Obradovic is back
Zeljko Obradovic returns to Panathinaikos as EuroLeague head coach after 14 years away (1) (4). The news landed Monday and it reshapes everything. Fourteen coaches have come and gone since he left in 2012 (1). None brought back what he did, five EuroLeague titles across two stints, the last run ending with the 2011 crown in Barcelona.
The club is going all in. Obradovic's annual salary reportedly exceeds the combined pay of Georgios Bartzokas, Vassilis Spanoulis, and Andrea Trinchieri (3). This is not a sentimental hire. This is the biggest financial commitment Panathinaikos have ever made to a coach.
Batiste and his staff are coming too
Obradovic is not walking in alone. Key staff associates are following him to Athens, and Mike Batiste is expected to join the coaching team (4). Batiste played under Obradovic during the golden years and once made a statement to Gazzetta that now reads like prophecy, he always believed this reunion would happen.
Get the next Panathinaikos brief by email
This article went out to subscribers as a brief. Get the next one straight to your inbox, free.
Free · No spam · Unsubscribe anytime
Votaniko priority window opens
The first 10,000 new season ticket holders for the upcoming season will get priority access when the club moves to the Votaniko stadium project (2). If you are on the fence about a season ticket, Monday's Obradovic news probably made your decision for you. The club are linking the two events directly.
The context: why he left in 2012
Obradovic walked away in 2012, the year Greece entered the memoranda era and the financial crisis tore through the country (5). The club simply could not keep him. Monday's announcement closes a chapter Panathinaikos fans have wanted shut for 14 years.
Fan reactions
Fans are calling this a homecoming in the deepest sense, one post titled it "The real nostos of Zeljko Obradovic," using the Greek word for a return to one's homeland. The mood is disbelief mixed with euphoria. See the discussion here.
