One call changed his life. “I’m going to Fenerbahçe, are you coming?” After a glorious period of thirteen seasons at Panathinaikos, with five Euroleague titles included, Zeljko Obradovic, the most successful coach in European basketball, did not hesitate. After many years of fantasizing about the possibility of working with his good friend again, the first thing he did before facing his new challenge was call Josep Maria Izquierdo (Badalona, 1967), who in those years worked at the City Hall of his city. . “It was the end of July and I responded that if he gave me two hours, I would pack my suitcase and swim to Istanbul,” jokes the Catalan, who reports to this newspaper from Belgrade.
More than a decade later, and after winning the Euroleague again in 2017, the ninth for the Serbian and the second for Izquierdo, they continue working hand in hand every day, now at Partizan Belgrade, which tomorrow hosts Barça in an always Hot Stark Arena. “Here basketball is passion, a feeling of belonging to the club and you not only feel that in the games, on the street people transmit their pride to you even when they lose. The followers forgive you a defeat but not the lack of effort,” says Izquierdo.
“He cares more about others than about himself, he always asks me if I have been paid,” he says of the Serbian coach.
The Badalona coach had been in the Penya youth ranks for many years when Zeljko Obradovic landed on the Olímpic bench in 1993. The Serbian, backed by the European Cup won with Partizan two years earlier – precisely beating Joventut in the final – appeared with a ground-breaking script, with a clear Balkan accent, in which the physical aspect had as much weight as the technical aspect. “He told me that it was the only way to win and he wasn’t wrong because we won the European Cup,” boasts Izquierdo, who somewhat established himself as the mediator between the coach and a squad with veterans like Villacampa or Corny Thompson for whom those tremendous physical efforts could be a problem.
Off the court, Izquierdo and Obradovic also quickly connected and began to forge a friendship that lasts to this day. The coach fell in love with the area and bought a house in Maresme that he still maintains. He spent every summer there and given the age coincidence between their children, the friendship with Izquierdo grew stronger. In the long after-dinner conversations they have shared over the years – “we start eating at 2pm and sometimes we finish after 8pm” –, always with a glass of wine in between, the possibility of working together again had always appeared but It was not until the Serb left Athens that it could become a reality.
Izquierdo and Obradovic connected on and off the court and forged a friendship that has lasted 30 years
With the passage of time, Izquierdo has been able to get to know Obradovic better, a legend on the bench, whose image in games resembles that of an angry ogre, always shouting and protesting. “On the court he has no friends, as I believe no one else has. He does his job because he knows that if he loses, he is the one who gets fired,” says Izquierdo. Of course, the Serbian has a very different face away from the cameras. “He is a charming guy who takes great care of his surroundings, he cares more about those around him than about himself,” emphasizes the one from Badalona. There are many examples to explain it. When it’s time to get paid, for example, he always gets worried and asks me if I’ve collected so he can have peace of mind. Or if a player goes to the doctor, they are always interested in whether they have been treated well and if they need anything else.”
Back to the present, this Wednesday’s duel will be the first in which Kevin Punter, now at Barça, faces his former team, Partizan, where of course he worked with Izquierdo. “I think he is beginning to reap the fruits of his work, he is one of the stars of this Euroleague. I remember that he was the first to arrive at training and then, when it was over, he always stayed to continue improving. “He was an example for everyone.”
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A conversation with Josep Maria Izquierdo cannot conclude without the appearance of his beloved Joventut. “Whenever I can I watch their games and I also have a direct line with people there, not to mention that my children go to the Olímpic. They live in a complicated situation because it is no longer just the big clubs that take away players, now the American University League also signs player projects and pays them unattainable salaries. I think that Penya is at an impasse now, that it is suffering, but fighting to maintain a team that combines experience and youth.” It is the opinion of Zeljko Obradovic’s left hand.
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