One of the best basketball coaches from the former Yugoslavia who won multiple gold medals at international competitions, Bogdan Tanjevic, told N1’s Amir Zukic that he is a Montenegrin by birth, but a Sarajevan by choice.
“I was born in Montenegro, but I'm a Sarajevan by choice. I lived my best life here, growing up in Sarajevo. I fell in love with Sarajevo, deeply and this is where I feel at home, the most. I got married in Belgrade (Serbia) and served in the army in Tuzla (central Bosnia), and I love Tuzla and its residents, but I feel at home when I’m in Sarajevo,” Tanjevic said.
Tanjevic has a fruitful career with multiple golds from many different championships. In 1979 he won EuroLeague gold with basketball team Bosna from Sarajevo, gold with Italy at the Eurobasket championship in 1999 and silver at the 2010 FIBA World Championship with Turkey.
Training numerous world class players, Tanjevic always stressed his authority in the team and the key to achieving it is, above all, being fair to all players.
“It’s easy to love the best player in the team and yell at others. The first one I scorned while coaching Bosna was Mirza Delibasic (One of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s best basketball players of all time) so that others could see they are all equal. They started respecting us both more,” Tanjevic told N1. “This, in turn, makes them willing to do more. The other thing is showing how much you love them in other fields of life. That’s when they start trusting you.”
Winning the 1979 championship was made by having 11 players in the team, instead of six or even, which was the norm at the time.
“We introduced that system, making up for what we lacked technically. We weren’t as talented as we were well selected. We set the game intensity very high, so we could make up for what we lacked. And most importantly, no one had the autonomy for the full 40 minutes.”
Tanjevic noted that he liked the Serb Presidency member Milorad Dodik’s statement wishing a speedy recovery to Bosnia’s NBA star Jusuf Nurkic who suffered an injury last month.
“His statement is important and is worth more than € 100,000,000. It is a statement that brings people together,” he said.
The Chairman of Bosnia’s tripartite Presidency, Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, wrote a letter of support to prominent Bosnia-born basketball player Jusuf Nurkic, wishing him a swift recovery after he broke his leg during a match on last month.
“As a human being and a fan of basketball, but also your fan, I would like to express sincere words of support and encouragement for you to recover as soon and possible and return to the court,” Dodik wrote in his letter.
NBA's official website confirmed that the Bosnian would not take part in the playoffs and could be ready by the start of the next season.
Tanjevic will soon be listed in the Basketball Hall of Fame, among other greats of this sport, which brings him great honour, he said. It is a moral reward for the job well done, he added.
