Half of Serbia waited on Tuesday (December 2) to announce itself Zeljko Obradovic, ever since it was confirmed to "Vremen" that the former coach Partizan they will not remain silent.
But maybe only a few insiders knew what Obradović was going to say. The others only speculated - from the confirmation that the problem is only in the team and saturation, to the request to replace the club's first man, Ostoja Mijailović.
What the public has heard is much closer to the latter – the Maltene nuclear option has been activated.
Because Obradović was and remains an umbrella for his players. And this time he told the fans that they must stand behind the team. What he had, he told them to their face - while he was a coach.
And for the fact that he is no longer a coach, he hinted, he has "to thank" Mijailović. He described the relationship with the first man of the club as "none" since the first game of the Euroleague in Dubai.
Obradović: I couldn't do it anymore, Mijailović is responsible
What 27 million euros?
The accusations against Mijailović are serious and come from the biggest legend of the club, a man who did his job best in Europe in the biggest clubs, so I guess he knows what healthy relationships look like in a club.
According to Obradović, Mijailović brought players on his own. The claim that Partizan has a magical 27 million euros at its disposal this season has been called into question.
Because, if so, how is it possible that the decision of the club's management made it necessary to exit the contract with several players in order to bring in new ones, even though the squad is short? Or that the team goes on difficult trips in economy class instead of charter?
Also, Obradović revealed that Mijailović did not protect the coach, himself, or the club from name-calling and incitement in previous years. Although he did not mention it, it was hinted that some of those name-callings were political, from the top of the regime and via televised tabloids.
The fact that Mijailović kept former sports director Zoran Savić without a contract speaks of the poisoned relationship since the summer.
Žarko Paspalj is the new sports director of KK Partizan
Mijailović tells a different story
It is a nuclear option because it reveals a lot about the club, but also because it contradicts Mijailović's words from the other day, in a relatively pleasant interview for Juronuj. There, Mijailović briefly talked about himself and Obradović as the two pillars of Partizan, about people in a good relationship, and blamed everything on allegedly lazy and disobedient players.
Whose word the fans trust more, there is no doubt about that.
In the same interview, Mijailović hinted that he will be at the game against Bayern on Thursday "if he is not on the road". Many would bet that he will be "on the road" and possibly longer.
Because he will have something to hear in the hall. As "Vreme" found out, the tickets for the game are only going on sale this Wednesday at noon because the security assessments of the police were pending. Security will be increased.
But nobody knows what to expect. There is a standard repertoire of insults against the president of the club and the president of the country, Aleksandar Vučić. As well as support for Željko Obradović.
Some could come up with more extreme ideas that would push Partizan into even deeper chaos.
The management board of Partizan sent an appeal "to all media representatives, as well as to all people who influence the creation of the atmosphere in the public via social networks" not to publish unverified or false information and thus not to cause chaos at the matches.
But now it turns out that a good part of the alleged "unverified and false information" that has been circulating these days is actually true - or at least that's what Željko Obradović says.
Will Ostoja continue in his own way?
For now, there are no indications that Mijailović, who this summer pushed for changes in the club's statutes by strengthening his position by introducing the Executive Board, could resign.
On the other hand, it is clear that only his resignation would reconcile the situation in Partizan and return the focus to the floor where the season started disastrously, but is not yet lost.
As several sources from the club told "Vremena" journalists, it seems that Mijailović has lost touch with reality and does not understand what kind of hell awaits him and the club if he does not step down.
The fans will also be fired up by the vague words of Željko Obradović that he hopes that this is not the last time in Partizan, but that he does not know when and in what capacity he could return. Some read that as a glimmer of hope that, if the club's management changes, the great coach could still return to the bench.
However, Mijailović's moves from Tuesday do not speak in favor of that. He brought club legend Žarko Paspalja, a man outside the currents of modern basketball, to the post of sports director.
And Paspalj then officially needs to find a new coach, which could be Andrea Trinchieri, otherwise a favorite character among Partizan fans. But also a character who understands the moment well, so the question is whether he will get involved in all that.
If he continues in his own way, Mijailović will vindicate numerous fans who have been spreading the theory of "demolishing the club from within" for a long time.
Seven days after the first news about the resignation of Željko Obradović, Partizan is neither in heaven nor on earth.
