VAGGELIS AGGELOU

aggelou

Personal Information:

Date of Birth:11/11/1962

Nationality: Greek

Vaggelis Aggelou has been involved in basketball for over 30 years, first as a professional player and then as a successful coach. He played for over 12 years professionally in Greece, wearing the jersey of many high profile teams (Olympiacos, Panionios, Iraklis, Apollon Patras), as all clubs were looking for a sharp thinking point guard. He was never the quicker or the strongest player, but his mind was always one step ahead. After retiring from playing, Aggelou returned to his home town Chalkida and in a few years he took his local club from the amateur divisions to the Greek A2, just one step below the top league of Greece. The consecutive promotions won by Chalkida showed the first glimps of Aggelou’s coaching skills and pretty soon he was sitting on the bench of Aris, as assistant coach of Milan Minic and in his first season (2002), the club won the FIBA Champions Cup!

Next season, Greek legend Panagiotis Giannakis asked Aggelou to join him in the coaching staff of Maroussi and between 2003-2004 Aggelou helped a small Athens team to become a powerhouse in Greece and Europe. They reached the Greek play-off finals eliminating oppenents like Olympiacos, Aris and PAOK, losing only to Panathinaikos and they also reached the FIBA Cup final.

After that, Aggelou was honoured to be asked by Dusan Ivkovic to become his first assistant in Dynamo Moscow. He spent two seasons in Russia where he celebrated the winning of the ULEB Cup, which allowed Dynamo to qualify for the Euroleague of the following season. And when they played there, it was not a simple participation as they managed to qualify for the Quarter-Finals, reaching just one step before the final-four, an amazing result for a rookie team in that competition.

When coach Ivkovic decided to leave Dynamo and take over the Serbian NT, Aggelou returned to Greece and was appointed as Head Coach of AEK after the club had the worst beginning of their history and were bottom of the table. Aggelou came in and managed not only to save the team from relegation but also to finish on the 7th place (among 14 teams) and enter the play-offs. What was even more remarkable is Aggelou’s next job in Trikala, where he took over as Head Coach again in the middle of the season, only this time the club was running a 0-7 record and everybody thought that they were already relegated. Aggelou managed to do the unthinkable and save the club, despite having one of the lowest budgets. He stayed for the next season but due to financial problems he was forced to leave.

Few months later Dusan Ivkovic took over Olympiacos and of course his first move was to appoint Aggelou as his first assistant. The club went to an amazing 26-0 run in the regular season of the Greek League and they also won the Greek Cup. In Euroleague, Olympiacos reached the Quarter finals and the finals of the Greek play-offs where they lost 3-1 from European Champions Panathinaikos. This season, Aggelou created a young Olympiacos team that surprised the whole Europe and won the Euroleague, beating favorites CSKA & Barcelona in the final four, despite the significant budget cut that was decided by the administration and many inexperienced players and rookies that had to be selected.

Aggelou’s general strategy is based on team work. Despite having worked with some of the biggest superstars that have played in Europe the last few years (see list at the end), he always maintains the force of the group in comparison to one-man show teams. Aggelou believes in the potential of his players and it is no secret that he was the one to give Vassilis Spanoulis the chance to play his first games in the Greek A1 at a very young age. Many more players developed in his hands and either lifted or resumed their career like Antonis Fotsis, Giorgos Printezis, Sergey Monya and Sergey Bykov and even Americans like Roderick Blakney and Jamon Gordon to name a few. Aggelou’s strong point is also the chemistry that creates within the roster, combining young and experienced players and creating the right environment for their skills to show. He is also very strong in analyzing the opponents and his scouting is definitely a very important asset.

Professional Basketball Coaching Experience

Head Coach - Aris BC, Greek Division A1 2012-present

Assistant Coach - Olympiacos BC, Euroleague/Greek Division A1 2010 – 2012

Head Coach - Trikala BC, Greek Division A1 2008 - 2009