Bardzokas: “Leaving Olympiacos will be very psycho -the -hand for me, but I was ready to do it!”

THE George Bardzokasthe most successful coach in the story of basketball Olympicopens his heart to a full -length interview in First Issue and Dimitris Danika. With a direct and human reason, he talks about the great moments, the difficult decisions, the relationships with the players, but also about his deep connection with the team, supported by a child.

It is honestly referred to the moments of controversy, the pressure of the Final 4 and the loneliness of the coach. He does not hesitate to admit that he has thought of leaving, that he is tired, that he is angry when he sees the obvious. He talks about the need for internal balance, about accepting that he cannot like everyone and the importance of human chemistry within a group.

More than a sporting interview, this is a personal confession. A portrait of a man who has learned to live with pressure, to manage success and failure, and to remain faithful to his values.

Here are excerpts from the interview:

‘Olympiacos has no jealousy’

Among other things he said about the difference between Barcelona and Olympiacos: “Each club is unique. Barcelona is also a very political club, in essence the flag of Catalonia. Many managers in Barcelona are former ministers. It is essentially a political club with 100,000 members who vote for the administration. It’s more than just a club, this ” mes que un club ” that the Catalans say. It is a difficult club, however, because where politics is involved, many other things are involved. To give you an example: When the administration comes out every four years from elections, where two factions go down to get the presidency, it means that there is an opposition within the team itself. Half, let’s say, are happy when Barcelona wins, but there are many who do not enjoy it, because they want to take power. What I am telling you is a simplistic view of things, but in essence it is so”

Whether the difference with Olympiacos is huge: “No, Olympiacos is a huge club in Europe right now. In basketball, Barcelona is essentially FC Barcelona, ​​that is, a Barcelona -Barcelona Football -so it is mentioned, it also writes on the signal. He is a club, a president. Olympiacos is a club with another management in football and another in basketball. Barcelona is always a football club. In basketball Olympiacos has nothing to envy from any European team”

“Only arrogance we weren’t in Final 4 – We went completely decimated”

Asked if Olympiacos went with arrogance to Abu Dhabi’s Final 4, he was clear: “Under no circumstances. We had a twenty -day preparation before the Final 4, where we counted seven injured. While we went in essence complete, we were completely out of shape and out of good situation, because seven players injections, we didn’t do training. We went completely decimated. We are not only arrogant. We knew that it was a year when expectations were huge -because we were first in the regular season all year, we all considered us the big favorite, but we knew we had to be overrun to win, because we were not in good shape at that time.

Final 4 never allows you to be arrogant, because everything is judged on one night, where opponents are always very capable -they are the four best teams in Europe. And often the pressure you have as a favorite pays you more than going as an underdog. This worked in essence – beyond the ability of our opponents, Monaco – we thought it was a year where we could get the Euroleague. But you know, no matter how much money you give, no matter how good you do, no one guarantees that you will eventually get it. Just not easy to convince fanatics”

For his first term in Olympiacos: “In my first term at Olympiacos, although we took the Euroleague, I left after a defeat with Panathinaikos. In essence, I left because when we returned to the SEF there were 500 people who had wild moods against us. Nothing extreme happened. Against me and against the whole team. But as a coach I resigned for this reason. Because I thought that Olympiacos could not be separated and Olympiacos’ friends themselves against the team. In my second term I am treated in a completely different way. Because I made a route abroad, because in five and a half years I am now we have got nine titles, we have gone to four Final 4, we have broken a lot of record in the team history. And because I am also a child of Olympiacos, I am somehow treated as a man of their own. But of course this is always very fragile. Because families are divided here, brothers arguing. It is very fragile because it has to do with how much the team continues to win”

For the role of coach: “There are five sides (including players and partners) to manage. The one and most important are the owners of the groupthe presidents who put too much money in the team, are emotionally tied, but are not paid -they are already paid. It is a human relationship, which passes a lot up and down when you lose, when they are sad. And there must be great honesty. The other side you have to manage is the media. It is mandatory to make statements before the race, during the race, after the race. And the other side is the fans. How you will treat the fans, how respect you will show them. And I’m not talking about the time you get on the court, applaud you and applaud them too. I’m talking about every day where they can meet you anywhere. You must not be arrogant, if they are noble and ask for a photo or exchange a conversation you have to do that too. I don’t know if it seems a little too exaggerated what I’m saying, but I assure you that I can’t go out. Especially with the popularity of basketball right now. I read that 2.5 million viewers were watching the finals with Panathinaikos. The numbers recorded by state television were reminiscent of other seasons”

“I was shocked in the first game in the SEF after Final 4 and defeat at OAKA”

On whether there are Panathinaikos fans who congratulate him and his comment on social media: “Social media right now, where everyone inexpensive and unsigned can at best criticize and at worst find you, cursed for it and I don’t have social media -they are slowly shaping a public opinion, I will give you an example. When we lost to Final 4 this year and returned, there was a great deal of social media criticism for me -from what they were carrying, to a level. That I don’t do for Olympiacos, I have to leave. Then we lost to Panathinaikos in the first game at the OAKA. So, in the first game in the SEF after these two defeats, I was shocked, because when I came in I thought he had a goal in Karaiskakis. Was such a burst of sympathy, completely opposed to what was said”

“I thought about leaving – I don’t have much patience, especially when the pulses are high.”

As to whether he thought of leaving after these two defeats: “Yes, of course. And the previous time I left Olympiacos I decided to leave because I felt I was going to break the logical series into a sports team. Everyone must be a punch, united. If the challenge begins … yes (to a question about whether it’s ready wherever it is to leave), I don’t bind so much with places. I’m not tied to a house. Let’s say, I don’t care to go to see my father or my current home again if I go to another. Not even with cities, no countries, nor with cultures. But I am bonding with people. My childhood friendships are important to me. Or my childhood ideas. Olympiacos is an idea for me, it’s important. It is the team I support from a child and for me, at the age I am now, is much more important than something else. Leaving him will be very psyched for me. No matter if I have to do it for the good and my own and Olympiacos. But leaving him is not easy for me. However, I was ready to do it.

I said I had to give myself time, even after the championship we got and finished in the best way. Even now I have to think about it”

If he even thinks about it now to leave or that the cycle is closed: “No, it’s an internal process. I thought that when this year was over I had to do an internal search, give a week, ten days to myself, to make an assessment of the situation. How are things for me, emotionally, family, professional? Do I have to continue to be in this environment? I think every person does, for every job, isn’t it?”

For what makes him get angry: “I have some ideas in mind what basketball means. When this comes to war, unlike what I see, I don’t have much patience. Especially when the pulses are high when they are at 60, which is my normal, I have a lot of patience, I think, I understand things. When my pulses are 180, I don’t have. And as the doctor’s doctor has told me, who is a wise man, ” You are bothering you that the self -evident ‘is shot’ ‘”

“The mental illness of wanting to like all me has been through for a long time – there were relationships with players who were extreme.”

For their relationship with the players: “First of all I never want to be a friend with the players. I can’t be a friend because the relationship we have. Also, age anymore, I can’t hang out with someone who is much smaller, nor do I want to. Nevertheless, there are relationships with players of huge appreciation and respect together. And there are also relationships with players who were extreme. That is, they did not accept me and within me I had a great patience to accept them, but I did not accept them too. This has to do with people’s chemistry, we don’t hang out with everyone, we don’t all fit. The mental illness of wanting to like all me has been through me for a long time. So I have accepted that I cannot with all people have chemistry and be able to have a common purpose together”

For his deepest desire: “I don’t really know. I’ve got into a wave and I don’t know where it goes, that’s the truth. If you were asking me when I was starting to do this job, if I would imagine what we have accomplished -because I have received eleven titles with Olympiacos, I am the longest in the team’s history and the most polynomial coach, with the most titles -I would not tell you. But I don’t know where the wave will lead me. I may stop doing this job tomorrow, I can continue for years at Olympiacos, they may not want me anymore. In life I have learned, from my childhood, that you can’t get anything for granted“