Her next day National with him now at the helm, passionately sketched o Vasilis Spanoulis.
At the press conference of his presentation, the new federal technician spoke about dream that becomes reality, he emphasized that it did not take more than two seconds to say “yes” and qualified the word a little “price” to describe what he feels.
So he set himself the goal of creating one group where will it be familywith players fighting as Greekswho will feel again anticipation and chills when they will wear the coat of arms.
As for the competitive side, he revealed that he has already spoken to 10-12 playersunderlined that the main criterion will be to put the ego below the wholewhile he also answered about the how he plans to manage Giannis Antetokounmpo.
What Spanoulis said in detail
About his feelings: “For me it’s a dream moment, a dream come true. When your country calls you, you have to respond and give it your all. I want to say a big thank you to my predecessors, most recently Dimitris Itoudis. To those who worked hard for the National team to achieve victories. Those who are here and those who are not, we are ardent supporters of the National team.
I want to thank the president, the Municipality and Nikos for trusting me. I see Mitsos, Tsaros, Sofos… We have lived magical moments together, on and off the pitches. Moments that we now tell our children, but also others that made us bond more and have the relationship we have now. There are 4-5 left to complete a dozen.
The word honor is not enough to describe what I feel. The national team is not a club. She is the official darling, who inspired people and that is our goal with the management and all the staff. To make the team feel again what it means to wear the jersey of the National team. Most of all it’s pride, it’s chill and it’s honor. These examples must be passed on to the next generations.
Our legacy should be that we should be fighters, brave and fight for our dreams. The Greek is a fighter, he is brave, he has to deal with the strong and win. We want to make a team that will fight for each other and not for themselves. All of us did something more many times, for us, for the team, for the country and those who play basketball.
It is our duty to pass this legacy on to the next generation. It is our duty to bring the next players to the National team. A success, a unity and a family atmosphere are the most important for someone to play basketball and to create role models for him. I promise that I will do everything I can to make this team a TEAM, from the first day to the last.”
On whether he is thinking of renewing: “Let’s get to the end of the thing, while we have to get it from the beginning. For me there is no opening or closing of a cycle. I think there is a good yeast. We have to get it out of our heads that we don’t have players or shooters. We didn’t have a shooter either, but we made things difficult because we believed in them. We have a lot of kids who have won titles and we have to help them have the right atmosphere to contribute to the National team.
For me there is no age, whoever we think can help will be called. We have to build a team that has very good chemistry and believe that it can do what we want. It is important to have all players available and to make our selection from a multitude. It doesn’t mean that if someone isn’t one year, they won’t be the next.”.
On the difficulty of his mission and his staff: “I don’t play with my back against the wall, nor do I have any mountains to climb. Most of the guys I’ve played with are teammates or opponents. For me, the National team is a source of pride. Some things went right, some things went wrong. What was not done right in the past should be what will make us better in the future. We must learn from our mistakes. We Greeks like the difficult road. Our intention is to become better. For the staff I have some things in mind, in the next period you will learn everything”.
On when he will start contacting the players in order to achieve the national team: “I have spoken to at least 10-12 people already. I was always next to the National Team, I always sent messages… It is the love above all for the country and its ideals. It’s pride. I don’t even see it as a challenge, it’s a given that we’re going to build a team and go to the Olympics.
A team that will have a winning mentality and will go everywhere to win. If we don’t succeed, we’ll try again. No one has a magic wand or contract to success. But we have a contract to be next to the National team, for everyone who is healthy to come and for everyone to know because they come from difficult seasons that a family will be waiting for them”.
On the fact that he will have partners in the federation people who were his teammates: “It is an honor and a thrill that life brought them this way and we are now partners in the National team, the team that brought us to build this relationship that we have now. When we are dealing with work it is… work. I am glad to be next to Dimos, Dimitris, Sofos. We built lifelong friendships and it’s a dream come true, I didn’t expect to be in the National team coaching with them. It is our obligation to all unite to bring success.”
On how Giannis Antetokounmpo will manage the fund: “I have spoken with Giannis, he pathologically loves the National team. He wants to help her so much in the summer. He had an injury, is recovering now and has a big season ahead of him. He is a global superstar, but a humble superstar. He wants to contribute as much as possible to the national team.”
On whether the passion he brings out in his words comes from the fact that the National team has not had much success in the last 14 years: “If we didn’t have motivation, we wouldn’t do anything, but you don’t need motivation to be in the National Team. Maybe you see me with such passion because I was a team player. This passion comes naturally to me. We are not talking about a club, but about our country and our ideals. Not just singing the national anthem, but feeling it. This is the only way we will get what we need on the field. For me, we cannot talk about failures or droughts. Everything happens for a reason. You also need luck, which we had when we were playing. Germany also had it, and despite one shot, they would have been out of the semi-finals. We must convey our positive energy and not say “we failed, we lost”. Let these 14 years be a lesson for the future.”
On whether he perhaps felt he wasn’t ready yet: “I wasn’t good at… jumping, but I always had confidence in my abilities and I had faith in teamwork and the whole. From the first moment the proposal was made to me, I felt proud and honored.”
On whether he is worried about the wear and tear the National Team can have on a coach: “I didn’t even think about it for two seconds. For me the word wear and tear do not exist in my life. A family that has no money to feed their children is under pressure, people are under pressure with what happened in Thessaly…
For me it is an honor. I don’t think of any wear and tear or so others will say, but to do the best I can from my position. The players are the protagonists, we put the principles and the chemistry. I don’t think anything negative, I always think positive. I have confidence in the management and the players, I am sure that all Greeks will understand that we must be united in order to succeed.”
On whether he is worried about what is said to be not much “material”: “What needs to change in Greece is the whining. Complaining means insecurity, that I don’t feel like working with a child, that I don’t want to work on the field more hours… I’m happy doing what I love, I’m blessed. There is always a solution for everything, when you want and there is an appetite. In the past they used to say “the national team cannot succeed, it does not have a shooter” and for four years the golden yeast was found. But we put the ego below the team. We have to build the team first and then move on to the rest.”
On whether a National team wants to play at a high score: “We will go in the direction to win every game. And we with the USA scored 101 points, it came out of our zeal. How a game goes will be determined by tempo. We have a team that can win at both 70 and 100 points.”
On whether the preparation time for the Pre-Olympics is sufficient: “It is completely different to be a coach in the National team. The way the player will feel the National team and will have the desire to come and not go on vacation, will be our biggest gain. Even though we were tired, we wanted to go for another medal. We want to bring this anticipation back to the National Team. Everyone must understand that the National Team is not a club and put the ego below the National Team. You may need to have a different role than in your team. We will build the best possible team, to make it as easy as possible for the players.”
As for whether we will see some things in the qualifiers ahead of the summer: “We must play a basketball that will be represented by both those present and those who cannot be in America, such as Giannis or Thanasis. The players must know what to expect.”
On whether it will have an advisory role in the development part: “It is something we will discuss. It is very important the position of all children in development, in Women’s basketball… For me, basketball is one. It will be something that will concern us and we will talk very often.”
For the change of several coaches in the National team: “When you are a player you have to honor the national team. When you’re in a team and you don’t like the coach, you can go to your manager and tell him to find you another team. For me, that doesn’t exist in the National team. When the team calls you and you’re healthy, you have to be there.”
Source: Sport Fm
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
