Four days after the boos of Gaston-Médecin sanctioning a second consecutive defeat at home (74-86 against Le Mans), AS Monaco returns to its audience this Thursday against ASVEL. With one major change in the meantime: the departure of Sasa Obradovicwho had been the coach of the Roca Team since December 2021. The Serbian technician was dismissed Monday afternoon, the day after the disillusionment at Le Mans.
“The decision was inevitable”
“It was incredibly hard to announce it to Sasa, who was more than a coach for us”indicates GM Oleksiy Yefimov, in a press release sent to multiple media, including BeBasket. Despite his privileged relationship with Mike James and Jordan Loyd, the Belgrade player's position became more and more uncomfortable over the course of ASM's hazardous outings. “Despite a consistently positive record in the EuroLeague, the team struggled to produce consistent, quality basketball”indicates the Ukrainian manager. “We still haven't found the rhythm that characterizes a title contender. This irregularity made the decision inevitable. Given that we always aim as high as possible, we had the feeling that a change of coach was the only way to create an electric shock intended to re-mobilize the team and recreate the habits necessary to compete with the elite of the team. EuroLeague. »
It is clear that Sasa Obradovic is at fault. The frequent mood swings of the Roca Team in recent years are necessarily partly to blame on him and his management of rotations has often proven illegible. But it would be far too easy to blame everything on him… For example, he doesn't take care of recruitment. It was not him who decided on the arrival of Kemba Walker last year, or that of Furkan Korkmaz this summer. It was not he who decided to part ways with Jordan Loyd in the first instance to better bring him back. It was not he who decided to overtake Donatas Motiejunas with a similar profile (Georgios Papagiannis). It was not him who decided to replace Yakuba Ouattara with Juhann Begarin. “Let's be honest: while it's often the coach who finds himself exposed when things don't go as planned, Sasa is not the only one to blame and we all bear some responsibility. Whether it's the management, including me first and foremost, or the players, we have all made decisions and initiated actions that have led us to where we are today…”
A meeting with Spanoulis at the end of the week in Thessaloniki
It is in this context that the Roca Team will host Villeurbanne this Thursday. With a double affront to erase: that of the end of its hegemony against ASVEL, which broke a series of ten defeats in a row at the beginning of October (71-85), and the ugly face displayed at Gaston-Médecin last week . For the occasion, assistant Manuchar Markoishvili (extremely appreciated by Monegasque players) will take his place on the bench, as an interim: perhaps his only match, before potentially giving way to Vassilis Spanoulis next week at opportunity for a trip to the lair of… Panathinaikos Athens. At the moment, the Greek coach is the priority option of the Principality club and Oleksiy Yefimov plans to fly to Greece this weekend in order to negotiate directly with Kill Bill. But for the moment, Oleksiy Yefimov does not want to confirm anything at open microphones. « NWe are not just looking for a coach, but rather a visionary strategist with a plan to lead this team to the greatest heights. For the moment, we are only at the beginning of discussions with potential candidates, of which it is still too early to reveal a name. »
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Precisely, the Monegasque priority is not yet there. For now, the double French champion club is more focused on its fratricidal duel against ASVEL, where the attitudes of the players will be widely scrutinized after the events of the last few days. “We will have to show the right attitude and a fighting mentality against ASVEL”confirme Yefimov. “We want to see players who give everything on the pitch. We expect more from players, and not only in terms of individual performance. It's more in terms of wanting to sacrifice for the team, supporting your teammates, showing better body language, and showing true determination and desire to fight. These qualities are non-negotiable if you want to succeed. » And obviously, they were missing in recent weeks…
