Sasa Obradovic, Monaco coach: “Priority to the Euroleague quarter-final but we can’t afford to play badly” against Pau
Last league match for Monaco before the start of the quarter-finals of the Euroleague playoffs, against EBPLO. Sasa Obradovic wants to rely on this meeting to prepare for the future.
This Tuesday, Monaco will head to Greece, and more specifically Athens, to play the very first Euroleague playoff match in its history against Olympiakos. A historic moment. But before that, the players of the Roca Team have a completely different match to play, as part of the 29th day of Betclic Elite, against Élan Béarnais. An opponent not to be minimized, since present in the Top 4 of the French championship. But it’s not the kind of AS Monaco, which intends to rely on this meeting (which could also be decisive in view of the defeat of Boulogne-Levallois against Strasbourg this Saturday evening, because Monaco could take the top of the standings in the event of victory) to arrive in full flurry against the Greeks of Olympiakos. At least that’s what Sasa Obradovic said before the match against EBPLO, in comments reported on the club’s website.
“We are preparing for both games, physically and tactically. There are no major changes in our preparation. We are trying to play well, the EuroLeague playoffs are coming, we will have to be at our best level. Pau-Orthez is a good team that deserves respect. Apart from the adversary, the danger is not having the head for your match. We can’t elude the goals, the priority is to perform in this quarter-final of the EuroLeague, but we can’t afford to play badly in this championship game. Pau-Orthez is qualified for the final of the Coupe de France and is making a good run in the league, we are going to face a serious opponent. In these circumstances, just before Olympiakos, it is difficult to predict the behavior of my team, but we approach the meeting with all the necessary application, with the support of our fans”.
Sasa Obradovic, Monaco coach
Photography: Sasa Obradovic (Thomas Savoja)