Hapoel Tel Aviv Star in Interview: "The Opportunity Not to Play in Israel Attracted Me"
Tomáš Satoranský, who joined Hapoel Tel Aviv, admitted that the team's model of training and playing in Sofia, avoiding frequent flights to Israel, was a key factor in his decision to sign.
The signing of Tomáš Satoranský by Hapoel Tel Aviv is undoubtedly one of the most impressive transfers of the summer. However, in a recent interview with Czech media, the former Barcelona and NBA star revealed the true motives behind the move. The 34-year-old point guard honestly admitted that the model in which the team trains and hosts EuroLeague games in Sofia, Bulgaria, due to the security situation, was one of the main factors that tipped the scales.
"Every weekend the team flies to Israel for league games, but only 5 foreign players are allowed to be registered in the squad, so there will be a rotation," Satoranský explained. "The possibility of weekends where I can stay in Sofia and rest instead of playing in the local league in Israel definitely appealed to me. I was looking for something less demanding. I suffered enough last season; I wanted to reduce the load and focus mainly on the EuroLeague."
Context of the club's foreign player crisis
The candid words of Satoranský gain additional weight against the backdrop of the difficult struggle that the Hapoel Tel Aviv management waged with its foreign players last season. As long as the confrontation with Iran continues, this painful experience is what led owner Ofer Yanai and the club's management to reformulate the base model in Bulgaria, with the goal of providing peace of mind to the senior foreign players and preventing further shocks in the locker room.
Satoranský clarified that after 6 seasons in the NBA and 4 intensive seasons in Barcelona, his body demanded a reduction in load.
"I have had severe back problems for the last year and a half. In Barcelona, I played 30 minutes per game in the EuroLeague, and immediately after that, we flew to difficult games in the Spanish league. My body was simply destroyed. I needed to reduce the load. At Hapoel Tel Aviv, my role will be different: I am not the main point guard, Vasilije Micić is there, and I will be the 2nd or 3rd point guard, and that is exactly what I was looking for."
"The owner has a vision, we want to win the EuroLeague"
Despite the intentional decrease in playing minutes, Satoranský clarifies that he did not come for a vacation: "I am a competitive athlete and absolutely intolerant of losses. I was very disappointed with the way Barcelona treated the basketball club in recent years. The passion to continue winning at the highest levels burned in me. Hapoel Tel Aviv has an owner with a vision, and we definitely want to win and take the EuroLeague."
The Czech guard summarized his family's expected adaptation in Sofia: "We will live in a gated residential complex, 15 minutes from the arena, 15 minutes from the center, and 15 minutes from the children's international school. My children are already used to moving from the time in the NBA. This is a new situation for me, but I am completely at peace with it and ready to help the team in every aspect."
