Madrid in football, Bayern in football. I coached games with 20,000 spectators. It was beautiful, it was unforgettable, and it improved me a lot. When I chose to go to Partizan, everyone told me “but you are crazy”, “you are drunk”. I knew it was a huge risk. But I wanted to learn some different things. So, it was unforgettable and beautiful.
Partizan
Partizan is a promising European club, I think so…
Partizan is European basketball. Europe cannot say “no” to a club if it has two million fans. But they also have to decide what they want to be.
While working at a promising EuroCup club, what made you move to Bayern? Sustainability of BBL? The mentality of Bayern’s management?
You ask me the question as if two things were together. No. First, I decided that I didn’t want to stay for various reasons. After 25+ years of my career, I believe I have the right to choose with whom I want to work. And then, when I decided to close a book, I wanted to open another: and, then, there was Bayern. It is not together. They were two different things.