After three years with the Cleveland Cavaliers from the NBA, Ante Žižić returned to the Euroleague last summer, when he became a glittering acquisition of Maccabi Tel Aviv. Although the 24-year-old Croatian center-back was wanted by a number of clubs, including Real Madrid, he eventually chose to wear yellow, and in an interview with the Euroleague website he admitted: “In the end the decision was quite easy and quite simple.”
“When I decided to return to Europe, I received offers from several teams,” Zizic said of last summer. “But Maccabi has always been there. I always felt that they wanted me so much, and I feel that they received me well. Sure, it was not an easy decision, but in the end, it was quite simple. I talked to the coach and Nikola Vujicic, and I understood That’s it. “
Indeed, it seems that Vujicic has a lot of weight in Zijic’s choice to land in Israel, as does his brother Andrea, who won the Maccabi Tel Aviv Euroleague in 2014: “Andrea was very important, he is my mentor and I learned a lot from him. He has always supported me and I can say with certainty that he has taught me a lot. I followed the Euroleague from a young age, I followed closely the careers of my brother and Vujicic. I always liked him because I knew him, so I actually know Nicola since I was a little kid. “
Žižić got to know his idol closely in 2011, when Vujicic returned to Split to finish his career in his youth team: “He opened his academy the year he returned to Split, and I joined his club and academy. He brought in great coaches, and that was it. “My first experience in the professional system. I was there for two years, and in fact during that time he helped me a lot to make a huge step in my career.”
In the summer of 2013, due to shortcomings in David Blatt’s squad at Maccabi Tel Aviv, Vujicic, who served as sports director, added two outstanding players from Split’s academy to promote the season, who are now personalizing their front line, Dragon Bender and Zizic, : “They did not have highs, so I had to keep Schorzianitis, he was the biggest person I saw, and I was only 16. Z1H was special for me to keep one like him, and thanks to Blatt, it was my first time with basketball pros.”
Although in training, according to the stories, his end did not really make an account of Žižić and threw him to the floor, the young Croatian did not give up: “This is my character, I never give up. I know he is stronger and bigger, but I do not stop.” Unlike Bender, Zizic did not sign a contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv, although the two impressed the professional team, explaining: “I was still young, and my parents did not want me far from home until I finished school and grew up as a person.”
In 2016, Blatt and Žižić’s paths crossed again in the Turkish Drushpaka, and the chin complimented: he is a great man and a great coach, I respect him very much and I am really grateful for what he did for me. He brought me there when I was 19, so that I could influence the games, I fit in perfectly. He gave me a place in the top five, and at that time it was all for me. It was a huge step in my career, I developed a lot and got Euroleague experience. “
Zael P. Zizic, his brother’s Euroleague win with Maccabi Tel Aviv left his mark on him: “I grew up in the Euroleague, and for me it was ‘wow, I want to play in the Euroleague’, because my brother did it. Playing in the Euroleague team was a world for me “In its entirety, especially Maccabi, a team that has a rich history and great fans. I always liked the idea of playing in such a team.”
