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Postao/la edinjo-bih » 12 sep 2012, 12:07
Interview with Bosnian basketball legend Nenad Markovic - Sep 9, 2012
POSTED BY:
NEDZAD KLADUSAK
E-mail Nedzad
There is no need to introduce Nenad Markovic, according many basketball fans the greatest basketball player BIH had in the post war-era.
He has played in the best European leagues and played for the Yugoslav and later for the BIH NT team leading it to victories against a superstrong Croatian team featuring basketball aces like Dino Radja, Zan Tabak, Damir Mulaomerovic, Arijan Komazec, Emilio Kovacic and Gordan Giricek.
First of all congratulations for the fantastic success you achieved with your team!
Q: How have you spent the last couple of days? How have you celebrated the championship with your guys?
A:Thank you very much! I have celebrated with my assistant coaches and KSBIH officials. My players went home and they deserved to celebrate without their coach after being 40 days with him. It s been very emotional during the tournament and we have all been exhausted at the end.
Q: How do you feel now and what means the title for BIH basketball and for you personally?
A:I think it s been a tremendous success for BIH basketball, its youth categories and the Bosnian basketball federation and we have to exploit this success for our future work in sub-senior categories.
For me personally it s been a fantastic success and the greatest success I have achieved so far because I achieved it with young players players and being under enormous pressure caused by great expectations of all sides. However we stayed focused and won the gold medal.
Q: During the tournament you have been dissatisfied. Which things have to be improved in order to stay in the A division?
A:It s not been so much dissatisfaction but mostly a way to keep a positive tension in the team. I wanted to preserve them from losing focus after the first four victories because the tournament lasts long and very both physically and mentally demanding so every relaxation might be fatal.We have to continue working the way we are working now with frequent workouts, practise games sending out a strong message to all player throughout Europe that we count on them and that we can offer them excellent conditions for their development.We have to set our goals higher. We don t want not only to stay in the A division!
Q: You have critisized some players in public after the defeat against Finland. Which things they need to be improve and which ist he role of teams and media in this process?
A: I have never critisized single players and this is not my style because despite some players are dominant they title is always won by a team and not by single players. I have critisized the approach as we have been leading by 18 against Finland and I asked for more team play. Players generally have to work daily on their individual skills and they have to work on concentration and focussing which are key points in the development of young players!Definitely media have to support this process by being objective and not producing stars after a single good action. Most of these kids can t handle these kind of flatteries!
Q: Has there ever been a moment when you doubted about our sucess?
A: I had never doubted that we will promote to A division but I have been well aware that the road to promotion won t be an easy one and that we would have to focussed 10 days, 8 matches which is for players in that age not easy at all.
Q: There have been many uncertainties concerning the roster and the preparations. How much impact had this on you and your team?
A: The roster has been only uncertain for the public media but my coaching team and I had no doubts about the players which will make up the roster.The only pending issue has been emir Sulejmanovic but we have prepared for the first day on for the situation that he won t be able to play for us this championship.
Q: Some players didn t respond to your call or have not been able to play for our team. Which players are these and how much can they contribute to the team?
A: Srdjan Milanovic of Leotar and Dejan Todorovic (F-94) of Clinicas Rincon are players which could give this team additional quality and promote the competition on their positions.
Q: We have qualified for A division. How are the chances to stay in A division and will you stay coach of the U 18 team?
A: I have said already. We have to set our goals higher than only staying in the A division.I will soon have negotiations with general secretary Harun Mahmutovic and we will close the deal. Both sides are interested to extend the contract.
Q:Have you already a vision of the U18 NT if you stay its coach?
A: Of course we have developed last year a vision since we have been optimistic that we will accomplish our mission and we have prepared long term plans. We have to planning over a longer stretch , looking in the future and being always ambitious. In my eyes it is the only way we can have success.
Q:Sometimes one could have the impression that Vrabac, Buza and to a smaller extent Nurkic played their private matches? What makes up a leader? And how much can this be influenced by a coach?
A:They are all young players which played for the first time such a demanding tournament in front of domestic audience, playing under tremendous pressure of mandatory promotion to A division and everyone of them tried to cope with this situation his own way. I am sure that there has not been self-promotion because all of them are brilliant guys who worked hard to win the gold medal.
A leader is defined by many things. A leader is the driving forcer of a team, who never gives up, someone who always motivates and cheers up his team. Whenever his coach watches him in his eyes must shine the confidence that his team will win and he is willing to spark his teammates.
It is not necessarily the best player of a team and a leader is definitely born not made. It s a matter of character and a coach has to recognize a leader and direct him in a positive rewarding direction.
Q:BIH has plenty of talent but it seems that we are much weaker when it comes to coaching talents and coaching education? Can you share this impression and how could we improve this?
A:KSBIH and Sulejman Begovic who has got tremendous experience tries since years to improve the education of our coaches by organizing workshops with famous coaches. This weekend for example in Sarajevo will take place a workshop with Neven Spahija, Mirko Novosel
Q:You had already a great result in your coaching career while being being Panonios coach. Nevertheless you are at the beginning of your coaching career. Which are your plans?
A: Yes you are right. I am a young coach but I have already gathered coaching experiences on senior NT, competitive leagues like it is the Greek one and the Adriatic league and coaching experiences on junior NT level like which results in a considerable number of matches I coached a team.
I will soon pursue also my career as a club coach.
Q:You run your private basketball academy GEN. What is your concept and are you happy with the results after the first practice camps have been organised?
A:GEN is a basketball academy that has been organised by Emir Halimic, Gordan Firic and I aiming to introduce kids to basketball with a completely new approach, strongly influenced by the way we have been introduced into basketball. We are definitely satisfied with the results but the most important ist hat the kids and their parents are satisified.
Q:Do you consider yourself to be more a individiual coach or a tactician? Do you prefer coaching younger players or ready to play- senior players?
A:As a coach I have to be prepared for every situation and you have tob e ready to work with all types of players. I started my coaching careerr as a coach for senior teams but now I work with young players and junior teams and I don t have a problem with it. And well good fundamentals and individual skills are prerequisites for the execution of any tactic. The skills of your players are like a toolset of the coach who will define some offensive and defensive details to a individual working program. Afterwards you create a team tactic which is based on these details.
Q:In business life strong characters and leadership are required but it seems to me that such personalities often have problems in their careers?
A: Well it depends on the character oft he coach. A coach hast o be ready for compromises with both players and team owners. He has to be clever while doing his job. You are right strong characters are appreciated but not stubbornness and thats a big difference.
Q:Many (KSBIH and teams) ask state institutions to increase fundings for sports in general and basketball. What do you think about this and what should be the mission of the state regarding sports?
A: The state institutions and government definitely has to ensure the funding of sports in the country. However I can t offer them a plan how to perform this but they have to find a way as aoon as possible since sports represent countries more precisely sports and sportsmen and not politicians.
Q: Have you been satisfied with individual-tactial education and mental preparation of your players? Have there been voices from outside the NT influencing their game?
A:Generally the team has been fantastically prepared as you can see in the result we achieved and the fact that we played our best defence at the end of the match. Another indicator is that none of our players hase picked up an injury during the tournament.
Q:You have been uncontested leader of your generation and some have considered you tob e very dominant. However weh ad a clear hierarchy within the team and you founded a basketball academy with Gordan. Which is the secret of being a leader, who is respected by the team and avoding personal problems with teammates?
A: This is a natural selection and leaders always stand out in the end. It s a matter of character.
Q:When you have been coach of the senior NT you suffered some critisizm when you declared that Djedovic will be a starter instead of Damir Mrsic. Looking back what do you think about this move and how would have reacted player Nenad Markovic?
A: Coaches always get critisized and thats the other side of the medal and I never take this personally because you have always to consider who critisizes you and why he critisizes you. Nenad Markovic would have respected the coaches decision.
Q: In BIH Basketball your name is pronounced in the same sentence with Mirza Delibasic but most who gave this country so much are marginalised. How do you bear this development?
A: After the war this is normal in our country. All the negative things in our country are now present everywhere. All the good values, ethics have been marginalised. Unfortunatelly that s transformation of peoples of the Balkans.
Q: Are you still in touch with your former NT teammates?
A: I am in touch with most of them with Samir Avdic,Dzevdo Alihodzic, Haris Mujezinovic, Adis Beciragic, Samir Seleskovic, Gordan Firic, Emir Halimic, Senad Begovic We have been a generation and we grew up together which also reflected on the cohesion on the court. We are good friends and there have never been negative feelings like envy between us.
Q:Many in this country say that we can live together and they promote segregation from childhood on. Have you ever faced such problems in your coaching career and would you say that the title means more in terms of sport or by the fact that kids from everywhere in BIH showed that together they can achieve and get friends?
A: I mentioned before that many people leading this country don t want a strong and stable republic BIH because it wouldn t fit to their concept. They want mess, darkness and a lawless society in order to reign and profit. Our boys showed them what can be achieved if you stand together.
Q:You played many important matches. However I think that the match against Komazes, Radja, Sesar made you a legend and ensured your teammates a place in Bosnian basketball history.can you describe the feeling at this time and can you describe the feeling when you netted the ball?
A: I can t describe the feeling how it feels to represent your country, make the people screaming, yelling, electrify the masses. My friends and me felt really privileged being part of it.
Q: Fans hailed you often with rather explicit chants. How much did you get notice of fan chants and how does it affect your game?
Such things never motivated me. Only true cheering and a crowded Skenderija, which was and staid the basketball shrine (Mirza delibasic arena) motivated me.
Nenad thank you so much for what you have given to Bosnian basketball!
--> sa stranice eurobasket.com
. Onda bi trebali se ozbiljno pripremat.
tako da tu jedino buza nastupa za nas, igrao je on protiv nas kad je buza igrao za kadete prije godinu dana, mi sve dobili i onda naletili na slovence, gdje je i on tad igrao, i izgubili u borbi za plasman u a-diviziju
