Kanchelieri: “Someone who had played in Panathinaikos had told me that I would be ideal for PAOK …”

THE Massimo Kanchelieri prepares PAOK for the big finals with the Bilbao to FIBA Europe Cup And this year’s “Biceps of the North” season has aroused the interest of the Italian media.

So her team’s coach Thessaloniki He gave a large interview to the Website of the Italian Federation, where he characteristically mentioned:

“In my bowl they sang” Kanchelieri one of us “. I was there for six years, I had a great time. They really felt that I was one of them. But the fact that they tell you that in Thessaloniki, when you arrive and no one knows who you are, has a little effect. It shakes me. Then you have to be reasonable in your choices, but those 20 seconds at the end of the race, when you have won, there is adrenaline and people recognize you, it is beautiful. “.

For the list he entered after the coltenbella and Takakas, he said: “All three of us had the typical Italian … warmth, to approach every game like that. They like it when their coaches have and show this passion. They tell you with affection, they like that you are so passionate. It’s nice to hear in a nation that is not yours, people so happy with you. It’s nice. I will never forget that.

In my 52 years I was able to accept that I have understood something. I was always curious about how you can do the same job, but in another country. I think basketball is the same, but the culture of the state where it is played, the coaches, the workers and the local players are a little different, the approach is different. I was always interested in going abroad to train and at the same time, this possibility happened by chance. “.

About the way he found with the French in his presence in Limoges, he said: “I would like to compare myself to other realities. I had started looking abroad to see if there were opportunities, and one came from Limoges. I couldn’t expect anything better, because it is a club with incredible history, the only one in France who has won the Champions League, as well as many national championships. This was an environment that was largely based on an approach to the work I have always done my own: To be passionate. They completely love the team, in an instinctive way, and we came closer in a natural way.

The presence in France allowed me to continue my career abroad. It is not that I had worked specifically to come and train in Greece, but I was presented with the opportunity. You can’t say no to PAOK. And here, as in Limoges, the culture of passion for the team is unmatched. The love for the team is huge ».

A bond that these months learned to touch with his own hands, cultivating the game with a game, with a team of players uniting them by the common intention of rolling the lobster in the lock of black and white memories. But at the same time a love, a feeling that flows, which had already noticed it closely, despite being on the other side of the fence. “I was lucky enough to play in Greece in the European Cups in the past, both with Milan and French teams. I was always fascinated by the steady atmosphere of the derby we have here, full of stadiums, going to the court first to shout, while applauding your team. Every time I came here this atmosphere was capturing me »noted excited and added:

“A player who had played in Panathinaikos once told me that I would be perfect for PAOK, I didn’t know much, I remembered the club’s story but I had never gone to Thessaloniki. A few months later, PAOK phoned me. “I think I have to go,” I said to myself. Two items make a proof. I arrived without asking much. We have managed to have good results and now they are beautiful. It reminds me of the bell, it reminds me of the monster: a passion for basketball so transcendent that people thank you on the street. The result no longer matters: everyone loves the team and its players ».

As mentioned, his first season as a coach at PAOK is also above all special because he achieved a goal that was missing from the last century: to return to the high competitiveness for a European trophy. In this case, the FIBA ​​Europe Cup, for which PAOK won the ticket for the final after a powerful semifinal with Sole:

“The score was always balanced, it was a battle in both games. We offset their talent with desire and intensity. When you are approaching a semifinals and you know that the opponents are high, you are preparing and trying not to make a single mistake in communication. During the race we always told each other that this series would be judged for possession. This helped when in the second half, in the sole, we were back with 13 points. Staying calm, we knew that possession after possession could be recovered. And we did it ».

Having reached the last appointment with glory thanks to the return to Game 2, after the three -point lead of the former player of Trieste and Frank Bartley who sent the game to the extension, he brought to his mind Massimi Kanchelieri another critical challenge to his recent career: “There have been shocking and lucky moments, such as that buzzer-beater, but everything changes. Last year I lost the France Cup after losing all the shots in the last three minutes. And they were all open. This is the beauty of this sport. You must always be ready to react to a situation that changes like the wind. In the high seas, if you are not specialist the ship is overthrown ».

At the end of the race, while Massimos Kanchelieri was going to greet Fabrice Lefransas, hundreds of PAOK fans were celebrating success: “At our headquarters, we had a lot of people in just a few races. With Mars, with AEK, with Olympiacos. But strangely, playing in FEC has helped us, as so many abroad fans have always come to the races. This began to create a bond with the team, which saw 150 people in the stands for us in Oporto. And you say, “How is it possible?”

Some left, made two intermediate stops, but most came from there. It took place in Belgium, Romania, Hungary, Frumpour, France in Dijon: everywhere, always 100-150-200 people supporting us. But now is the turning point … Trying to achieve an important outcome as an outsider brings a lot of love and support. Here are people who get permission to come and watch the races. They don’t go to work to prepare. These are honestly very beautiful things to live them ».

The share? Again of the team: “The kids were very good. In a situation that was not easy, without much experience, many came here and immediately realized the history of this group, love and special dedication. I think this was the message that this team sent, and then they respected it. PAOK fans love and support PAOK regardless of, but they recognize that these players are doing something great for their favorite team. This unites everything, and “mayonnaise is ready”.

At the same time, as highlighted, this is the fruit of his personal development. Of acquiring different awarenesses. “Sometimes I was not capable of understanding the work that had to be done in the team. We started in a way and ended with another. In my opinion, that doesn’t work. You have to be a bit like Zelig, as Woody Allen would say: camouflaged, adapting yourself to the moment and in the situation you are in, understanding what the comments the team gives you and then act accordingly ».

He said at the end: “In the past I always thought that my way was the right thing to train, but in the end the teams were ‘licenses’. I am not ashamed to talk about myself at this point. Sometimes the guillotine is a child of the results that come from the work you do: if you do it wrong, the team can lose energy, both mental and physical. This year we got better, and I think this is more linked to how much I manage to listen to them and adjust them. For the first time I think I did it. In Limoga we came fourth, we won ten consecutive games. But there was a moment when we lost five races and had a meeting: the kids were very good in analysis, but it still took a meeting. This year is all different: we always said things between us, everyone was listening to each other. I feel I have improved on it ».