"Your joke, not mine!" Željko Obradović playfully jabs Ostoja again over mandate: "Those who understood, understood; those who didn't, never will!" /VIDEO/

"That was one of the most professionally challenging moments I've ever experienced. That airport, it was so incredibly emotional... I went home afterwards and just stared at the ceiling for what felt like an eternity. Such intense emotion. My emotion. I won't repeat everything Partizan means to me. I'm someone who sticks to my principles; I believe I'm a man of my word. I know there was talk that people took it out of context when I said: 'Either I'll coach here, or I won't coach at all.' They had the mandate here to offer me a contract." - Željko Obradović

"Your joke, not mine." - Željko Obradović

"Times have changed. Players have formed their own association, through which they seek their rights, and they are entitled to that. I am always on the players' side. We all need to ensure our players feel good and focus solely on basketball, without other distractions. However, players also have obligations. Problems arise when they don't understand that their obligations must be fulfilled. Personally, I haven't had issues with how players treat me, but problems emerge when they fail to meet their commitments to the club. Who protects the interests of the club, the team? The coach, always. That's where problems arise; personal problems don't exist. I'm 66 years old; these people are like my children. I have a son and a daughter, who is a bit older than this generation of players, and I spend more time with them than with my own children. There's a reason we chose them, and they must understand their responsibilities. Here, from day one, players arrive on time for practice, everyone is in the gym very early, we have breakfast and lunch here, just like at Partizan. But these are necessary steps to unite and reach the required level. Rights exist, you have all your rights, but as a team and a club, we ask that you fulfill your purpose here. If that's the case, there are no problems." - Željko Obradović