It’s been almost seven months since I asked myself here if Dedas is okay and now my question is the subject of Dimitris Itoudis’ suffering. Whoever has the beard also has the scallop lessons and now it is up to the coach of CSKA Moscow and the national team to decide whether and to what extent Dedas has 400 or has the screw been turned!

I joke, of course, although very often the joke is not far from reality. Dedas is a personality sui generis, now leaving the capital of AEK behind and taking another step down after seven years and being voluntarily ‘demoted’ from first manager to assistant manager.

Not everywhere you find a brother but in Kozam CSKA so don’t even fucking say demotion!

Just for Real I’ll let you go

For a long time the sirens wailed around Ano Liossia and Makis Angelopoulos got tired of hearing them in his ears.

“About every three, a team came and asked us with no compensation. It had never occurred to me that they would give us money to get our coach. We went through such a phase with Sant Ross when we gave him that have given.” CSKA and this year with him Angola, but what happened with Deda was repeated.” The president of KAE AEK told me the day before yesterday and confirmed the flow that Dedas has outside the walls.

Then, from time to time, Hapoel Holon, Maccabi Rishon, Hapoel Beer Sheva, Hapoel Tel Aviv knocked on the “Queen’s” door and it did not come together. Every time they made ends meet, AEK would say no and indeed Makis Angelopoulos had made it clear to him once and for all.

“I won’t let you go unless Real Madrid, my favorite team, ask you to”!

Dedas has not yet been requested by Real Madrid, Pablo Lasso is still there: but CSKA Moscow asked him to replace Andreas Pistiolis, who after 16 years decided to pursue his solo career and now the coach from Dedas’ cradle is at work by Itoudis , with whom he will make his debut in Monday’s VTB Liga game against Nizhny Novgorod.

Smuggler in MENT with Itoudis

Once crammed into the stands of MENT Stadium and bathed in training, he now has neither to hide nor to be ashamed.

Oh yeah, that’s a nice story that Stefanos told me himself and it goes like this:

“In 1999, after Filippos from Thessaloniki, Itoudis took over MENT in which my brother played. George was 19 at the time and I was a 17 year old playing at Kilkis while also coaching the children’s team. So about every three years I went to Thessaloniki and Itoudis, although he has been very strict since then, allowed me to break down the locked doors, sit in a corner and watch his training.

In the summer of 1999 Dimitris left Thessaloniki and went to Athens to get a job alongside Obradovic at Panathinaikos while my brother stayed at MENT until 2003 when MENT took over when our cycle in Toumba was complete”!

The games with the message of CSKA and Milutinov

Stefanos has many other games with the eight-time European champion and he witnesses them.

“First, we met many times in the VTB league when I was a partner of Yuri Zdovch in Spartak St. Petersburg, along with Itoudis’ current partner, Anton Yudin. Then we also had a player, Nikita Kurbanov, who is now is CSKA captain while my brother knows Milutinov well since George David was Blatt’s assistant at Olympiacos.

In fact, Nikolas was the first to send me a message of congratulations and “welcome.” ΥνFor the others, on my debut on the bench, we will meet Nizhny Novgorod in May 2021, where we played Hapoel Holon in the round of 16 of the Basketball Champions League. Finally we are a small village!

Macedonian, self-made and not by the fireplace

– How do you look like and how do you differ from Itoudis?

“We are similar in many places, most of them, after all we are real Macedonians, he from Trikala of Imathia and I from Kilkis. Dimitris showed his strong character from a young age, focusing on the goal he had set himself as a top-class coach: “We were nothing special as players, but we found our way on the bench. We’re both self-made, I mean, we didn’t pursue a career as a player and we don’t come from basketball fireplaces.”

My aversion to the Euroleague

–How would you respond to those who accuse you of a setback in your career by being the first coach to return to the role of assistant coach in seven years?

“Yes but no! First of all, I go to a big club like CSKA and alongside a great coach, Itoudis, to take an inside and active part in running a team that plays to win titles. On the other hand, I will live up to my reluctance to live the Euroleague atmosphere, even if this will not happen this season due to the exclusion of the Russian teams.

There’s a third very serious argument that reinforces my choice: In such a large organization, the assistant coach has the luxury of devoting himself exclusively to basketball, while in other teams like AEK I’m more involved in managing situations and day-to-day problems was obsessed that causes wear and tear and confuses you”.

Dreams were quickly destroyed

– Let’s go back to AEK now…

“When I accepted the offer, at first I felt very honored and responsible because AEK is a reference point of Greek basketball and sport. I was very proud to stand on this ground, I did it with all my soul and I was full of enthusiasm, ambition, goals and dreams, but unfortunately in a short time everything was destroyed and in a dramatic and tragic way.

The team consisted mostly of Manny Harris and Stefan Gelovac, who stuck to my philosophy of playing five-pointers and shooting three-pointers. Harris went, Gelovac died and Angola’s injury landed on us trying to lie down, so we lost two charismatic scorers and our stretch five. “Slowly, the suspensions piled up, we were under a lot of pressure and had to endure a lot of adversity.”

Heroic basketball and Olympiacos

-How did you deal with the newly created data?

“In fact, during the season we had to build another team. We lacked athleticism and quality and we were tactically behind, so we tried to fill in the gaps with a game based on self-sacrifice and heroism. Luckily we did. ” some important wins at home, most notably the quarter-finals of the cup with Peristeri.

-What game is following you?

“That means with Olympiacos, the win slipped through our hands. We were unlucky that night, despite Routin’s great performance, but these things happen. The bad thing is that it’s because of the problems, the injuries and the general situation so the level of our training had dropped and it is known that you play while you train “!

The Excessive Love by Makis Angelopoulos

-What will you take with you to Moscow from what you experienced at AEK?

“Many images, many moments, many fears and many tears because of the loss of Gelovats, which left an indelible mark on our lives. I also understand Makis Angelopoulos’ excessive love for the team.

I’ve met many presidents and team owners over the years, but Mr. Angelopoulos is in a class of his own. I will miss our midnight talks very much. “He called me late at night when he got home and we chatted about the team for an hour or two.”

-Where do you feel guilty or – in other words – what mistake would you not make, even if it is unpredictable at the beginning of the season?

“We couldn’t enjoy the coexistence of Griffin, Hamer and Gelovac, with this trio and Colom playing 18-20 quality minutes we would present other things. If I could go back in time, however, I would make different choices. in the composition of the list…”

My fault and Flionis

-EG;

“I would bring more Greek role players into the racket to support the hustle plays and the so-called dirty work. I would also get at least one more combo guard for more security. Good at away games.”

-What do you think you will leave as a legacy?

“I’m happy because I feel like I’ve contributed to the progress of a kid who can play stars. I refer to Dimitris Flionis, whom I left as a player of 30 minutes and the national team. During the season I seen him improve in all areas of the game, shooting from region with confidence, going one-on-one at stages and using his skills on both sides of the field.”

– At the end of the day, what feeling, what taste do you leave with?

“I complain that I never claimed to see the team I designed and dreamed of”!