The Greek head coach had been in charge of the Turkish side since the summer of 2022.
Fenerbahce parts ways with Dimitris Itoudis
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul has confirmed the dismissal of Dimitris Itoudis as the team’s head coach. Itoudis had been in charge of Fenerbahce since the summer of 2022 and led the team to a combined 27-25 record in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague over the last season and a half. So far this season, the Turkish side is 12th in the standings with a 6-7 record.
The Greek tactician’s first campaign as Fenerbahce boss saw the team reach the 2022-23 EuroLeague Playoffs, sneaking in as the eighth seed. Fenerbahce went on to force Olympiacos Piraeus to the fifth and final game of their series before losing in do-or-die fashion on the road at Peace and Friendship Stadium.
The Greek tactician’s first campaign as Fenerbahce boss saw the team reach the 2022-23 EuroLeague Playoffs, but it only did so after sneaking in as the eighth seed. Fenerbahce went on to force Olympiacos Piraeus to a five-game series, before losing a do-or-die Game 5 at Peace and Friendship Stadium.
Lofty expectations for Itoudis
Ever since making his head coaching bow in the EuroLeague with CSKA Moscow in the 2014-15 season, Itoudis has been synonymous with success. He ended up staying at CSKA for eight seasons, during which time the Russian team won the 2015-16 and 2018-19 EuroLeague titles. He had a 191-64 record as CSKA boss, too, and led the club to six Final Four appearances.
It was hoped that Itoudis would be able to replicate that level of dominance upon his arrival at Fenerbahce, but the team has often blown hot and cold. Just this season, Fenerbahce is a perfect 5-0 on its home floor but 1-7 on its travels.
Even more recently, Itoudis’s squad ended Real Madrid’s 10-0 start to the season with a thrilling 100-99 overtime win in Round 11, but it then went on to lose at Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz and FC Barcelona in the double-round week last week. That lack of consistency, albeit amid a spate of injuries last month, has prevented Fenerbahce from establishing itself as one of the teams at the top of the standings.
Fenerbahce wants to return to the Final Four
Fenerbahce only made it to the EuroLeague Final Four for the first time in the 2014-15 campaign, but that started a run of success that saw the team reach European basketball’s showpiece event in each of the next four seasons. That five-year run of Final Four appearances came to an end in the 2018-19 season, Zeljko Obradovic’s penultimate year in charge.
Now, Fenerbahce has looked to revive its playoff – and Final Four – hopes with a change of head coach.