The Greek Basketball Federation has officially announced that Dimitris Itoudis, current head coach of CSKA Moscow, will be the new head coach of the Greek national team.
Itoudis was hands down the no.1 target for the Greek federation but the negotiations weren't easy since CSKA had to give his green light to let the deal happen.
In the end, the Russian side and club's president Andrey Vatutin accepted the proposal of the Greek Federation and now Itoudis will be able to coach the national team at the upcoming Eurobasket 2022.
For Itoudis this will be his first experience as a head coach of a national team after spending all of his career in club basketball.
According to the official announcement:
"The Greek Basketball Federation announces that the new coach of the men's national team is Dimitris Itoudis.
The president of the Greek Basketball Federation wants to thank CSKA and president Vatutin personally for the cooperation they have had all this time, which led to the acceptance of the Federation's request.
Dimitris Itoudis thanked "Andrei Vatutin and the whole CSKA organization for giving the green light, allowing me to coach my country's national team."
The two-time EuroLeague champ as head coach and five-time winner of the trophy as an assistant to Zeljko Obradovic described his appointment as "a really big, huge honor. I would like to thank both Mr. Liolios and other people in the Federation for their interest and the effort they have made to bring me to this position.
As I've said before, something you want deep down in your heart becomes a reality, creating the world you live in. I am aware of the expectations. Greeks are proud and love basketball, which makes them happy. I also know our obligations. I wish that our players remain healthy and I expect us to work hard, staying together."
Greek Basketball Federation Vangelis Liolios thanked "CSKA and president Vatutin personally for the cooperation throughout this period, which led to the positive response of the request of the Greek Basketball Federation."
On the other hand, CSKA president Andrey Vatutin praised both the Greek tactician and the Federation's head for the way he conducted the negotiations with the club. Most importantly, the Russian exec implicitly mentioned that one of the reasons for granting the Greek Federation's request and also Itoudis's wish was CSKA's intention to persuade him to stay with the club "during this difficult time."
"I am happy for Dimitris," Vatutin said in a written statement.
"It's an honor to lead your country's national team. Through his work these years at CSKA, Itoudis won this invitation and will now lead a team with great athletes and glorious history."
"Yes, that means he will miss part of our preparation ahead of next season," Vatutin conceded, adding that "many factors contributed to our decision. In this difficult period for the whole planet, in which it is difficult to make predictions, teams want to have as much balance as possible."
"I knew how important this job was for Dimitris," he stressed.
"We extend our gratitude to him for the work he has done over the years and our will to stay and continue his work in the team, during this difficult time for the club. We felt the respect and careful handling of the case from the Greek Federation and president Vangelis Liolios personally, who came to Moscow to negotiate with us. We wish Dimitris and Greece success in EuroBasket 2022".
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