Vezenkov: «It's the biggest derby in Europe»
Olympiacos faces Panathinaikos at the OAKA (2/1, 20:30 CET) for the 19th round of the EuroLeague, and Giorgos Bartzokas and Sasha Vezenkov spoke during the Media Day, on New Year’s Day, about the big clash.
In his opening remarks about the game and the surprises such a derby might hold, our team’s head coach said: “I don’t think anything out of the ordinary. Some adjustments are always made in a game, but I don’t think there are many surprises. Let’s focus on this match up and not on past ones. This is a special game; Panathinaikos have been playing very well lately, as shown by their results and their numbers. As we’ve heard, their roster will be complete, without absences, and with the intense atmosphere there, it creates a difficult situation for the visiting team; especially for us. We have to rely on our team game, play together as we have in recent games, and go there to win.”
Then, regarding Olympiacos’ absences, Giorgos Bartzokas replied: “Ward won’t play because he’s not ready yet, nor will McKissic. Everyone else is fine, so it’s a fairly satisfactory number of good players to go after the game.”
On the importance of concentration in such a venue, the coach said: “It’s definitely important to stay focused for 40 minutes. Obviously, to win in that arena, where most teams lose, you have to be concentrated, not gift them the ball and allow them to get out in the transition. They have players who are very good at that, like Osman or Nunn. How we execute, how we do the basic basketball things like spacing, how we set ball screens or off-ball screens, and how we go to the rebounds are always very important. I think that if we execute our plan, we’ll have a serious chance to win.”
On the fact that the two teams haven’t played many games against each other yet this season, Bartzokas said: “Ultimately, we always play close to 10 games against each other during the year. We’ve played only once for the League; it was very early for both teams, because we were rather not ready at the time. We watched that game and showed some clips to our players, but both our execution and Panathinaikos’ has nothing to do with how things are now. The teams are much more ready now, much more compact, playing better. I don’t think we can dwell on that. More or less, we know the individual characteristics of Panathinaikos’ players and they know ours, and we also know the coaching philosophies, so there aren’t many surprises in these games.”
Regarding the illness among Panathinaikos players that led to the postponement of their game with Maroussi, and in relation to Olympiacos’ rest after the game in Bologna, the Greek coach said: “They played a game on Tuesday, which, from what I saw, they didn’t look affected. They played well offensively without being particularly pressured and rested players. From Tuesday to Friday is a period in which they’ll also be ready and tactically prepared for the game. Mentally and psychologically, I don’t need to tell you what the game will be like for them and how they’ll be waiting for us; but certainly the same applies to us.”
On the benefits and costs of an eternal derby in the EuroLeague, Bartzokas commented: “A win in these games always gives a boost; it’s a more important win for the teams. What matters is how you manage it afterward. Because these games have extra pressure and extra, mainly mental, strain; which leads to a different condition: a kind of ‘emptiness’ when you win, or something different when you lose. We have a game on Sunday in Thessaloniki and on Tuesday against Fenerbahce and then Bayern, so we have to treat this game, as much as possible, like any other game, because whether we win or lose, we don’t want to lose our rhythm and what we’ve been building lately.”
Then the coach answered a question about whether he realizes how much the EuroLeague promotes the Greek derby: “Undoubtedly, it's treated like a big deal, and I see it from the clips the EuroLeague prepares and from the overall level of interest. This is very important for Greek basketball, because I remind you that when we first came back here to Olympiacos, 5–6 years ago, it seemed like a distant dream for Greek teams to be this good in European basketball. Since then, completely different things have happened from what you, the experienced journalists, were predicting. What I want to say is that in life, ‘never say never.’ You see there are investments in both European and Greek basketball; lots of money, big budgets, great interest, which is certainly good for the sport, as long as we avoid the negatives that come with it.”
Finally, Giorgos Bartzokas responded regarding the rumored interest of our team in acquiring a center: “Yes, it continues (i.e., being on the market for a big man). But should I personally deal with that before the game against Panathinaikos? Because right now I’m not. As you know, we have people who deal with these matters, but it’s not me. We make some recommendations to strengthen our team, together with the owners, who want to help in that direction, to make the team as strong as possible in the second half of the season. From here on are the important games; titles will be decided, and so on.
We’ll do it like all teams do; many teams are on the market for such things, as has already been shown by some moves being made now. Because there’s this date, January 5, which concerns transfers from one EuroLeague team to another, we’re placing more emphasis now. We’re on the market, but you understand that we’re playing a game tomorrow and I wouldn’t like to refer to this; it would be completely wrong.”
Sasha Vezenkov also made comments on the game against Panathinaikos : “First of all, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year with health first and foremost. Olympiacos–Panathinaikos, and vice versa, are special games for the fans, the organizations, and the teams. But we, as professionals, approach it as just another game. The first round is ending; we want to see the level of readiness we’re at for a big game, and we’re ready to fight 100%.
It’s the biggest derby in Europe; for the winner it gives a week of boosted morale, for the loser you think about it a bit more. But if you look at our schedule in January, the win or the loss is forgotten the same night. We definitely want the win 1000%; it goes without saying that a win against the 'eternal rival' gives an extra boost. We know the atmosphere, most of us have played many such games, and we’re ready for battle.”
On how difficult it is to approach the derby as just another game, and on the date it will be plaid, the Bulgarian forward said: “I think we have to see it that way, but at the same time the motivation and the heart we have show have to be huge on all counts; if you want to win there, you have to play a perfect game on defense and offense. We know what we have to do. We’re used to it; we’re blessed to do what we love, and last year on this same day we were traveling to Kaunas, so we’re used to it. Everyone likes playing games, and it has nothing to do with the fact that it’s January the 2nd.”