“The head coach of the Serbian national team agrees to play with Russia, but they will be against it from above.” Interview with Zoran Lukic

On February 17, the training camp of the Russian national team began in Novogorsk, which will include a friendly match in Moscow against Samara. correspondent spoke with Zoran Lukic, discussing the lack of friendly matches with national teams in February, the difficult position of the Nizhny Novgorod team in the VTB United League, as well as a possible match training with the Serbian national team, that of Lukic. native country.

February training camp: why are there no CSKA players, Zhbanov and friendly matches against national teams?

— How is training camp going, are there any problems or injuries?

— Thank God there are no injuries. Yes, Georgy Zhbanov did not join us, he has a slight knee problem. We directly agreed that he would miss this training camp. Mikhail Belenitsky felt a little pain in the last cup meeting with Runa, but I think everything will be fine. The rest of the players are online and working normally.

— Why are no CSKA players called up?

— CSKA players were on our lists, but the club, as far as I know, decided to fly to Turkey during the championship break. CSKA will hold friendly matches there, so there are no problems in our relations. There was one more small problem, but I don’t want to comment on it.

— The national team will have a friendly match with Samara, are you satisfied with the opponent for sparring?

— Of course, I am very grateful to Samara for the fact that the club very quickly agreed to a friendly match. There were other options, but at this stage there is no point in flying somewhere or playing matches abroad. There will be a break in June and I am absolutely sure we will get on a flight somewhere and meet. Now, at the training camp, we begin to prepare for the “Friendship Games”.

— Do you communicate with Andrei Kirilenko about the prospects of the national team, its potential rivals?

— Of course, we communicate and have working breakfasts. Many questions were addressed, notably those of personalities. As for the Friendship Games, it is not us or the federation who decides, but people at the highest level. So, whoever we face, we will give our best in every match.

Paris Nizhny Novgorod Lukic – injuries, troublesome opponents and possible departure from the club in 2025

— Paris Nizhni Novgorod is not very high in the rankings this season. The main problem is injuries?

– Unfortunately yes. We have stepped on the same rake again. We had problems at the end of last season, we thought it would work, but it didn’t work. Now we have to draw conclusions for the future, because this season we are really quite low in the rankings.

— You have a good mix of youth and experience in your team. There are Khvostov, Strebkov, Vorontsevich, Ponkrashov. What do young Gafurov and Belenitsky learn from them?

— Belenitsky, Chadov, Gafurov already have good playing time. Honestly, I expected them to become pillars of our team this season, but this process is a bit slow. There are even younger guys. I understand that many would like to see them on the field, but so far they cannot match the level of their opponents. You have to be patient, give them time and opportunities. They will definitely have chances – it all depends on their desire and capabilities.

Being talented is no guarantee of success. I’ve seen so many talented players who didn’t reach a high level because they weren’t willing to work hard, they weren’t willing to push themselves. I would even say that the majority are like that. Often the desire to work outweighs the gift or talent.

— Many people note that this season of the VTB United League the level of opponents has stabilized and everyone can beat everyone.

– Yes I agree. On the other hand, working with the national team, I see that Russian basketball players have started to receive less playing time in clubs compared to last season. The aspirations and goals of the teams are clear: the outcome is their decision, which depends on the abilities of the players.

Yes, the level of the teams has stabilized, many foreign players have appeared, everyone can beat everyone. It’s very interesting and good for the league.

– 27 matches of this season are behind us – can you identify the strongest and most troublesome opponents for the Nizhny Novgorod team?

— It was easier for us to play against top clubs. If we call unfavorable and unpleasant rivals for us, then these are MBA and Uralmash. And I know why this is so. The reasons for failure must be clearly communicated to the players. I hope they can accept this information. If they perceive it correctly, then we can adjust the tournament position.

— You said that you know the reasons why it is easier for Nizhny Novgorod to play against strong opponents. Would you like to share?

“This is already our mess in Nizhny Novgorod, let’s not get involved in this.”

— You have a contract with the club until 2025, your assistant Sergei Kozin has already replaced you in several matches. Does this mean you will leave the club at the end of your contract?

– Let’s close this topic. Few coaches can boast of such long work in one club and such support from the team as I have in Nizhny Novgorod. But in addition to the players, the coaches must also grow, which is why I support Sergei Kozin, a young specialist from Nizhny Novgorod.

My dream is that Nizhny Novgorod will have a quality specialist; it will be the best support I can give to the club. But how will Kozin gain his experience if Zoran Lukic stays for another 20 years (laughs)? I don’t want to offend anyone with this reflection, the main thing for me is not when I will leave, but when Kozin will be able to take my place.

Do you remember a coach from Nizhny Novgorod? It is surely time for such a model to appear. I don’t want Kozin to stay behind me for many years. So for me it is a personal task for my colleague to succeed and become the head coach of Nizhny Novgorod.

Friendly match with the Serbian national team – what is the probability, who is for and who is against?

— In March, the Russian football team will play against Serbia. Can we imagine this in basketball in the near future?

– Why not? Be patient and we can see a match like this. We already wanted to play our first trip to Serbia (in February 2023 – editor’s note from ). I spoke with Serbian national team coach Pesic, but you can probably guess why our match didn’t take place…

—Has a third appeared?

“Of course, they started putting pressure from above. Therefore, you have to wait for some time until the situation becomes more and more clear. I am more than confident that we will play a match against the Serbian national team. I can even talk to Svetislav Pesic tomorrow and he will agree to play next week, but there are some who will be against it. I also understand Serbia in this situation, it can be punished for this, why does it need this?

– Do you like football? Have you thought about going to a national team match?

— In March, we will have the Russian Cup final from the 15th to the 17th, then the United League matches – a very busy schedule. We have no windows in the schedule, we run like a locomotive.

Watch matches of the VTB United Basketball League on the TV channels of the Match holding and on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.