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"Break the stereotype": this is what Oded Katash looks like to Greek eyes

The derby that established its status.

The surprise of the slow and controlled method of play.

The memories of his days as an actor.

The quiet and different (and non-smiling) character.

And the degrees required of him to survive in office.

Two months after landing at Panathinaikos, we gathered a coach, journalist and fan to tell about the Israeli from their point of view

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• Oded Katash

• Panathinaikos

Ahrela Weisberg

Thursday, March 11, 2021, 2:30 p.m.

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Rare documentation: The last basket in Oded Katash's career (Photo: Courtesy of Novasports Greece Video Editing: Oren Danieli)

This weekend, Oded Katash will close for two months as coach of Panathinaikos.

Although he reached it when the Euroleague season was over for her, and in the local arena did not experience any decisive games, the Greens won the titles quite a few times during the period - with the prestigious victory over Olympiacos, the Corona outbreak that sidelined the team and the surprising signing of Mario Zonia.

Katsch intrigues the basketball community in Greece.

This week, an extensive interview with him was published on the cover of Allstar magazine, under the headline "I have a mission."

He spoke there about his glory days in Pao, the gray present at the club and his plans for the future.

Ahead of the private derby, tonight (Thursday, 21:00) in Ouaka against Maccabi Tel Aviv, we tried to track down and understand what Katsh looked like from a Greek point of view, 56 days after landing in the capital;

To do this, three people living in the city expressed their opinions and provided their unique angle - coach, journalist and fan.

More on Walla!

Oded Katash: "I heard screams and woke up. I went out on the balcony, and the fans sang in my honor."

To the full article

Surprise: fewer threes, more offensive rebounds and steals.

Katsch with Pau players (Photo: Official website, Panathinaikos)

Coach: "We expected Pini Gershon's basketball"

Christos Marmarinos, coach of the Kosovo national team.

Served for 14 years as an assistant coach to Olympiacos when

Katsch signed for Pao, everyone was involved in his history as a player, and it was not just because of the picantry.

No one in Greece really knew him as a coach.

Now, almost two months later, his adjustment period to the role can be defined in one word: surprise.

Over the years, we have become accustomed to seeing from the Israeli coaches and Israeli teams an offensive method of play, which advocates a high pace, with an emphasis on the transition game and non-stop running.

We were expecting a style of play reminiscent of that of Pini Gershon at Olympiacos, and to some extent also of David Blatt and Zvika Sharaf.

This is how everyone expected to see a pitfall in Panathinaikos as well, mostly based on reports of his characteristics as a coach, but he broke those stereotypes.

Since taking office, the key change at PAO is that the team is fighting more and playing aggressive basketball.

Compared to the time of previous coach Giorgius Voboras, the team throws less to three, goes to the penalty line five more times, has increased the number of rebounds on offense by four, and snatches two more and a half balls.

The night Katsh received the stamp, and gained recognition as a coach, was the derby he won at the Hall of Peace and Brotherhood.

And I say that he is the one who won, because the way he prepared the team and how he managed the game was all his own, and he got huge credit for that from the professionals in Greece.

Panathinaikos appeared without Nemanja Nedovic, and he surprised when he raised the five-man squad, with Ioannis Papapatro in the guard position, completely disrupting Olympiacos' game.

Since then, also due to the fact that Sandovich has not yet returned, Pau continues to play a similar method.

Pau's high line-ups slow down the pace of the game, make it difficult for rivals to score and control the rebound.

Management gave Katsch the tools to win a double.

Mario the prostitute (Photo: official website, from Barcelona's Twitter)

Two things can hurt him, looking forward to continuing his path next season: One is the loss of key players.

So far, the chemistry between them seems to be good, but the question is how he will maneuver between the Zunia, Nadovic, Papatero and Dinos Mitoglo when he has a full vehicle.

The second and more central thing is, of course, the loss of a degree in Greece, with an emphasis on the championship.

The rivals at the top of the Greek league feel for the first time in years that they have a chance to "sting".

Prometas Petras and AEK Athens are investing money, signing players on the move and believing in their ability to go all the way, given the fact that Olympiacos are not playing in the first division and the difficult season that Pau is experiencing in the Euroleague.

Since the departure of Zeljko Oberdovic nine years ago, Pau has been looking for the coach to lead her forward.

Except for Xavi Pascual's days, she did not find the right man.

Katsch is writing his history these days, and it is not known if his fate will be different from that of others, but he has already proven that he is a serious and creative coach.

"I have a mission".

Katsch on the cover of the Greek magazine "Allstar", this week (Photo: surfer photos)

Journalist: "We were skeptical at first"

Adonis Kalkaburas, head of the basketball desk at the Gazzetta website

The opening conditions were not in Katsch's favor.

The heads of Panathinaikos, Frankie Alvertis and Dimitris Diamantidis, were widely criticized for rushing to fire Vaburas in the first crisis;

I, too, was among the critics for not being patient with the coach, even though Pao consciously went out for a transition period and a difficult season.

Due to the fact that the Israeli has been known here mainly from his days as a player, and less due to his skills as a coach, the reception that awaited him was quite skeptical.

In character, Katsh is different from anything familiar and ordinary in Greece.

He does not scream on the lines, does not look like one who will communicate with the crowd in the stands during a game, and is in no hurry to open up to the media.

He comes to work, and performs the tasks assigned to him, but on social media there is a fairly ongoing preoccupation with the question of why he does not smile ...

I do not think his playing career is still a significant factor in relating to him.

He is talked about more because of his method of play, in which he has carried out a tactical revolution, especially since the derby.

He found a way to use together the three Greek highs, Papapatro, Mitoglou and Yorgos Papainis, in the same quintet.

Today, I am more optimistic about Katsch's chances of success than I was two months ago.

The club's management proved they were behind him, signing the prostitute and TJ Bray, and in fact gave him all the tools to bring in a double - and to stay on next season, he needs to win local titles in Greece.

Without them, Katsch would have a hard time continuing.

The cup games have been postponed so that the money time in both factories will drain to the same month.

What it will look like and sound like when the audience returns.

The Ouaka in beautiful days (Photo: Walla !, Ahrela Weisberg)

The fan: "Waiting to return to Uaka already"

Yorgos Kotsubus, one of the leaders of the Cheerleading Bloc at Gate 13 for the past 30 years

along with Alvertis, Diamantidis, Katsch and Yorgos Klaitsis, Panathinaikos has put in the forefront the big names, who have proven themselves in the past on the floor.

This is a fairly new phenomenon.

They understand the game, they know our culture and I believe they will do their best for the green clover.

Fans remember well the days when Katsch wore the green jersey and brought her honor.

The crowd loved and encouraged him then, and still love him today, and our job is to help him succeed on the team as a coach.

We are not basketball experts, and do not know which appointment is right and which is not;

We can only know this in retrospect.

We are already looking forward to the day when we can return to Oaka and make our voices heard to help Pao.

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