TOUCHING CONFESSION BY SAŠA ĐORĐEVIĆ: “Dule got into a fight with hooligans who were harassing us when we were kids!”

“I will tell you an interesting story; I don’t know if anyone knows it. My first meeting with Dule was when I was 12 years old. We were training at the ‘Prva proleterska’ school, as it was called then, in Dorćol. And it says a lot about him as a young man, a trainer…”

The legendary Aleksandar Đorđević began his memory of Duško Vujošević in a conversation for Sport Klub.

The one who, next to that coaching titan, felt the smell of gunpowder and the thunder under the rims. Images from his pioneer days are lining up…

“His great characteristic was that he was constantly bonding with the youth, boys whom he helped grow into true people and players. To go back to childhood. On the way to that hall, some kids from the neighborhood suddenly started harassing us, practically every day. Once we were late for training, we arrived in tears, and Dule asked us what was happening. And we said that they wait for us every night, ask us for money, beat us—about ten older ones against the three of us. He said, okay. And he called some of his friends, and for a few days, they were preparing something and bringing it into that hall.”

And it didn’t take long for everything to become clearer…

“On Saturday we had a game at Kalemegdan, relatively early, in the morning, around ten. We were part of a section, that was the time, at Crvena zvezda. He worked there. We were waiting for him, he wasn’t there, time passed, 30, 45 minutes, he wasn’t there. Then we saw him coming down those stairs, with a huge bruise under his eye. And he told us: ‘It’s settled, from now on, they will never touch you again…'”

Recognition that reaches into the distant past

“We were stunned; that day we flew across the court. Well, that’s when you play for a coach out of human, childhood gratitude. To him and his buddies, two or three guys from Zemun, who came to defend us. That’s how it was at that time. They scheduled a showdown with those from Dorćol, got into a fight for us children. Well, that is my upbringing and the values that existed then…”

How he will be remembered by the former trophy-winning head coach of Serbia is simple and sincere.

“He left an indelible mark on all those who knew him, worked with him… All of us who passed through his hands remember well; we learned a lot from him as a coach and as a man. Much has been said, a unique, special man…”

Memories flood in

The former miraculous playmaker was part of Dule’s black-and-whites at the end of the 80s, and memories are flooding in:

“I was in the team that went to the final four of the Champions Cup in Ghent, but also part of that famous Radivoj Korać Cup final against Cantù. It was one of the greatest international victories because the trophy was won on our home court in the old Sports Hall in New Belgrade. I say especially ‘the greatest,’ I mean in an emotional sense. You remember the company, Marzorati, Riva, Turner, Benson… Dule led us. Even after so many years, that atmosphere is not forgotten. Who knows how many thousands of spectators entered, there were also Italian fans. A true basketball feast finished with our title in Humska and the national Cup that season.”

Đorđević emphasizes what was synonymous with Vujošević.

“He truly lived basketball, with his whole being, while in his head it was constantly ringing: ‘Basketball, basketball…’ And now, when we look back at what remained behind him, how many titles, trophies, players… How many national team players were crafted through a certain Partizan cult that existed then. Regarding the attitude towards the national jersey, that is his merit and the merit of all those who worked with him. That was always a big topic, especially for all of us who were able to ‘touch’ the senior selection…”

As well as what will hardly be seen again in these regions.

“He was perhaps the greatest creator who passed through our basketball; I agree with Mića Berić. A worthy successor to the old Yugoslav school. He had those principles, character, a lot of extra work. He would enter the gym, lock himself in, and forget where the key was, all with the players. A great loss.”

In the end, recognition

“For me, he was crazily brave; I realized that even at the beginning of my coaching. When he reacted like an older brother. But also his existence in Serbia, in a time like this, politically turbulent, a man who stood behind his principles. And that was Dule Vujošević.”