Nikola Mirotic’s Journey to Milan: A Matter of Controversy and Choice

Nikola Mirotic still does not have an official destination, although everything indicates that the Montenegrin power forward will play for Milan, which, after all, was already his first option when a departure from Barcelona began to grab headlines that ended up being inevitable due to the financial situation of the club. Barcelona and the gigantic contract of a player who ended up leaving without an agreement after negotiations that did not reach any port. Since then, many doors have been opening and closing to start and end with Milan as an almost final destination. Monaco, Red Star, Panathinaikos, Olympiacos and especially Partizan, where his arrival was taken for granted, have been real options for one of the best players in Europe, one who at 32 still has to get rid of the thorn in the Euroleague, the great title that is elusive to him and that he could not win before going to the NBA nor has he been able to win after, despite three consecutive trips to the Final Four with Barcelona.

Mirotic’s ‘no’ to Partizan when the agreement seemed closed brought a tail in Serbia, where it became a matter of state and where there were cross accusations between the two teams from Belgrade, Partizan and Red Star, for the alleged threats to the player so as not to end up in the club that Zeljko Obradovic trains. In addition, it was said that Patriarch Porfirio, leader of the Orthodox Church and a leading figure in Serbian society, had a decisive influence on the decision.

That provoked the reaction of a Partizan myth, Dusko Vujosevic, who has coached the club in four stages, the last one closed in 2015. And who considered that if the Patriarch had influenced the decision of Mirotic, a player who gives a lot of weight to religion in his personal life, he had not behaved fairly and as the head of a church but as a lobbyist: “There has been much talk that the Patriarch used Mirotic’s beliefs so that he would not play for the club he is not a member of follower. If that were the case, and I doubt it, he would not have acted as a Patriarch but rather as part of a lobby. And that’s tricky terrain.” Mirotic, for his part, spoke in his statement of the well-being of his family, of the threats he had received (which provoked criticism from Partizan) and of his desire not to be a figure that caused division in Serbia, where Patriarch Porfirio is a recognized fan of the Red Star.

The latter responded to Vujosevic through social networks: “I don’t have to advise you anything. But if someone mature and with so much professional and personal experience believed even in part that science fiction story, not to mention the criticism and lies, what are they going to think then, those who have less experience and less knowledge of situations like this? . The head of the Orthodox Church in Serbia does not meddle in such matters. His concern, like that of any Christian, is the problems of the church, the salvation of everyone, of people with faith and his own.

Vujosevic then acknowledged that he was clear that the Patriarch had not intervened in the Mirotic case: “I am glad that your statement confirmed what I believed, some doubts that I had already expressed clearly. And I am glad that such a figure understands the importance of sport and fair treatment in a place like this. In that sense, it’s good that you don’t try to use your influence to divide the Serbian population, Red Star and Partizan fans, because someone like that has to be above such harmful separations.”

With this clearer point, Vujosevic (64 years old) then turned to the threats to which Mirotic had referred to to justify his change of opinion: “What did those threats say? Because if they didn’t come from the Red Star side, they would have been from OKK Belgrade then”, the renowned coach joked about a change of heart when there was already an agreement with the club, its president, general manager Zoran Savic, Obradovic and even the captain. , Kevin Punter: “I know that Mirotic is a beautiful person, a man of faith. He has helped our region a lot. He extended his hand to the Partizan people, surely not knowing well how the situation is here. If I had been him, I would not have broken my word. It is not a good situation for the country, Serbia has to be a safe place for everyone. So if I had been in his place, he would have kept my word. If someone wants to blackmail me… without a doubt they would do the opposite of what the person who wants to blackmail me intends”.

On behalf of the Red Star, the sports director Milan Dozet wanted to settle an issue that is already in the past for the club: “We were in contact with Mirotic because we wanted him to play with us. We spoke with his agents, but we could not reach an agreement. The threats? Even the Partizán said in his statement that he did not believe that there had been threats that would have prevented them from completing the signing. Time will show the truth. Mirotic himself said that they were not threats from the Red Star. He is a player who is always cheered on when he plays against us. We consider him one of our own, but we never did anything to prevent him from signing for another team. I think his decision had to do with his deep connection to the people of Serbia. He has helped a lot here, he has done a lot of things and I think he didn’t want to alienate any of his supporters by choosing one of the two clubs here over the other”.

2023-07-31 06:04:37
#Mirotic #word