Penarroya before Real: I did not come to replace Zeljko

When Belgrade Arena welcomed Joan Penarroya with applause before the opening round of the EuroLeague, the Partizan coach says he was surprised. Fans rose to their feet before the game against Olimpija Milan for the man who took over the black and whites in the middle of a crisis, and he described that scene to the Spanish paper Marca in a long interview published on the day Partizan visits Real Madrid in Round 4 of the EuroLeague. Tip-off is tonight at 8:45 p.m.

“It is exciting. It is something you experience only a few times in a career, in very few arenas and only at certain moments, when things are going really well. In Serbia it is somewhat common at some clubs, but the ovation I got the other day surprised me. I am very grateful for it, because it is a slightly unusual feeling for a coach. I feel great gratitude, because it is a sign that you are doing things right, or that there is respect for the coach, which is not all that common these days,” Penarroya said.

The same conversation also answers questions that have been asked in Belgrade since last December.

How did Penarroya take over Partizan after Obradovic?

Penarroya took over Partizan in December, after leaving Barcelona, following the resignation of Zeljko Obradovic. He told Marca what state he found the club in.

“I arrived at a very complicated moment, in a difficult atmosphere in Belgrade and at Partizan. Zeljko Obradovic is much more than the best coach in Europe over the last 25 years. He is much more than that. His departure was a problem, but I did not come to replace Zeljko. I came to do my job. I found a team that was struggling, there was a big distance between the squad and the fans, and the team was not playing well,” Penarroya said.

The change, he explained, did not come overnight. “For the first month and a half the results were not good either,” the Partizan coach said, adding that they then started making decisions and that, day by day, he managed to unite the squad and get it playing more as a unit. They finished the season fairly well in both the EuroLeague and the ABA League, he says: they lost the final to Dubai but beat Crvena Zvezda in the semifinal.

What does the 3-0 start mean to a coach who will not celebrate it?

The new season began for Partizan with a 3-0 record in the EuroLeague, which according to RTS is the first such start in the club’s history. Olimpija fell in Belgrade Arena in the first round, Bayern was beaten 86-84 in the third, and in the ABA League Mega lost already in the opener. Penarroya still keeps his composure.

“Of course, wins affect everyone a little, but we are staying firmly grounded. We know who we are, and we know that if we do not play at close to 100 percent, it is hard to compete in this EuroLeague and play the ABA League at the same time. But we are also aware that we are better than many people think,” Penarroya said.

The caution has a practical reason: the list of available players is short.

Why is Partizan’s rotation short in Madrid?

As we reported earlier, Derek Willis and Lamar Stevens are injured and will not play in Madrid. In his conversation with Marca, Penarroya put that in a wider frame: Partizan has one of the shortest rosters in the EuroLeague, and the two absentees are not players from the end of the bench.

“Two key players like Derek Willis and Lamar Stevens are out and the rotation is short,” the Partizan coach said. In the same answer he stressed that the team believes in itself and that so far it is showing it can compete on equal terms with anyone.

Real Madrid winless, but with a trophy

The hosts are in the opposite position in the standings: Real is 0-3, but it won the Super Cup. Penarroya does not forget that when he talks about the opponent.

“They lost three games, yes, but they won the Super Cup,” Penarroya said of Real Madrid.

The question for Madrid is therefore simple: can a shortened bench without Willis and Stevens hold up against an opponent that still has no win in the EuroLeague?