In cell 33 of AEK, Platha

Stefanos Makris wrote all about Juan Plata a few hours ago.

All or almost all, because in addition to coach Plata there is also the man Juan (as his name is pronounced in Catalan), the one who hides under the suit or training uniform (but very often is revealed), so to speak. . ..

I mean it because along with the post attractiveness, weakness in the stretch-4, emphasis on guards putting the ball on the ground and demanding approach to defense, AEK’s new coach is also known to several others Things that identify him as a personality and underline his attitude to life.

Oh, lest I forget, it is certainly interesting and thanks to Union determination that Spanish coaches are not frequent patrons of Greek basketball, contrary to what has been happening in football lately.

The square and the library

Xavi Pascual paved the way for Panathinaikos, followed by Luis Casimiro for Prometheus, then came Kouros Segoura (Ionikos, AEK) and now Platha pokes his nose in anticipation of enlarging and upgrading the yellow-black…square.

I’m writing this because his surname (Plaza) means the following in Greek…

The hiring of the Catalan coach puts AEK in unusual difficulties and extra costs: not because Platha will demand rabbits with petrels for his squad, but because KAE will have to take care of buying him a library, which can’t even be empty and the Cover walls easily like wallpaper and decor!

What I mean;

Platha is what we call a man of spirit, a double fas!

That said, he doesn’t just limit himself to the role of reader,…bibliophile and owner of a vast and invaluable collection of publications, but he’s also the author of books that have nothing to do with basketball aside from his avowed love of the Poetry.

Writer you learn!

Of course AEK hired him and will pay him for picking the right players, making the right plans and leading the team to success, not for organizing a book fair, but that’s not a bad idea either!

wake up and blankets

What is certain is that the novel he wrote in 201, in the middle of his tenure at Unicaja Málaga, will be very useful when at some point he realizes that his players are playing as if they were sleeping!

The reason; It’s titled “Despertar a tiempos” which means “Get up early”!

I don’t know how useful his 2006 literary debut entitled Las Mantas de Angelina (Angelina’s Blankets) can be, though, because if the players also need heavy blankets to enjoy their sleep, well, put that down boat away!

Easy Rider and Prisons

In addition to books, the 60-year-old trainer is also a copy of Phil Jackson: he too is an “easy rider” who (like the eleven-time NBA champion) drives around on his Harley-Davidson.

Just kidding, in addition to Jackson’s elements, there are also those of Michael Malone in him: the latter has nothing to do with his love of motorcycles, but with the fact that – like the crowning coach of the Nuggets for three days – he has work as a clerk in a correctional facility !

Yes, to make a living and help his large family, he left his father’s vulcanizer and took a job in the prisons of Geida, even punching a card there for 14 years!

Of course, all of this was captured and penned here by Niki Bakuli on January 18, 2014, creating his portrait in a consistent and extraordinary way at an unexpected (for Greek basketball) time.

The two taboos he broke

The motorcycle saddle, the library shelves and the prison cells shaped a distinct personality, but at the end of the day, Platha is still a coach who already has two EuroCup titles under his belt, winning in 2007 with Real Madrid and 2017 with Unicaja Malaga.

Is that the case again?

Despite being a Catalan-born, Platha broke taboos and claimed to have been on the Real Madrid bench for four seasons, one as an assistant and three as head coach!

Contrary to the introversion that Spanish coaches more or less dominate – and at a time when such options were rare – Platha dared to break another taboo…

He is a referee who has dared to go beyond the borders of his home country, sitting first on the bench of Zalgiris Kaunas (2012-13), then Zenit St. Petersburg (2018-2020) and now AEK.

One thing is for sure: we won’t get bored with him!