Partizan's president Mijailovic: 'We were wronged in previous decades' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Ostoja Mijailovic twitter page Credit Ostoja Mijailovic twitter page

Partizan NIS Belgrade have come back to the EuroLeague after an 8-year gap. With the legendary Zeljko Obradovic as the head coach, the club will try to bring back glory to the historic team.

Points this season

47%85,7Points made:85,7Accuracy:47,2%Place in standings:4Record max:106Record min:60Best scorer:Kevin PunterTeamEuroCupStatisticsSchedule

"People have no idea what Partizan looks like from the inside, they don't know what kind of organization it is," the club's president Ostoja Mijailovic told on Serbian sports show Miljanov's corner. "We finally got to return to the Euroleague after nine years. We showed Europe that we managed to overcome a difficult period and come back and play in an elite competition."

The club was a growing area for basketball legends like Vlade Divac, Predrag Danilovic, and Aleksandar Djordjevic. Later on, Partizan made it to the EuroLeague's Final Four in the 2009-10 season behind the likes of Bo McCalebb, young Jan Vesely, and dominant center Aleks Maric.

"I think Partizan was wronged in the previous two decades," Mijailovic said. "Partizan gave a lot to Europe in terms of players, big games, and sports workers. Partizan had a lot of influence on the popularization of the competition. Winning the competition in 1992, being a participant in the final tournaments, all that is a great success."

"For example, in the season behind us, the most-attended match in Europe was the match between Partizan and Bursa," he explained. "This shows what Partizan is and how much it gave to the competition."

Both Partizan and Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade will participate in the EuroLeague since the 2013-14 season. Although there is a fierce rivalry between the clubs and their fans, Mijailovic doesn't see it that way.

"I'm glad that we will have both Partizan and Zvezda in the Euroleague," he told. "Serbia deserved it, both clubs gave a lot to basketball. Serbia is a country that invests in sports, in basketball, which means a lot to the Euroleague, which is also very satisfied with the organization of the Final Four in Belgrade."

Partizan will be led by the legendary head coach Zeljko Obradovic. After 28 years abroad, the 62-year-old Serbian specialist came back to coach the club in which he started his long-tenured career.

"We cannot ignore the return of the greatest basketball worker in history. Surely the return of Zeljko Obradovic influenced the reasoning that Partizan should be part of the Euroleague," Mijailovic explained.

"Zeljko is truly a rare person to exist. Having such a reputation, to take a step back, even take 100 steps back, is in a way crazy but it's Partizan. There's a huge amount of emotion," the president said. "That's why we're a big family. I can't wait to show the Euroleague what Partizan games mean."

Partizan shocked the European basketball world last offseason by signing one of the top scorers in the game, Kevin Punter, who previously played in the EuroLeague Final Four for AX Armani Exchange Milan, and Zach LeDay, another prolific forward for the top European league. They both agreed to come to EuroCup just to play for Obradovic.

"Professionally, I do not interfere in bringing in players," Mijailovic told. "I'm confused about the height and length of their contracts. I look at the economic situation. On the other hand, I trust Zeljko Obradovic and [general manager] Zoran Savic. We have businessmen on the board of directors. When the transitional period passes, Zoran Savic comes to the board of directors, submits a report and that's it."

"We are working on several quality reinforcements, but the situation in Europe has changed drastically when it comes to basketball. Although there is a crisis, clubs in Europe behave as if the economic situation is the best ever. The price of players in Europe have jumped a lot, I don't know where such a price jump will take," the club's president opened up.

Mijailovic also remembered the start of the renewed Partizan with him leading the club.

"In 2017, Partizan was about to close down, and the budget was €1.3 million, which had already been spent when I arrived, there were zero dinars. The accounts were blocked, as was the BAT block. A hopeless situation," he told. "I will not forget those matches in Pionir. The most loyal fans, maybe 2000 of them, pigeons flying through the hall... I would sit down and watch, and think... what have I made of my life."

A year later, Partizan signed then-largely unproved coach Andrea Trinchieri. With him under the helm, the Serbian club was the winningest team in the EuroCup in the 2019-20 season. However, the club never got the chance to fulfill its dream as the season was suspended due to the coronavirus.

"Just look at Trinchieri now, a stable coach in the Euroleague. He reached this status through Partizan. When he left, he left the entire team signed to abnormally large contracts," Mijailovic remembered. "It was a risk that I accepted then. We gave bigger contracts in order to convince the players that their place in Partizan is for the long term and that we can enter the Euroleague together, but the season was cut short."

"Our plan was good, but the coronavirus simply happened. We had two seasons of bad luck. First, in 2017 when we inherited debt, and in 2020 when our season was interrupted, and then the next season without fans. We are a club that depends a lot on ticket sales," the president explained. "It was a tantalizing struggle to financially survive all that. I also put my companies in a difficult situation by borrowing money and giving sponsorships just to survive, and in the end, we succeeded."

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