Our head coach Aleksandar Djordjevic: I want my players to be the ones who reach the stars by stepping on my shoulders

Fenerbahçe Beko Men’s Basketball Team Head Coach Aleksandar Djordjevic was the guest of the “Interview of the Day” program broadcast on Fenerbahçe TV. Djordjevic’s explanations are as follows:

Our Head Coach Aleksandar Djordjevic, who started his speech by evaluating the Istanball Cup organized in memory of our Congress Member Mehmet Faruk Türköz, said, “We are very happy to have won the tournament. (Our Congress Member Mehmet Faruk Türköz) was a close friend of our Board Member Sertaç Bey. He was a very close friend of the club, it was organized in his honor. We are slowly trying to build something. We always put something in front of our players and they always understand this, they are very professional. On the other hand, there is a welcome to the family since we came here. This is something extraordinary. They make new ones feel so good. Our task is to reflect good basketball on the field. We are working for this. As far as I can see right now, everyone is giving 100% of their effort. The process continues. We will continue to add to it every day.” he said.

After a long break, Djordjevic said, “We were very lucky when we were actually in Italy because we played the last games of the Play-off with 2500 people, but it seemed like 25000 people to us. We play with the fans for them, so it’s very important. It is a very nice feeling to feel their wind behind us. We know the greatness and love of Fenerbahçe fans very well and we need to give it back to them. In the first match, the players were a bit excited and nervous because it was their first appearance in front of the audience in a long time. Everyone wanted to show everything, they wanted to give a good performance. But now everything will go on nicely, sitting in time. We look forward to full days because the most important thing in basketball is to be with the fans.” said.

Regarding the team he wants to create this season, Djordjevic said, “Our most important goal is to be a team that defends very hard. Players have a great responsibility in this regard, both in practice and in matches. ‘Attack wins some games, but it’s defense that wins trophies.’ There is a saying. I believe this. Another important issue is the unselfish players who share the ball, make too many passes. This is how I usually choose my players. If I had a choice here, I would choose it that way again. As we have seen in the matches we are playing right now, we see that we are a team that plays this way because of the high assists. My goal is to progress in this way; with players who are unselfish, constantly sharing the ball.” made the statement.

Our head coach said his thoughts on social media, “I am not against social media. I like to look and use it in very special situations. I don’t have much time because when you enter social media it takes a lot of your time. More suitable for gamers. They have a little more time and their sharing attracts more attention. There are so many ways to communicate when I want to share something. I’m still a little old-fashioned. If I share my feelings every day, it won’t have much. Maybe the less sharing, the more valuable everything will be.” conveyed in the form.

Sasha Djordjevic, who also made evaluations about the preparation process, said, “It is very important for them to train and get in shape because not all of them are very ready when they come to the preparatory camp. Many come from their national teams worn out, some come from vacation… All of them have different reasons. That’s why I prefer to keep the preparation process a little longer, prepare them physically, keep them healthy and fit. On the other hand, we can’t play a lot of friendly matches because institutions like the Players Association and the EuroLeague put a limit on this. I think it should be left to the teams. Teams must decide how much everyone needs. The most important thing for me is to ensure that they are healthy and ready, both during the preparation process and during the season.” he said.

Regarding rotation, our Head Coach said, “It is very important to have different players. It’s a very long season, we will play a lot of games. Everyone will find their role in time. We will do our best to bring out the best. Whenever they are in their best form, whenever their role fits, everyone will continue according to it. Sometimes they can be on the field at the same time. I always say, ‘Those matches that start with the generals and end with the generals’.” he said.

Our General Manager Maurizio Gherardini’s words about himself, ‘I have known Djordjevic for 30 years, he was someone I have followed with admiration’, our Head Coach said, “Thank you very much. This is a very beautiful thing. My acting part is left behind, I don’t want to talk about those issues too much. Those were great times. Now I’m in a different role. Now I have another task and role. I want my players to be people who reach the stars by stepping on my shoulders. I want to carry them on my shoulders. I’ve experienced it, it’s a beautiful thing. Now it’s their turn. I’m totally focused on that. It’s my job, the administrative team, and all of us to help them achieve this success.” evaluated as.

His motto in life is “Dream big, work hard, be humble and be surrounded by people you trust. Peace in your mind and mind but fire in your heart.” Explaining his character, Djordjevic said, “Actually, we try to do our job very calmly, we want to convey this calmness to the players because they are already in a very tense and exciting environment. In these situations, getting caught up in our emotions can be our worst enemy. That’s why I try to calm down as much as I can, but of course, there will always be moments when I get angry. I try to be calmer with them where we are one-on-one, but on the field you are different.” he said.

Expressing that it is a great advantage to have many players that he used to know in the team, our Head Coach said, “They are all very good players. If I had the chance to choose, I would definitely choose them too, because they are players who deserve to be a part of Fenerbahçe. The easiest is to say that when things went bad, I didn’t choose it, but there is absolutely no need to do such a thing. All very professional, good players. We need to make the best use of what is presented to us. Although I do not coach them, I also know players such as Nando, Vesely and Melih. They’re all people I know from EuroLeague. The most important thing for me is to keep our private and personal relationships very close, knowing what expectations we have of each other in bad times, when the team is down. To be united in difficult times.” made its assessment.

Finally, our Head Coach Aleksandar Djordjevic, who stated that he was very happy to be in Fenerbahçe, said, “It is an honor for me to be considered even as a coach candidate for Fenerbahçe. I am incredibly happy to be here. The phrase “Welcome to the family” actually carries such a great responsibility that it really deserves it. I will do everything in my power to deserve this, I will give my all. I am incredibly happy and I love it so much. I will live with this passion until I reach the yellow-dark blue color. Istanbul is really a very special place for me. It brought me so much luck. I hope it brings the same chance again. Bringing luck to me means luck to all of us.” he concluded his speech.