Ostoja Mijailović spoke about Partizan fans, their insulting chants and demands for him to leave. He also touched on the departure of Željko Obradović and everything that has happened at the club over the past several months.
“For the past couple of months I’ve been enduring criticism from our stands. What have I done to deserve it? Because I took over the club with 15 million in debt and brought it to a point where it owes nothing? Or because when I took over the club in 2017 there wasn’t a single trophy, and during my mandate there have been seven? Nine years ago the budget was 500,000 euros, now it’s 20 million euros. And I find myself having to endure criticism,” Mijailović began on a show on “Prva Television.”
He shifted responsibility for the results and the style of play to the coaching staff and head coach Željko Obradović.
“Because we were 18th in the EuroLeague standings? Some players were brought in who ate up 30 percent of the budget and didn’t make the team better. Enough of lies, time will show everything. I am responsible for the money, everyone at the club has received their salaries. It’s a great injustice. You have to close your eyes and imagine what it’s like in someone else’s shoes—repaying other people’s debts, not taking a single dinar from the club, bringing millions of euros into the club, and then ending up in a situation where some people take millions, are more respected and valued than those who saved the club.”
Why didn’t he leave the club and when will he leave?
A direct question followed as to why he did not leave the club at that time and step down from the position of president.
“If I had withdrawn the Management after the departure of the coaching staff, in 15 days it would have been forgotten who left first, the club would have gone bankrupt, because the obligations are 2.7 million euros per month. A story would have been created that we influenced the departure of the coaching staff and then magically withdrew so that the club would be shut down. I don’t want to be responsible for the shutdown of the club. The club had no president and no one wanted to take it on. I’m now watching some legends worry a lot about the club. I respect them, and I ask why they didn’t worry and step into the club in 2017. Why didn’t they step in then to face unsolvable problems? But now that there is a system I set up with the management, they are worried about the club. Why? It’s easier to run the club now than it was 8–9 years ago.”
He said he would leave the club when he believes the time is right.
“I didn’t make such a decision because I knew it would be disastrous. I will leave the club when I make that decision. I came when no one else did. Today I listen to various insults, especially on social networks. You have a situation where someone sits at home, someone whom no one respects, and cures complexes by swearing and insulting on social networks. Stable people can’t be shaken by that. I don’t want to be disastrous for Partizan’s future.”
“Everyone knows that I saved the club from shutdown”
Mijailović emphasized that he played a major role in preventing Partizan from shutting down in 2017.
“Everyone knows that I saved the club from shutting down; the fact that younger generations who were 8–9 years old at the time want to see what they want to see, and not the truth, I can’t help them. I can’t justify myself for something I’m not guilty of. I was a guest on a show where the public image was changed because of journalists. They ask me what I said at the beginning of the season—that the club should be sixth—shouldn’t the coaching staff be the ones setting goals? That’s absurd. Imagine that as an employee you get a contract, the employer sets goals for you, and you tell them what they can expect from you. Many absurd things are happening, our public is poisoned by many untruths. That’s how we got into this situation. The two most expensive signings in the club’s history made the team worse, we were 18th in the standings, the coaching staff made the decision to leave on their own and responsibility was taken,” Mijailović concluded.
MORE TOPICS:
PACT AGAINST SERBIA? Croatia, Albania and so-called Kosovo held a meeting on “defense cooperation”!
Source: Mondo, Foto: Dusan Milenkovic / ATAImages