On Thursday, November 27, 2025, shortly after 5 p.m., over ten thousand people followed the route of flight JU533 from Athens to Belgrade on the FlightRadar app - because of a special passenger on board the plane.
The appearance of Željko Obradović in the arrivals hall of the airport in the Serbian capital threw thousands of fans of the basketball club "Partizan" (Belgrade) into ecstasy, filling the terminal, the space in front of the entrance and the parking lot. "Željko, stay!", the crowd chanted for minutes as the most decorated basketball coach in Europe made his way through the crowd.
The scene is part of a week filled with dramatic events: Obradovic surprisingly announced his resignation under mysterious circumstances. "Partizan" is in deep crisis in the Euroleague – with only one win in its last eight games. The coach publicly admitted that he no longer knows how to wake the team from its lethargic sleep.
Added to this is the rift between Obradovic and the club's president, Ostoja Mijailovic – a businessman who made his fortune in car sales and insurance, who is very close to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. And this turns sporting failures into a political issue – and in the most important news in a country that actually has other problems: the student uprising against corruption has been going on for a year now, to which the government responds with repression and categorically refuses to fulfill the protesters' demands for new elections.
Euphoria and lethargy
For fans of "Partizan" Obradović is more than a legend. Immediately after he took over the club after the end of his playing career, in 1992 - at the height of the war in the former Yugoslavia and while Serbia was suffering from sanctions, because of which "Partizan" had problems playing matches abroad - his team won its only title in European tournaments to date.
After that, Obradović coached "Real Madrid", "Panathinaikos" and "Fenerbahçe" and won a total of nine trophies in the Euroleague – a record that no one else has even come close to matching. "His goal was to win a tenth title with Partizan", Miloš Jovanović, who hosts a basketball podcast, tells DW. "His return in 2021 was very emotional – the last big chapter in his career, an unfulfilled dream", the blogger adds.
A magnet for sports tourists
"Partizan" has become a phenomenon on the European basketball scene, with an average of around 20,000 spectators at each home game – a real magnet for sports tourists from all over the world. However, this season, nothing is going right – despite the team featuring real stars, such as captain and Serbian national team player Vanja Marinković, former NBA player Jabari Parker and German international Isaac Bonga.
The lethargy, amateur mistakes and heavy losses fuelled rumours that a rift had developed between the players and the coach. The culmination was the defeat in Athens: "Partizan" lost to "Panathinaikos" 25:0 - a negative record in Euroleague history. "The players don't listen to Željko. They don't trust him, they rebel. The relationship is completely broken", says a DW source who regularly attends training.
Destroyed relationship with Partizan's president
Events developed quickly. The club first officially thanked Obradović, but after violent protests from fans, they rejected his resignation and urged him to reconsider his decision. According to rumors, he was offered complete freedom of action - even to completely replace the team's composition. At least that's what club president Ostoja Mijajlović claims.
"Željko once told me that the club only functions if the two of us work together," he said on a television show, thus de facto standing behind the legendary coach. However, other sources emphasize that relations between the two are strained, possibly for political reasons.
Mijajlović is a member of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SPP). Obradović, on the other hand, stood firmly on the side of the demonstrators at the beginning of the student protests: "If you don't support the youth, then who? They have their own ideals, they fight for them and I wish them to continue on this path." President Vučić, an avowed fan of "Partizan" – "Red Star", reacted irritably to the coach's words: "He has always been against us".
Alexander Vučić has ruled Serbia with a firm hand for 13 years. His party controls not only most of the media, but also the entire public sector. Vučić views the protest movement as a "color revolution" controlled by the West.
Is the successor ready yet?
At the end of November, Željko Obradović took the floor. In a 20-minute video, he criticized not the "Partizan" players, but the club and its president Mijailović. The coach disputed his claim that the budget for the season was 27 million euros and revealed that the team was not put together according to his ideas due to budget constraints.
He also accused the club of not protecting him from political intrigue and targeted disinformation. "I couldn't take it anymore", Obradović said, addressing the fans. "I gave it my all. Don't be angry with me - you know how much I fight for what I love the most."
"The situation is strange", says basketball journalist Jovanović. "Apart from clearing up this whole farce with the resignation, "Partizan" must also resolve the issue with the coach." Some media outlets are already reporting that Italian Andrea Trincieri is ready to take over the position - a crowd favorite who has already coached "Partizan", speaks fluent Serbo-Croatian and has always emphasized his admiration for Obradovic.
If he comes, at least he knows what a toxic atmosphere awaits him in Belgrade. And what hellish matches: the derby against "Red Star" is coming up next week. And to the nightmare of "Partizan" fans - the rival is currently even leading the Euroleague standings.
Author: Nemanja Rujevic