Her Final Four Euroleague to Abu Dhabi It begins today (23/5/2025), with Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, Fenerbahce and Monaco claiming this year’s European trophy.
The four teams are in battlefields as their coaches are chasing a historical record at Euroleague.
Specifically, Ergkin Ataman will try to become the first coach in the history of the event to make a back to backt. He has done so once with Anadolu Efes and aspires to do so this year with Panathinaikos.
In total, the Turkish coach has three titles and chases the fourth.
For his part, George Bardzokas has a Euroleague mug and will chase the second that will allow him to catch Dimitris Itoudis.
The two coaches are the only Greeks who have won the trophy, with Itoudis doing it twice.
As for the opponents of the Greek teams, both Vassilis Spanoulis and Sarounas Yasikevicius are hunting for a historic record as they claim to become the fourth who has won Euroleague as players and coaches.
In the – long -lasting – past only three have managed to win Euroleague first as players and later as coaches. The first was Armenc Misakovic Alachaian. In 1961 and 1963 he won the title as a point guard and leader of CSKA Moscow, and in 1969 he reiterated the achievement as coach of the Russian team.
Lolo Sinth won four trophies as a Real Madrid player (1964, 1965, 1967, 1968) and two more as coach of the same team (1978, 1980).
Finally, Svetislav Pesic lifted the Euroleague in 1979 in Bosna, and again won the trophy as a Barcelona coach.