There’s a new sheriff in town for Hapoel Jerusalem as the club held a festive press conference to welcome in a new era with veteran Euroleague tactician Sasa Obradovic appointed as the team’s new head coach.

Obradovic is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and respected coaches in European basketball, having built an outstanding career both as a player and as a coach. Over more than two decades on the sidelines, he has led several EuroLeague clubs, including AS Monaco, Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, and ALBA Berlin, achieving significant success in both domestic and international competitions.

Among his most notable accomplishments is transforming AS Monaco into one of Europe’s elite basketball clubs and guiding the team to its first-ever EuroLeague Final Four in 2023, an unprecedented milestone in the club’s history. Throughout his coaching career, Obradović has won numerous titles, including two French championships, the French Cup, the German championship, four German Cups and a Russian Cup.

“I am very happy to join Hapoel Jerusalem,” Obradovic began. “I have been coaching in the Euroleague for many years and I chose Hapoel because I was deeply impressed by the club’s vision, its standards, and its high ambitions. I truly believe in the bright future that awaits us together in the years ahead. Our goal is clear: to build a strong, talented, high-quality, and competitive team that reflects my basketball philosophy, competes for every title and fights to achieve all of the ambitious goals we have set for ourselves.

Club owner Matan Adelson added, “I am extremely happy and proud to welcome Sasa Obradovic to the Hapoel Jerusalem family. Appointing an experienced, highly respected Euroleague coach of Sasa’s caliber reflects our determination to fulfill the ambitious goals we have set for ourselves and our commitment to doing everything necessary to turn those ambitions into reality. We have chosen to lead the club in a new direction under Sasa’s leadership. It is time to write a new chapter in the history of this club, and we believe that, with Sasa at the helm, it will be an especially exciting one.

“I have said this before, and I will continue to emphasize it: I will do everything in my power to ensure that this club succeeds, grows, and competes at the highest levels of European basketball as quickly as possible. I am convinced that Sasa is the right person to lead us on this journey, and I believe that together we can take Hapoel Jerusalem to new heights and achieve accomplishments the club has never reached before.”

Gal Mekel, part owner of the reds also commented on the hiring, “I’m super happy to have Sasa with us as I know him for many years and played against his teams. As a player you knew when you left the court that his team’s were extremely well coached. Defensively they knew what they wanted. Sasa’s resume speaks for itself and as the leader of the team he can take us where we want to go. We are confident that we can find the right players to fit Sasa’s philosophy.”

General Manager Dan Shamir shared his thoughts as well, “We are very excited for this new chapter and spending time with Sasa has been wonderful. Of course Sasa’s hiring will be a change and the team will be exciting. I want to help us succeed and get to where we want to be. It’s always challenging to build a team and to have Coach Obradovic here is a plus.”

Obradovic spoke about some of the goals that are ahead of him and the team that is still in the process of being built, “I’m really confident that we will attack all of our goals and titles both in Israel and in Europe and I’m sure we will be in the Euroleague after this season. My own philosophy is that I can promise we will play aggressive on both ends. The EuroCup will be much stronger than in the past which will be challenging but with the help of our fans we will be able to achieve of goals and be better than past years but there are no guarantees. There is trust and I believe in the people here.”

Adelson discussed what stood out to him when they met for the first time during the Final Four in Athens back in May, “This is a very special appointment for the club and we didn’t achieve our goals in the past. If our goal is to play in the Euroleague it was important to bring in someone who had the leadership, experience, presence and personalty and it was clear that Sasa checked all of the boxes. What stood out was his hunger, leadership and will to take the job. He was open and willing to take the opportunity and we are thrilled that made the right match and combination that will be here for many years.

“Leadership qualities in a coach is the most important factor. As an owner, I don’t care what style we play, the most important thing for me is to win. The personality, charisma and desire to succeed needs to be there but someone with leadership capabilities is imperative. Actions speak louder than words.”

Obradovic talked about how he saw in the club to want him to take the position, “I consider myself as a Euroleague coach but the first time we met in Athens during the Final Four I quickly saw many reasons why I should accept the position. I really like to work at one place for some time so you can really see the results. Everywhere that I stayed for a while, I made an impact on the organization. The energy that I saw and the desire to go to the highest possible level made the decision pretty easy and I’m not afraid of a security situation which is something that I will always promote.”

One of the most important and successful projects that Obradovic worked on was at Monaco, but he didn’t want to use a comparison to Jerusalem, “There aren’t many similarities. The owner of Monaco is actually more similar in his personality to the owner of Hapoel Tel Aviv. One way to achieve success is with a big budget and I had a big budget there, but that’s not the only way to build something. Patience and continuity are the keys, creating a strong foundation. Monaco is a great example of a club that has managed to stay at the top over time. I believe that here, with these people, we’ll get there in the future as well.”