Our team’s head coach Dimitris Itoudis is voted the Euroleague Coach of the Year by the colleagues from the clubs who were playing in the tournament.
The Army Men won 24 of 29 games this Euroleague season under Itoudis and won the 7th European title in club’s history.
“First, I would like to thank all my colleagues who voted for me,” Itoudis said. “When something that you have done is recognized by your colleagues, it’s a big accomplishment. The most important thing that I want to say is that this is a team award. It is taken by the players who executed the game plans, who were concentrated, motivated and dedicated. I would never get this award without them. I am thankful to the team of my assistants – Andreas, Darryl, Anton, Denis, Kostas, Evgeny, all medical staff. Thank you to President Andrey Vatutin, Vice President Natalia Furaeva, Sports Director Andrey Shchepankov, all club staff, and definitely to our fans. Everyone contributed to our success. I am looking forward to the new challenges. It is a special pleasure also to bring Alexander Gomelsky trophy back to CSKA. I told already about my meeting with Alexander Yakovlevich after Dynamo – PAOK game in Moscow, where I acted as a head coach for the first time in my career in the age of 25. The great Gomelsky told me after the game: “Boy, you have great career in front of you”. And I would like to dedicate this award to him.”
The Alexander Gomelskiy Coach of the Year Trophy, voted each season by the head coaches of the Euroleague, pays tribute to the coaching legend who won the first three continental titles from 1958 to 1960 with ASK Riga. Gomelskiy, the father of basketball in the Soviet Union and Russia, also led CSKA to the continental crown in 1971 for his fourth and final title. He passed away in 2005 at age 77. Since then, the award has been handed out to the best head coach of each Euroleague season, as voted by his peers. CSKA Moscow representative had it twice as Ettore Messina won in 2006 and 2008.
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