Zeljko Obradovic's long-time assistant tells a change he's seen in him / News - Basketnews.com

Josep Izquierdo said that Zeljko Obradovic is calmer now that he's back in Serbia, a place he knows and loves.

Credit: Partizan Mozzart Bet/Dragana Stjepanovic Credit Partizan Mozzart Bet/Dragana Stjepanovic

Assistant coach Josep Maria Izquierdo has been working with Zeljko Obradovic for more than 10 years. According to the Spanish specialist, the legendary Serbian is different while coaching Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade.

Points this season

50%84,5Points made:84,5Accuracy:49,9%Place in standings:3Record max:100Record min:58Best scorer:Kevin PunterTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

The two colleagues first met in Badalona back in 1993, and they've been together since 2013. This is the second year now that both Izquierdo and Obradovic are in Belgrade. The Spanish coach tells that there's been a change in Zeljko he's already noticed.

"I've seen a change with Obradovic. He's calmer, even enjoying himself more," Izquierdo told Ricardo Gonzalez from Diario AS. "He's in his city, with his family, with his friends, going to his restaurants, at his house... and that gives him peace."

"It's true that he has extra pressure coaching in his home country but he is the one who sets the demand, he's always the same way from the first second to the last minute of the last game of the playoff final. Badalona, ​​Madrid, Treviso, Athens, and Istanbul - he'd been away from home for 30 years. I think that coming back has benefited him," the assistant coach said.

The first year in Belgrade was tougher, Izquierdo admits, but now everything's changed, and the team has found its form.

"When we signed for Partizan at the end of June in 2021, there were players with contracts and we did not have the room for maneuver that we wanted," he explained. "This year the squad is more adapted to what we want. We didn't start very well, but the work and the players getting to know Zeljko's mentality has paid off."

Partizan welcome Real Madrid in Round 32 on Friday. If the Serbian team wins the game, it will qualify for the EuroLeague playoffs.

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