Trinchieri: You're lucky to have Vucic, he's a great athlete!

Ilustracija: Nikola Jovanović Foto: Tanjug/Marko Jovanović

Partizan basketball club coach Andrea Trinchieri was a guest on the RTS morning program.

He touched on Christmas topics, living in Belgrade, but singled out the upcoming match between Italy, his country, and Serbia in the Olympic Games qualifications.

Recommended

Serbia will host of the qualifying tournament for the Tokyo games, making it that much harder for the Italians to achieve a surprise resutlt on our own turf.

"I'm naturally rooting for Italy, but if someone should defeat me, let it be Serbia. But I think Serbia has a small advantage. I live in sports, I work in sports, there is a crisis in Italy, there is no support for this sport. Tax laws are changing and it's a big affair, they are arguing in the Olympic Committee, but I see that qualifications will be played and you are very lucky to have President Vucic, who is a great athlete. I'm talking about sports, and having Olympic qualifications in Serbia is a big deal," Trinchieri said, speaking in Serbian.

He praised choice of Igor Kokoskov as the head coach of Serbia's national basketball team.

"There is no better bridge between the NBA and Europe. We all have NBA players that we want to see the way they play, and it's a different game altogether. I know and respect Kokoskov, a fantastic choice."

Trinchieri also spoke about things he particularly likes about our country.

"I like people here, after all. They are hospitable, warm, the temperament... Sometimes it's good, sometimes not, but it is good to have it in front of you and not look away, this way you always look everything in the eye. The only thing I don't like are (traffic) jams. When it's raining, it's better to stay home," Trinchieri said, laughing, and remarking that, in the end, basketball is not everything to him.

"It's not true that basketball is the first thing on my mind when I wake up, it's part of my life, but I think we do everything for our kids. The first thing is my children, my family, my health. Sport has taught me responsibilities, today everyone wants everything now and everything fast. I learned to respect teammates, opponents, referees..."

Video: Trinchieri: I hate New Year celebrations, plastic euphoria annoys me!

(Telegraf.rs)