Improbable Ataman: “Like Ancelotti? I’m better!”

He was hosted by phone on a show in Bologna Ergin Ataman and—as usual—offered plenty of quips.

When the presenter pointed out to him that “… wherever you go you bring success! You are like Ancelotti“, the Turkish coach replied with humor “i am better» from the coach of Real, who has swept the Champions League.

Referring to his success in winning the Euroleague, his coach Panathinaikou he said: “From the first day I came to Athens I saw great respect on my face. All the teams I coached had historic successes and now it was Panathinaikos’ turn».

Of course he couldn’t help but be asked about transfers and whether he would take any Virtus Bologna player to his team. “At the moment I’m only thinking about the finals of the Greek league. Many agents recommend players to us, but first the league must end“, he said, while being asked about Toko Sengelia, who last year got a breather from Panathinaikos, he answered: “It’s not just him. There are many teams with great players and several of them did not make the playoffs».

On whether he would work at Virtus, he said: “I have many friends in Bologna, as well as all over Italy, and I often go on holiday to Sardinia. Virtus has been a very good team for years. In our profession you never know what can happen. I have a contract for one more year, then we’ll see. But now I am very happy at Panathinaikos».

Finally, he was asked about the participation of Maccabi or CSKA in the Euroleague due to the war situation in their countries. “I don’t want to cause controversy. They are two groups with great prestige and I am against any war, whether in Gaza or in Ukraine. I am very sorry that innocent children are being killed“, he said, while about his outburst in the series with Maccabi he said that “… as a coach I just said that I was not at all happy with the refereeing».