Comeback to Euroleague with Obradovic
Partizan is one of the main candidates to fill the vacancies. The team from Belgrade could play in the Euroleague next season. This season, after three decades, the most trophy-winning European coach returned to Partizan. Zeljko Obradovic came again to the club where he started his trophy career. After the great successes he made with Panathinaikos and Fenerbahce, he returned to his house. As expected, with his arrival, Partizan fans hope that their team could return to the paths of old glory. Partizan led by Obradović won the Euroleague in 1992. In addition to that title, he played in F4 several more times, but he has not participated in the Euroleague for eight years. The primacy was taken over by a great rival, Crvena Zvezda.
Failure in the Eurocup
Partizan played great in the Eurocup this season but was unexpectedly defeated by Bursaspor in front of 20,000 fans. In that way, the team from Belgrade missed the first chance to return to the Euroleague. It was a huge disappointment for Obradovic, players, and fans, but there is another opportunity to return to the Euroleague.
In addition to the Eurocup, the team that traditionally plays matches in black and white jerseys also competes in the ABA league. The champion of this league does not have a guaranteed place in the Euroleague, but he will almost certainly, as in previous seasons, play in the strongest European competition. In previous years, it was mostly Crvena Zvezda, with the exception of one season when the champion was Buducnost. The team led by Obradovic has not played in the finals of this competition for many years.
Potential final with Crvena Zvezda in ABA league
After the first game of the semifinals, Partizan has an advantage against Buducnost and needs another victory to reach the finals. The situation is similar in the second semifinal in which Crvena Zvezda has an advantage against Cedevita Olimpija. One should be careful precisely because of what happened in the Eurocup and the defeat by Bursaspor, although the competition system in the ABA league is different. At this moment, the chances are much more realistic for us to watch the duel of great rivals from Belgrade in the finals. If Partizan does not secure a place in the Euroleague in this way, there is another chance. Due to the great project, Partizan is a serious candidate for a special invitation. Several places in the Euroleague are vacant because Russian clubs will almost certainly not return to this competition.
Obradovic, budget, fans, history enough for Euroleague?
This opened the possibility for several teams to receive an invitation regardless of their placement in the leagues in which they compete. In addition to Partizan, Virtus from Bologna was mentioned, but this team will play in the Euroleague next season. The Italian team returned to the Euroleague after defeating Bursaspor in the Eurocup final. In addition to Partizan and Virtus, Valencia is also mentioned as a candidate to fill the vacancy in the next season. Partizan meets all the conditions to return to elite society. Partizan has Zeljko Obradovic, a solid budget, a long-term vision, and rich history. There is no need to waste words on great fans. This club has the potential to bring in much more money from TV rights than some other clubs.
The president of this club, Ostoja Mijailovic, is currently making moderate statements on this issue. “I would not have much to say on this subject. We are focused on the current season and the games ahead. ” There are great chances that we will see Partizan in the Euroleague again after an eight-year break. It remains to be seen whether this will be achieved on or off the field.