Intriguing views were shared by the leading figure of the «red-and-whites».
The president of the Basketball Club Crvena zvezda, Nebojša Čović, made a guest appearance on the «Indirektno» show on television K1 where he discussed a variety of interesting subjects related to the AdmiralBet ABA League, the EuroLeague, Crvena zvezda, and also touched upon Partizan after a question raised by a journalist.
Čović believes that the rivalry with Partizan does not contain excessive turbulence.
«I absolutely disagree with that. Those are spins and invented topics, you have to see who sits in one board and who in the other. We need to return to the times when there was great rivalry, which exceeded the bounds of sport. How many fights were there, what kind of derbies… It didn’t pass over to the management. You must have the right interlocutors on the other side, not take shortcuts. Some people from Zvezda have been in sports for over 60 years. We are constantly trying to build the right relations. It should not happen that Zvezda says it’s night, and the others claim it’s day. We need to gradually come to some normal and constructive atmosphere.
We should have a common interest in how we perform in the domestic league, and they (note the author, Partizan) have not been participating for the last two years, then in the regional league, European competitions (EuroLeague). The domestic league is important to us too, it’s incredible that someone doesn’t play the league for two years but still gets money from the state. You can’t belittle it, and have no sanctions… It’s not right that people in EuroLeague are crossing themselves, that your rival from your city is reporting and complaining so much that Kampaco can’t play for two months. We must not reach an unhealthy rivalry that affects the result. Sport should bring people together, not drive them apart. And what is our common position towards the state, what kind of relations we have, and to help find a way to fund top-level sports,» Čović believes, who also hopes and fights for a place in EuroLeague.
«I am truly fighting. You can’t hear one thing from me publicly and another in my actions. I am struggling to have two clubs. Since everyone says we are dirty Balkans, hypothetically if Greece were to have one representative, Turkey… What would happen there at the matches. They have that peace. That’s how it works, and we are fighting to have two representatives because both Zvezda and Partizan deserve it. Our average attendance is over 17,300 people per match. Revenue from season tickets will be over 6 million euros. Half of it is ticket costs, and we decided not to increase the prices. Zvezda will aim to have a core of domestic players. That’s something we’ve been doing for years,» highlighted Nebojša Čović.
He also disclosed the Zvezda’s budget for salaries which amounts to 12.2 million euros.
«When were we in the Top 8 of EuroLeague? This year we were 16th, your colleagues and you mention that we’ve received significant money and done nothing. For me, the lower part of the table is anything below ninth place. I think both of us are in the lower part of the table. We did not participate in the Super Cup, Partizan did. Partizan did not take the Super Cup, it was won by the Student Center. We took the Cup, we are first in the AdmiralBet ABA League. We played in EuroLeague, I really wish Partizan gets into the top 10. Our budget for players is 12.2 million euros gross. We don’t have under-the-table contracts with players and coaches. If that offends anyone, then let’s not talk about money. We need to discuss it, to be transparent, especially the money provided by the state,» said the president of Zvezda on the show Indirektno on television K1.
