Andrea Trinchieri weighs in on Ivanovic's dismissal, EuroLeague favorites / News
Andrea Trinchieri has been enjoying the EuroLeague season watching basketball as a spectator instead of coaching one of the participating teams.
The Italian basketball expert talked to BHbasket about the recent events in European basketball, starting from the recent Partizan-Crvena Zvezda derby.
"Partizan have an advantage because they won two derbies. Words are one thing, the court is another. Zvezda had a big, huge chance in the first game, and when you miss such a chance, the next game will be much more difficult in 95% of the cases. That game woke Partizan up," said Trinchieri.
The former FC Bayern Munich bench boss believes that clubs must have fresh, young, athletically good players, but they lose all of that during the season due to the schedule. Zvezda is going in the direction of strong and experienced players, but, he says, we will see if it is the right move in May.
He then commented on the dismissal of Dusko Ivanovic.
"I'm always sorry when the coach changes, even more dramatically after four to five rounds or even during the preparation. I don't think I have a single comment, I'm just observing the situation, and it's very difficult to be a coach in the EuroLeague.
Ambitions are huge. There are 16 teams that want to be in the play-offs and those ambitions have put enormous pressure on the coach and they are falling like flies," he commented.
Trinchieri called Ivanovic 'a top coach', stressing that it took him four days to find a job, not four years.
"He went to work where he was known. Where they know his flaws and talents," he referred to Baskonia who hired the Montenegrin play-caller.
"We all have flaws… It's human. The most important thing when you sign a coach is what he will bring to the team. If you have a team of ten young players, you will train one system, experienced players with another system, etc."
The former Partizan coach repeated that the Serbian powerhouse hasn't managed to find Mathias Lessort's replacement.
"Perhaps Lessort is not the best center in the EuroLeague, but he played like that for Partizan. Because of the motivation given by the fans, he played 120% better than ever in his career. They're also missing Exum," he commented.
Trinchieri stressed that if sports justice had been served, Partizan would have made the 2023 Final Four in Kaunas, "considering how he played from December to May."
He also weighed in on the possibility of Dubai entering the ABA League and the EuroLeague.
"The ABA League is a private league and it can open the door as it opened it to Maccabi," he recalled. "That would certainly be good for the ABA League, which is the toughest league in the world.
If you want to become a coach, you have to go through the ABA League, because it's tough. Every team, even the weakest, has a plan. In Germany, for example, there are no tactical problems to be solved. Certainly, my experience in the ABA League has made me a better coach, I hope a better man," he said.
Asked about the team he views as the frontrunner to go all the way in the EuroLeague, Trinchieri replied that Real Madrid look like the squad to beat.
"They have the best roster. They have experience, athleticism, shooters. For me, at the moment, the team that works best on the court is Virtus, which plays outstanding defense, the most aggressive," he argued.
"If we look at the big picture, they don't have players like [Mike] James, [Kevin] Punter, [Milos] Teodosic, [Nemanja] Nedovic. 'Here's the ball, win the game for me."
Valencia play with great confidence, Barcelona... I believe they started pretty well, but my question mark is Jabari Parker because he has not found his place on the court. When you go from the NBA to the EuroLeague, it takes time to adapt because it is a completely different game," the veteran coach concluded.
