First of all, a memory of that afternoon in the Würzburg basketball team’s training center, almost two years ago: Sasa Filipovski enters the room and apologizes for being late. It’s not like him to keep others waiting, so he’s very sorry that he’s only here now.
No problem, it can happen sometimes. No, that shouldn’t happen, says Filipovski. It’s not so wild. No, answers Würzburg’s coach. That actually never happens – and it won’t happen again in the future. Absolutely, I promise! So: sorry again, I’m really sorry.
That’s how the conversation started, and two things became clear even before the first answers: that Sasa Filipovski, 49, values rules, but above all how he deals with people. And that’s what Würzburg’s coach values. What’s more: it largely explains why Würzburg is shaking up the entire Bundesliga this season.
When Filipovski answered the first questions at the training center, he was talking about basketball, but he was actually talking about something bigger: about values, about being human. “The cleaning lady is also a star,” said Filipovski: “Because she helps us train well.” He then explained that on each team there was one player who shot the most baskets. But: “There is also someone who passes the ball to him. And there is someone who takes care of his apartment and his car so that he feels comfortable.”
Anyone who now, in February 2024, is thinking about how relegation candidate Würzburg could become playoff contender Würzburg cannot avoid the name Sasa Filipovski. It is the Slovenian who shaped and nurtured the club – and it is he who leads the team with his inimitable style.
The cleaning lady would probably also shoot baskets for Filipovski
A conversation with Steffen Liebler, Würzburg’s managing director. What sets Filipovski apart? What is it about him that makes the team so successful? “Sasa is an absolute leader. He knows exactly when to praise and when to blame,” says Liebler and then, referring to the players, adds the sentence that best explains the Filipovski principle: “Everyone plays somehow for him.”
The cleaning lady would probably also throw baskets for Filipovski if she were allowed to. The engaging manner that Würzburg’s coach has is also what the team conveys to the stands during their performances. And so everyone is like in a trance when there is a home game like this Friday against second-to-last Crailsheim. Coach and club management, coaching team and players, team and fans, all are one unit. And so Würzburg can apparently move mountains with their combined forces this season.
“We have an enormous demand for tickets,” says Liebler, “the games are selling out much quicker than before. A real hype has arisen. For us it is an absolute sensation that we are currently fourth. We are enjoying every moment .” After all, they have already experienced different times in Würzburg.
Last summer, Liebler had to raise around 1.5 million euros in a short period of time to set up the budget. The league tied the license to a “financial condition” – and it was unclear for a long time whether Filipovski, the savior, would stay in Würzburg. So the big picture was in question, but in the end everything went well. Today Liebler says: “It would be nice if we could plan not just for one year in the future, but for three to five. We want to use the momentum for this now. The current season is fully financed – we are now in many good discussions for it next season and have some promising options. But we also have to bring that home.”
The season so far, Liebler knows this, could be a catapult that will take Würzburg permanently to the top. In order for this to actually succeed, those responsible must make smart decisions in the next few weeks. Then things could reach unimagined heights this season. “Not long ago we asked ourselves what if we were relegated to the second division,” says Liebler, “now the Playins actually have to be the minimum goal. We don’t want to approach the matter too humbly.”
After all, in Würzburg they know what they can do. And this self-image goes back to the man who exemplifies everything that makes the team so good: Sasa Filipovski.
2024-02-27 11:47:34
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