Milutinov: “Slowly the Sluka issue is being forgotten – I’m glad that Panathinaikos will be stronger”

His return to Olympichis departure Vezenkovhers Sluka for Panathinaikos and their now strong rivalries but also his future. THE Nikola Milutinov spoke on a Serbian website about all the above issues, pointing out that it is particularly good for Olympiakos that Panathinaikos will be stronger and the derbies stronger.

Nikola Milutinov’s statements in detail…

On his return to Olympiakos:

“The fans welcomed me amazingly and when I wasn’t at Olympiakos, they always wrote to me, invited me to come back and I’m very happy to be part of one of the strongest teams, as both previous years have shown. As an organization they are at a top level, they have improved a lot compared to three years ago. Season after season they go up. I hope we will go one step further.”

On the loss of Vezenkov:



“I’m sorry we won’t be playing together again, because we really started building our careers together through Olympiakos and we’ve remained friends. On the other hand, I’m glad he’s in the NBA because he deserves to be there. I know how much he worked, how much he sacrificed, how much he gave himself to everything.”

For the goals of Olympiakos:



“It is always my desire to be at the top of the Euroleague, but after this summer and the departure of two important players, the team has changed significantly. We have to be calm, go from game to game, build chemistry in the team and not look too far into the future, because at the moment we are not in a position to aim for the final four and go for the win in all the matches. We can only hope and wish for that.”

Regarding the move of Sloukas to Panathinaikos:



“Slukas left three to four months ago, I think the issue is slowly being forgotten. It’s his decision. It might have been a little weird for us at first, but that’s about it. Honestly, I’m glad that Panathinaikos is stronger, there will be a bigger rivalry, better for the fans, everyone will enjoy it more and these derbies will be much more interesting, so will the Euroleague.”

For his future:



“After leaving Piraeus, I somehow imagined that I would end my career at Olympiakos. Now that I have reached this age, I don’t know what will happen in the future. I always wanted to come back to Olympiakos at least once and feel all this, because I always had incredible support from the people and from the club. They accepted me as if I were their own and I wanted to feel that once again.”