Ibon Navarro took charge of Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade, steering the club to the second spot in the EuroLeague standings through a defensive scheme that concedes just 75 points per contest, El Mundo reported on Wednesday.
The Vitoria-born coach arrived in Serbia following a successful stint with Unicaja, bringing an emphasis on shared responsibilities and distributing player egos.
Crvena Zvezda recorded seven wins in their opening ten EuroLeague fixtures, matching the club’s best start in the competition’s history. The team’s recent run featured an away victory against Olympiacos in Athens, where the Greek side was held to just 22 points by halftime.
Despite losing their first two games of the European campaign against Zalgiris and Hapoel Tel Aviv, the Serbian side bounced back to win seven of their last eight matches.
“Here everyone knows who you are,” Navarro said.
The sole domestic defeat in the Adriatic League arrived against rival Partizan, a result that left an imprint on the club. Navarro shares the Belgrade coaching spotlight with fellow Spaniard Joan Peñarroya, who leads Partizan. Crvena Zvezda currently sits at the top of the Adriatic League table with five victories from six matches.
Teodosic Builds a Deep Squad Focused on Collective Passing
Milos Teodosic, now serving as the club’s sports director, assembled a deep squad that has absorbed injuries to players such as Motley and Izundu. The roster relies on collective passing rather than a single superstar, averaging 20.8 assists per game to rank second in the EuroLeague. Five players maintain an efficiency rating above 10, led by Jordan Nwora at 15.1.
The rotation features Chris Jones, Chima Moneke, Christian Koloko, and Semi Ojeleye. Real Madrid coach Pedro Martínez acknowledged the team’s physical attributes ahead of their upcoming fixture. “In attack they have handlers like Jones or Carter, who are really good, it is a very physical team, they have signed Koloko, who is an athletic five who does many things well,” Martínez said.
Life Inside the Belgrade Rivalry
Navarro experiences daily life in Belgrade through encounters with supporters who recognize him in public spaces. After taking a public bus into the city center, his journey appeared on the front page of a local newspaper the following morning. On another occasion, when he visited an Ikea store wearing a black-and-white shirt, a club executive arranged for official team apparel to be delivered to him immediately.
“It is a basketball rivalry, not even of clubs, because in football Crvena Zvezda is quite superior to Partizan,” Navarro said. It cannot be explained.
Crvena Zvezda Visits Real Madrid on Thursday
Crvena Zvezda visits Real Madrid at the WiZink Center on Thursday at 21.00 local time, broadcast via Movistar, carrying their strong EuroLeague form into the Spanish capital. Real Madrid prepares for the matchup missing Facundo Campazzo, Theo Maledon, Mikael Jantunen, Rudy Fernández, and Usman Garuba.
“The best thing is that I don’t understand anything,” Navarro noted of his attempts to learn Serbian through a mobile application, reflecting on the intense atmosphere surrounding the club.
Worth a look
,autocrop(1200:630))
