He is one of the world’s best point guards and a basketball player whose assists take one’s breath away; he shoots with a te- chnique that is envied by the gre- atest NBA players and is a Ba- sketball Genius, as proclaimed by CSKA Moscow President Andrei Vatutin. This is, in the modest sporting vocabulary of one woman, Miloš Teodosić. Direct, but mysterious, charming, but strict, he is a target of admiration and envy, like all the heroes of our time. Teo, however, goes his own way. He is reluctant to grant inter- views, but he agreed to do an inter- view for “Elevate” immediately. He also didn’t want to talk solely abo- ut basketball... And thus we set off from his native Valjevo... You lived in Valjevo until the year 2000, when you came to Belgrade to play for FMP. What do you remember about life in Valjevo and how often do you visit your hometown? Valjevo is my base, my house, the hometown from which I ven- tured out into the world. I remem- ber it for my smiling and happy childhood, for my friends, family ... Whenever I’m in Serbia I go to Va- ljevo, without fail. Unfortunately, I rarely visit due to my professional obligations, but when I finish my career, I will not move from Serbia and Valjevo. But you’re also closely conne- cted to Belgrade. If a team- mate of yours came from Moscow to Belgrade, where would you consider it obliga- tory to take him? To Kalemegdan, the Museum of Nikola Tesla, for burek (traditio- nal pie), for Leskovac-style mućka- lica (spicy stew), to a good theatre play, to a basketball game at Pio- neer Hall ... I’d take him all over
edan od najboljih plejmej- kera na svetu i košarkaš čije asistencije ostavljaju bez daha. Šuter sa tehni- kom na kojoj bi mu poza-
videli najveći NBA igrači. Genije košarke, kako ga je krstio Andrej Vatutin, predsednik moskovskog CSKA. To je, sportskim rečnikom, Mi- loš Teodosić. Direktan, ali tajan- stven, šarmantan, ali strog, meta je divljenja i zavisti. Kao i svi junaci našeg doba. Teo, ipak, tera po svom. Nera- do daje intervjue, ali na razgovor za Elevate pristao je odmah. Po- želeo je da priča ne samo o košar- ci… I tako smo krenuli od rodnog Valjeva. U Valjevu ste živeli do 2000, sve dok niste došli u Beograd zbog FMP-a. Po čemu pamti- te Valjevo i koliko često odla- zite u svoj rodni grad? – Valjevo je moja baza, moja kuća, rodni grad iz koga sam po- šao u svet. Pamtim ga po srećnom i nasmejanom detinjstvu, po dru- govima, porodici… Kad god sam u Srbiji, idem u Valjevo, tu greš- ke nema. Nažalost, retko dolazim zbog profesionalnih obaveza, ali biće vremena. Kad završim karije- ru, neću mrdati iz Srbije i Valjeva. Ali vezani ste i za Beograd, pa kada bi neki saigrač iz Moskve došao u Beograd, gde biste ga obavezno odveli? – Na Kalemegdan, u muzej Ni- kole Tesle, na burek, na leskovač- ku mućkalicu, na dobru pozoriš- nu predstavu, na neku košarkašku utakmicu u Dvoranu Pionir … Vo- dio bih ga svuda po Srbiji da vidi koliko je lepa moja zemlja. Dugo ste igrali u Grčkoj, sada ste u Rusiji. Kako vidite te dve zemlje? Po čemu se ra- zlikuju, a šta ih spaja? – Ja sam živeo u toplom Pire-
IF I WERE A COACH, I WOULDN’T BE SYMPATHETIC TOWARDS
PLAYERS LIKE ME
The man whose hands make the ball disappear and whose assists amaze the planet is actually just an ordinary guy. He likes pie and stew, and one day, when he finishes his career, he’ll return home to Valjevo. However, before that he wants to do a lot more. The first big item in his plans is coming up next summer – winning the brightest medal for Serbia at the European Basketball Championships
Tekst / Words: Ivan Jovanović, Jelena Isaković Fotografije / Photography: Sputnik, Getty Images
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