Six days after he submitted his resignation and the chaos that followed, Željko Obradović decided to speak out and present his side of the story about leaving Partizan and submitting his resignation in a video.
-Dear Partizan fans, last Wednesday I decided to take a step that was extremely difficult for me. I decided to take responsibility for all the bad things that happened this season and of course, I stood by that decision. I received countless calls and countless messages from all of you who have Partizan in your heart as I do, and the reason I will address you today is precisely because you asked me to clarify some things and that everything that has been happening in the last few days be clarified in a conditional sense. The decision I made was very difficult for me. Everything that happened after that is something I could not influence. And it is very difficult for me at this moment to recall all the things we have gone through together in the last four and a half years with our Partizan, Željko Obradović began his address in front of the cameras, then continued:
–I think we have written a story that will be difficult to repeat, but that will exclusively depend on you, the Partizan fans, because you are the strength of this club and you created an atmosphere that is recognized all over the world, not only here in Belgrade or in Europe, but people talked about those games as something very special. You are the most deserving of this and you are the greatest strength of Partizan. I am addressing you because I received many messages, many words of support, many wishes, and here I take the opportunity to say what I have been repeating for years, that we are a family, and when some things happen in the family, it is best for them to stay there. That has always been something that guided me, when we talked about our Partizan and all the things that we all did together in the club.
He added that information started leaking from the club and that he should have been the one to address the public first.
–I had the opportunity to see in the last few days that not all people behave like that. That things are being revealed that really should have remained only within the club, and my address that day on Wednesday when I decided to take responsibility for everything that was happening was exactly like that, a statement that was very short, I still stand by everything I said in that statement. What happened after that is something, I repeat once again, that I really did not want to happen. But I have to clarify some situations. Tuesday evening after the game, which was very difficult for me, I talked to the coaching staff and said that this was my next step. And that was a decision I was sure was good, primarily for the club and for the continuation of what follows this season for Partizan, Obradović explained how the conversations with the club’s first man continued.
-I announced that decision to the club representative the next morning. The conversation was very fair, that he understood my reasons and that he said he would see me at the game and that he realized that was probably the only thing I could do at that moment and we agreed that I would be the one to go public, not the club, to announce it. And the agreement was to do it the next day. Unfortunately, information, as always, circulates, and again I go back to the fact that it is very difficult to control. It reaches the media, it reaches people, people call each other, and the word got out that I was preparing to resign. When I realized that this would be the case, I decided to address the public the same day, and I made that address to you, the Partizan fans. I called the club spokesperson, told him to call the president, and together we would make a decision on whether that was it.
He also explained that the hardest thing for him was seeing the fans at the airport, and he also talked about the little girl, whom he always kissed before going onto the court.
-He contacted me and told me that the club president would call me, they agreed with everything I wrote, only the club president asked me to add in that part that I accept all responsibility for myself, that it is an irrevocable resignation because it will be easier for him and the people from the management board to face the fans with that, and of course I agreed and that was the end for me, I had no further dilemma that it was a decision I stood behind, and then everything that is happening starts to happen. I had a plan to return from Athens the next day; the players got a few days off.
-The gesture I made then was precisely to give the club management an opportunity to do what they think is best for the team. And, given that Partizan plays the next three Euroleague games at home, which is certainly an incomparably better situation than having a difficult away game, those were the reasons why I decided to resign at that moment.
I couldn’t anymore, I didn’t have the strength in me anymore, I gave everything I could, and don’t blame me because you know how much I invested in what I love the most. And this decision of mine is very stressful, and I probably experienced the most difficult moments in my life when I returned to Belgrade and when you were waiting for me. When I got off the plane and when this little girl of mine was waiting for me, as she waits for me every time I go out in front of a full arena, the emotions I experienced at that moment are something I will never be able to forget. And even at this moment, it is very difficult for me to talk about it. My friend took me to the apartment, I lay down in bed and looked at the ceiling for about an hour. I couldn’t calm down.
“Ostoja Mijailović is the main culprit”
-Well, this reaction from the fans probably changed. And then some things weren’t clear to me. But regardless, my decision is still final. I have decided and I cannot continue, and I repeat that it was a decision that I thought through very well and that I stand by even today. This is probably an opportunity to ask you for unity, as I always wanted, to be what you are—the greatest strength of this club and this team—to lead the team in every next game with even greater fervor, help the players, and help all the people who are in the club. This situation is not normal and is not good for Partizan. And I also think that the first man of the club, President Ostoja Mijailović, bears responsibility for this situation, I told him that.
Željko Obradović thanked and refused to return to the bench
Željko Obradović also recounted what happened at the infamous meeting that everyone was eagerly awaiting.
-After my resignation, a few minutes later, the club president came out and said he agreed, thanked me, also nothing controversial, that he had informed the members of the management board, and so on. And then, to my great surprise, everything starts happening in the way it is happening, and I received a message from the club president that they had a management board meeting and that everyone decided not to accept my resignation. He called me the next day to come to the club, to discuss everything, of course, I accepted, these are people I worked with, people who invest huge energy and who, together with me and all of you, brought Partizan to where it is, and of course, I accepted to go and talk to them.
The meeting began with several members of the management board, five of them, I think, together with the president, and people who work in the club were present, people very dear to me, and they talked openly, or rather the president started by saying that all members of the management board agreed that they did not want me to resign. Everyone present there also repeated this, and once again I thank them for all of that. In my address to the president and all of them, I said that I still stand by my decision, but that some things are not clear to me. I asked the president what had changed since the moment he went out and addressed the public, thanked me, and accepted my resignation.
MORE TOPICS:
Source: Mediji, Sportal Photo: Youtube