Interview: Vassilis Spanoulis, Olympiacos

A new Turkish Airlines Euroleague season starts just as previous one, with 23 teams ready to do their best to dethrone defending champion Olympiacos Piraeus. Olympiacos managed to win consecutive Euroleague titles, becoming the first team to do so since 2005, and combo guard Vassilis Spanoulis was the centerpiece as both the Euroleague and the Final Four MVP. Spanoulis, who led Olympiacos to win the reborn Intercontinental Cup trophy two weeks ago, had the chance to switch places this summer but opted to re-sign his contract for three more years, allowing all Olympiacos fans to keep enjoying arguably the most decisive player in Europe right in the prime of his career. The Reds, however, lost three key players and have to rebuild a new team, with a new frontline and the same high hopes and expectations. Spanoulis, of course, will be critical to his team's success but understands that the number of Final Four candidates grows every season, as he told us in this Euroleague.net interview to open this 2013-14 season. "It was a very open competition last season, a lot of teams thought they had Final Four chances at the beginning of it," Spanoulis told Euroleague.net. "This is the good thing about the Euroleague - everything is so open! Every team can beat any opponent." 

Hello, Vassilis. Congratulations on winning the Intercontinental Cup - a new trophy for Olympiacos. How was the experience - travelling to Brazil and winning another title? 

"Thank you, Javi. It was a great experience and a great moment for the club and the organization. We didn't have this trophy and it is great to have another one, a different one. You needed to be the Euroleague champion to play for this trophy and deserve to be there. Again, it was a great experience for our team." 

A new Euroleague season starts and Olympiacos defends the title with a lot of new faces. Does changing the roster so much make things more difficult at the start of the season? 

"Well, sometimes some players did not leave because the coach or the organization wanted it; they wanted to leave and it is a new moment for us. The new players are really thirsty and we have welcomed them to our club. They put out a great effort in every practice and game until now. I would like to thank all the players who helped us to be so successful in these two years and are not with the team anymore. We made history together, but life goes on and we have to move on. All players have to make a great effort to find the right chemistry and work very hard to achieve our team's goals." 

You extended your contract with Olympiacos for three more seasons, despite receiving offers from other big teams. What made you choose to stay in Olympiacos? 

"You know, this is my team. When I spoke to the team's owners, they made it clear that I cannot leave this team. We talked about everything - I have a great relationship and great communication not only with the owners, but with everyone in Olympiacos, including our coach and teammates. It was very difficult for me to leave Olympiacos after what we have achieved in the last two years. This is my home and I love playing here. I am happy about my decision!" 

You made basketball history the last two seasons as Final Four MVP when Olympiacos made unbelievable comebacks to win two Euroleague titles. How did you manage to be so strong, psychologically speaking? 

"This is what we built during these two years: we never quit. To achieve that, you need the right staff, the right coach and the right players. Everything around the team helps you in these comebacks. It is not easy but this is our character. We built this during practices and games. It was not easy for anyone to beat us in this two years. We reached a high level when it came to coming back and never quitting. We managed to do it a lot of times even if we were 15, 20 points down." 

Looking back, which has been the best moment in these two years? How proud are you of your team's achievements? 

"I am very proud because we managed, after 15 years, to bring some big titles, especially back-to-back Euroleague trophies and the Greek League title. We were on top of Europe for two consecutive years and that is very rare. The team was not the favorite in any competition in these two years and played great basketball sometimes. I am very proud of that, it is very difficult to do this - it takes a lot of heart and practice. We have to congratulate everyone to were part of these historical times - coaches, players, presidents, organizations and of course our fans, who were there for us in every critical game, including, our course, the Final Fours. As for my favorite moment - for sure, the first Euroleague title completely changed the psychology of this team, but the second one was amazing. We went out there and proved that we were the best team in Europe. It is not easy to do what we did in the last Final Four, win a semifinal by 15 points and the final by almost 10. We proved that that we deserved to be the best team in Europe. The first Euroleague title was amazing because nobody expected us to win and the one in London was more difficult because you are already the champion and everybody wants to beat you. Being able to go out there and win like that is great." 

Georgios Bartzokas has become the first Greek coach to win the Euroleague. What do you like about him and his basketball philosophy? 

"He deserves a lot of credit. He took a team ready to defend the Euroleague and the Greek League titles, which is always very difficult. He had a lot of pressure but managed to succeed his way, with his basketball philosophy, different from the team's previous coach, Dusan Ivkovic, but with the same principles: discipline, defense, specific roles. Being the first Greek coach to win the Euroleague is a great achievement, he deserved it. He proved that he is the best coach that we can have in our team." 

Olympiacos changed most of its frontcourt with physical new players like Cedric Simmons, Brent Petway and Bryant Dunston. What’s it like playing with them so far? 

"They are playing at this level for the first time and are thirsty. We enjoy what they do and they understand this is a great opportunity. They put a great effort in practice and all exhibition games. They are bringing something new to our game - more athleticism, maybe more passion, something we had to improve last season." 

 Vassilis Spanoulis - Olympiacos Piraeus - EB12Looking around the competition, which teams do you consider as the bigger challengers to dethrone Olympiacos? 

"For sure, the same teams as last season. Panathinaikos, CSKA, Barcelona, Real Madrid... and we expect new teams like the Turkish ones, Milano, Maccabi and maybe some surprises. I didn't have much time to see all teams until now and I can't have a clear picture of who will be strong - I have only seen the rosters until now. This is my opinion. It was a very open competition last season, a lot of teams thought they had Final Four chances at the beginning of it. This is the good thing about the Euroleague - everything is so open! Every team can beat any opponent." 

No team has won three consecutive Euroleague titles this century. Olympiacos beat the expectations twice already. Is this team ready to go for another Euroleague crown? 

"Our goal is to go step by step and to play good basketball. We will see what we achieve in the end. It has been like that in the last two years and there is no reason to change this philosophy. We don't want to look so far ahead, even when we are aware that we are the back-to-back Euroleague champions and everybody wants to beat us. We know the way and have the experience from last season, when everybody wanted to beat us, too. We have to be mentally and physically ready to compete and play good basketball. The only thing that I am asking is to be healthy so that we can do what our coach want us to do on the floor. Health is very important for a team to succeed. The first goal is to get to the Top 16 and to play better basketball every day. We have a lot of new players and need time to find the right chemistry. I believe that we will find the way to play great basketball and to entertain everyone who sees us." 

Finally, let’s talk about family planning: every year you won a Euroleague title, you became a father, too. Is there a fourth child in the Spanoulis family in the near future? 

"(laughs) Well, it is not in the plans but I will decide about it once we start the season! No, I am just kidding... Right now, we don't plan to have a fourth kid. I am blessed and have three wonderful children. I enjoy being with my family and it is something that came with destiny - every year that my wife was pregnant, I won a Euroleague title. We laugh about it sometimes! I have three boys, I am blessed and excited but I don't want to have more children. It's too much!"