Aleksandar Trifunović (basketball)

See also: Aleksandar Trifunović (footballer)

Aleksandar Trifunović

Trifunović coaching Crvena zvezda in February 2010.
Personal information
Born	(1967-05-30) 30 May 1967 (age 57) Belgrade, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia
Nationality	Serbian
Listed height	201 cm (6 ft 7 in)
Career information
NBA draft	1989: undrafted
Playing career	1986–2001
Position	Shooting guard
Number	12
Coaching career	2002–present
Career history
As player:
1986–1988	Crvena zvezda
1988–1991	Zadar
1991–1997	Crvena zvezda
1997–1998	Fribourg
1998–2000	Pogoń Ruda Śląska
2000–2001	Beopetrol
As coach:
2002–2003	Crvena zvezda
2003–2004	Crvena zvezda (assistant)
2004–2005	Crvena zvezda
2006–2007	Lietuvos rytas (assistant)
2007-2008	Lietuvos rytas
2008–2009	Panionios
2009	Spartak Saint Petersburg
2009–2010	Crvena zvezda
2010–2011	Lietuvos rytas
2011–2012	Žalgiris
2013–2015	Astana
2016–2017	Yeşilgiresun Belediye
2017–2018	Pınar Karşıyaka
2019	Igokea
2020–2021	Khimki (assistant)
2022	Dinamo București
Career highlights and awards
As player: 2× YUBA League champion (1993, 1994) As head coach: Lithuanian League champion (2012) Lithuanian Cup winner (2012) 2× Baltic League champion (2007, 2012)

Aleksandar Trifunović (Serbian Cyrillic: Александар Трифуновић; born 30 May 1967) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player who was most recently the head coach for Dinamo București of the Romanian Liga Națională.

Playing career

Trifunović began his pro career with Crvena zvezda before moving to KK Zadar where he played for 3 seasons under head coaches Dragan Šakota, Slavko Trninić, and Krešimir Ćosić. He returned to Crvena zvezda in summer 1991, contributing greatly to the club's two back-to-back league titles.

Coaching career

Trifunović was the head coach of the Serbian League club Crvena zvezda during the 2001–02 season. Trifunović was the head coach for the Serbian club Crvena zvezda during the 2002–03 season and during the month of December during the 2004-05 season. He firmly established his head coaching career in Lithuania with the Lithuanian League club Lietuvos rytas in the years 2006–2008. Rytas club reached the ULEB Cup finals in the 2006–07 season and the EuroLeague Top 16 stage in the 2007–08 season. He also won the Baltic League championship in 2007 for Rytas. In the 2008 off-season, he became the head coach of the Greek League club Panionios.^[1]

In 2009, he became the head coach of the Russian Super League club Spartak Saint Petersburg.^[2] He resigned from the club on 10 November 2009.^[3] On 27 December 2009, Trifa signed a new one-and-a-half-year contract with Crvena zvezda.^[4] In October 2010, Trifunovic returned to Lietuvos rytas.^[5] Despite a slow start, he led the team to the Euroleague Top16. However, a loss in the LKF cup and finishing only 3rd in the Baltic League led to Trifunovic parting ways with Rytas in April 2011.^[6]

After starting the 2011–12 season without a team, Trifunović shocked everyone when he became the head coach of BC Žalgiris, the archrival of Lietuvos Rytas.^[7] Trifunovic led BC Žalgiris to the LKF cup, and also helped win the Baltic League and the Lithuanian League championships, beating Lietuvos rytas in the finals.^[8]

In December 2013, Trifunović became the head coach of BC Astana.^[9] In February 2015, he was released by the club.^[10] On 9 February 2016, Trifunović was named the head coach of Yeşilgiresun Belediye of the Turkish Basketball Super League.^[11] On 11 August 2016 he re-signed with Yeşilgiresun for one more season.^[12]

On 20 June 2017, Trifunović was named as the head coach of Pınar Karşıyaka.^[13] In June 2019, he signed for Bosnian club Igokea.^[14] He left Igokea in October 2019 due to health issues.^[15]

On 26 July 2022, Dinamo București signed Trifunović as their new head coach.^[16]

National team coaching career

In May 2022, the Azerbaijan Basketball Federation hired Trifunović as the new head coach for the Azerbaijan men's national basketball team.^[17]

Personal life

His son Uroš (born 2000) is a basketball player,^[18] currently playing for Partizan.

On 16 September 2019, Trifunović suffered a stroke.^[19][20]

See also

• List of KK Crvena zvezda head coaches

References

1. Panionios hires Trifunovic as coach
2. Spartak St. Petersburg lands coach Trifunovic
3. Trifunovic leaves the bench of Spartak
4. Trifunovic, new Crvena Zvezda boss
5. L. Rytas brings back Trifunovic
6. Rastali se Trifunović i Lijetuvos ritas
7. Zalgiris tabs Trifunovic for bench
8. Zalgiris Sweep Lietuvos Rytas
9. BC Astana name Aleksandar Trifunovic head coach
10. BC Astana fires coach Aleksandar Trifunovic
11. Yesilgiresun name Aleksandar Trifunovic head coach
12. Coach Aleksandar Trifunovic extends his deal with Yesilgiresun
13. Aleksandar Trifunovic named Pinar Karsiyaka head coach
14. "Aleksandar Trifunović novi trener Igokee". novosti.rs. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
15. "Igokea appoint Dragan Bajić as new head coach and add Michael Green to the 2019/20 roster". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
16. "Trifunović u Rumuniji". b92.net. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
17. "Aca Trifunović novi selektor Azerbejdžana". mozzartsport.com. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
18. "Uroš Trifunović zaigrao za Karšijaku". basketballsphere.com. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
19. "Aleksandar Trifunović imao moždani udar". rs.n1info.com. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
20. "Aleksandar Trifunović doživeo moždani udar". b92.net. Retrieved 18 September 2019.

External links

• Euroleague.net Coaching Profile