Turkish club Fenerbahçe Beko’s Serbian coach Zeljko Obradovic announced Wednesday that he will take a gap year after seven seasons at the helm of the team, a decision he called “one of the most difficult” of his life.
In a statement released on the Fenerbahçe website, the Serbian coach explains that last week he had “extremely cordial and comforting conversations” with the club’s president, Ali Koç, vice president Semih Ozsoy, and the ‘manager’, Maurizio Gherardini .
“We agreed that I would return to Belgrade to spend a few days with my family and make a decision. In the end, together with my family, I made one of the most difficult decisions of my life and decided to take a one-year break as a coach, “says Obradovic.
«Being part of a club as big as Fenerbahçe is a great honor and happiness for me. This is a new beginning for Fenerbahçe, not an end, “the coach concluded the statement, in which he thanked managers, players, team and fans for the support received.
Fenerbahçe, meanwhile, has released a statement of its own confirming that Obradovic, whom he calls “legendary”, returned to Belgrade on Friday to make a decision regarding his career.
“We want to make it known, sadly, that our coach has sent his response to the club and that he has decided not to coach the team for a year,” the statement said.
The club says “accept with respect, although with sadness”, the decision and ensures that Obradovic, “whose name is engraved with gold letters in the history of the club”, will always be part of the Fenerbahçe family.
Obradovic, who started his coaching career in 1991 at the Partizan in Belgrade, where his playing career ended, has gone through several clubs, including Real Madrid (1994-1997) before joining, in 2013, the Fenerbahçe.
.
