Bogdan Tanjevià(; born 13 February 1947), nicknamed "Boà ¡a" () is a Montenegrin professional basketball coach and former player.
He is best known for being KK Bosna's head coach when the club became the top-tier level European-wide champions by winning the FIBA European Champions Cup in the 1978âÂÂ79 season as well as for coaching the Italian national team to the gold medal at EuroBasket 1999. He was elected to the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2019.
Tanjeviàwas born on 13 February 1947 in Pljevlja, PR Montenegro, FPR Yugoslavia. Four years later, in 1951, four-year-old Bogdan was brought to Sarajevo, PR Bosnia-Herzegovina due to his Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) officer father Strahinja Tanjeviàgetting reassigned there. Growing up in Sarajevo, he spent most of his summers back in Montenegro in his grandfather's village on the slopes of the Ljubià ¡nja mountain near Pljevlja. Attending Veselin Masleà ¡a primary school in Sarajevo, young Boà ¡a got involved with basketball at the FIS outdoor courts alongside friends such as Ugljeà ¡a Uzelac and Davorin PopoviÃÂ.
TanjeviÃÂ began playing organized basketball at the hometown Mlada Bosna Sarajevo.
In 1965, after graduating high school, TanjeviÃÂ moved to Belgrade where he enrolled at the University of Belgrade's Faculty of Philosophy, studying world literature.
In parallel with his university studies in Belgrade, young TanjeviÃÂ played basketball at OKK Beograd on a team alongside established players Radivoj KoraÃÂ, Trajko RajkoviÃÂ, Slobodan GordiÃÂ, and Miodrag NikoliÃÂ.
In summer 1971, he parted ways with OKK Beograd, agreeing principal terms with KK Oriolik, a Yugoslav First Basketball League (top-tier) club from Slavonski Brod that had just finished its second-ever top-tier season in 11th place (out of twelve) and was in the process of putting together its roster for the upcoming top league campaign. However, within a month of signing for Oriolik, instead of going to Slavonski Brod, TanjeviÃÂ decided to abruptly end his playing career at the age of twenty-four by taking the head coaching offer at KK Bosna, a second division club from Sarajevo.
Despite a four-year run with the Yugoslav national junior (under-18) team, having made the final cut for several FIBA Europe youth competitions from 1964 until 1966 under head coach Ranko à ½eravica, Tanjeviàwasn't able to make the next step and earn a spot on the Yugoslav full squad.
Sixteen-year-old Tanjeviàreceived his first call up for the Yugoslav junior national team by its head coach à ½eravica in 1963. Tanjeviàlater talked of his surprise to have gotten his debut considering he played for a "provincial lower-league club KK à ½eljezniÃÂar Sarajevo", commending à ½eravica for not favouring players from big established clubs over those from smaller ones.
In spring 1964, sixteen-year-old TanjeviÃÂ, still with à ½eljezniÃÂar at the time, made the Yugoslav junior team for the European Championship for Juniors in Naples in April 1964. As the youngest player on that roster, he had to fight hard for his spot until the very last training camp game, just edging out Staà ¡a ÃÂorÃÂeviàof RadniÃÂki Belgrade for the 12th roster spot. Consisting of youngsters most of whom wouldn't later go on to notable basketball careers (Ljubià ¡a JanjiÃÂ, Anton BraÃÂun, Ljubià ¡a StankoviÃÂ, SrÃÂan SkuliÃÂ, Miljenko ValciÃÂ, Slobodan JeliÃÂ, Tihomir PavloviÃÂ, Jurica Kosta, Danko HoÃÂevar, MomÃÂilo Pazmanj, and Andrej Brenk), the Yugoslav team lost 3 of its 5 games at the championship. Tanjeviàgot very little playing time, without managing to score a single basket at the competition.
In summer 1966, 19-year-old TanjeviÃÂ, now an OKK Beograd player, was selected for the Yugoslav junior team sent to the European Championship for Juniors in Porto San Giorgio on the Italian Adriatic coast in late August 1966. Unlike two years earlier when he mostly sat on the bench, this time Tanjeviàactually got a bit of playing time on a roster alongside players that would go on to reach great heights in the game of basketball such as Kreà ¡imir ÃÂosiÃÂ, Aljoà ¡a à ½orga, Duci SimonoviÃÂ, Damir à  olman, Kosta Grubor, Dragià ¡a VuÃÂiniÃÂ, Dragan KapiÃÂiÃÂ, etc. Yugoslavia made it to the final, but suffered a 21-point blowout by Soviet Union in the gold medal game. For his part, Tanjeviàappeared in all five games Yugoslavia played at the championship, recording a modest output of 2.4 points per game.
In 1971, twenty-four-year-old TanjeviÃÂ got named as head coach of KK Bosna, a club playing in the second-tier Yugoslav Second Federal League.
The appointment happened quite abruptly as TanjeviÃÂ, an active player still, had just agreed on the terms of his transfer to KK Oriolik from Slavonski Brod. Having a whole month before going to Slavonski Brod to finalize the transfer and sign the necessary paperwork, TanjeviÃÂ spent time in Sarajevo by frequenting KK Bosna's daily summer training sessions, a second-tier club with a batch of young players preparing for its upcoming Second Federal League season. Quite unexpectedly, within weeks, young TanjeviÃÂ got offered the head coaching position at Bosna by the club's brass who liked the young man's vocal nature and enthusiasm. After months of wrangling during which he had to re-arrange different details of his personal and professional lives, he decided to quit playing basketball at the age of twenty-four and take the unexpected head coaching offer.
Inheriting a roster of youngsters such as nineteen-year-old à ½arko VarajiÃÂ, Anto ÃÂogiÃÂ, RoÃÂeni Krvavac, twenty-one-year-old center Zdravko ÃÂeÃÂur, Jovo TerziÃÂ, twenty-two-year-old Mirsad MilaviÃÂ, Milan PavliÃÂ, Slobodan PejoviÃÂ, and Aleksandar Nadaà ¾din, Tanjeviàbrought in twenty-two-year-old guard Svetislav Peà ¡iàon loan from Partizan Belgrade and Bruno SoÃÂe, also arriving from Belgrade. Furthermore, the head coach sought to establish authority over players only a couple of years younger than him. To that end he re-hauled the training regiment, instituting practice sessions twice a day while introducing strict discipline.
The new approach produced immediate results as the club managed to gain promotion in TanjeviÃÂ's first season. The promotion was secured in dramatic fashion in a single-game playoff against city rivals KK à ½eljezniÃÂar because the two clubs sat atop the Second League's west division, having split the regular season home-and-away series, so it was decided that a single game (the so-called majstorica) would determine which team gets promoted. Played on 28 April 1972 in front of 7,000 spectators at the Skenderija Hall, only two weeks after the same venue hosted the iconic Yugoslav partisan film Valter brani Sarajevo premiere, the game was a tense affair. KK Bosna, that saw its 25-year-old head coach Tanjeviàsuit up and play 20 minutes after a whole season of not playing competitive basketball, ended up winning 65âÂÂ59 behind Peà ¡iÃÂ's 26 points. It was a historic success for KK Bosna that prior to TanjeviÃÂ's arrival spent 16 seasons stuck in the Second Federal League, unable to overcome the last hurdle before the top-tier First Federal League.
Over the summer of 1972, preparing for its first ever top-flight campaign, the newly promoted club pulled off a remarkable coup by bringing in eighteen-year-old top prospect Mirza Delibaà ¡iàfrom Sloboda Tuzla, in the process beating out bigger Yugoslav clubs such as KK Partizan for the youngster's signature. The signing was preceded by a year-long recruitment courtship that culminated during the summer. Knowing Partizan already managed to get KK Sloboda's agreement to release Delibaà ¡iÃÂ, Bosna management intensified their direct approach to the player on two fronts â Bosna sports society president Vukaà ¡in "Vule" Vukaloviàmade frequent visits to Delibaà ¡iÃÂ's parents cajoling them with financial terms while the team's young coach, only 7 years Delibaà ¡iÃÂ's senior, essentially stalked the player during his training camp for the upcoming European Championship for Juniors in Zadar, eventually befriending and persuading him that Bosna would be the best fit for him. Furthermore, the club managed to buy out Peà ¡iàfrom Partizan for a DM10,000 transfer fee. Just before the season began, Bosna also brought in Ratko RadovanoviÃÂ, a tall and raw sixteen-year-old from Nikà ¡iàwho hadn't even played organized basketball up to that point, however, liking the teenager's size and motor skills, Tanjeviàbelieved he could be molded into a good player, a move that would pay dividends a few years later.
Playing their debut season in the country's top-tier competition, TanjeviÃÂ's young Bosna team finished in 12th spot (out of 14 clubs) with a 10âÂÂ16 record. Though in the end they avoided relegation comfortably, it wasn't without a fight, at one point recording nine straight league losses, all of which was considered disappointing. Bosna's losing streak included a 77-94 home loss to the city rivals KK à ½eljezniÃÂar (that still managed to gain promotion to the top-tier league despite the previous season's promotion playoff loss due to the league expanding by two teams). The game, first ever meeting of two Sarajevo-based teams in the country's top-tier league, was played on 17 December 1972 in Skenderija's small hall in front of 1,500 spectators due to the main hall already being booked for a commercial fair. During the season's low point, after finally ending the nine-game losing streak, the level of deflation among the team's fans was such that Tanjeviàgot approached by OsloboÃÂenje journalist Kemal Kurspahiàwith an offer of addressing the public directly via an op-ed of sorts in the city's only daily newspaper â Tanjeviàaccepted, penning a piece urging fans not to give up on the team and boldly predicting a league title in the 1976âÂÂ77 season. With the skillful young players on its roster led by the country's most sought-after young talent Delibaà ¡iÃÂ, many expected Bosna to be more than just mere relegation battlers. Delibaà ¡iàwho contributed with 15.8 points per game over the 26-game season, already the target of criticism over his shaky defensive displays throughout the season, publicly admitted disappointment with the team's overall performance as well as his own in particular while expressing confidence that the team still has title potential.
The following season, 1973âÂÂ74, the team made remarkable progress with a 14âÂÂ12 record that was good enough for the 4th spot (their record was identical with KK Partizan and RadniÃÂki Belgrade, but Bosna had a better head-to-head record). It was another historic result because it meant that Bosna would compete in Europe the following season for the first time in its history.
After coaching the Yugoslavia junior national team and winning gold at the European Championship for Juniors during summer of 1974 in Orléans, 27-year-old Tanjeviàwent away to serve his mandatory Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) stint, temporarily handing the head coaching position at Bosna over to Luka StanÃÂiàfrom Valjevo who took over for the entire 1974âÂÂ75 season.
The combination of TanjeviÃÂ's absence and the pressures of playing in Europe reflected badly on team's domestic league performance as Bosna finished the season in somewhat disappointing 7th place with a 12âÂÂ14 record. On the other hand, they posted notable success in the FIBA KoraàCup, making the quarterfinals where they got eliminated over two legs by Ranko à ½eravica's FC Barcelona â after winning by eight points 81âÂÂ73 at home behind VarajiÃÂ's 24 points, Delibaà ¡iÃÂ's 16 (though he fouled out in 32nd minute), Peà ¡iÃÂ's 15, and ÃÂeÃÂur's 13 in front of a 7,000-strong raucous crowd at Skenderija on 5 February 1975, they couldn't hold on to the lead away a week later, losing by fourteen 80âÂÂ66.
With TanjeviÃÂ's return from the army, the team also returned to form, finishing the league in 3rd spot with an 18âÂÂ8 record, just behind Partizan and Jugoplastika.
Having been groomed by Tanjeviàover the previous years for a main role at the center position, the season saw the full maturation of lanky nineteen-year-old Ratko Radovanoviàwho contributed with 13.3ppg, largely joining Delibaà ¡iàand Varajiàas the team's main offensive threats and squeezing center Zdravko ÃÂeÃÂur out of the squad in the process. Though liking ÃÂeÃÂur's hustle and willingness to sacrifice his body, Tanjeviàlargely considered him a liability due to his continual lack of fitness and looked to decrease the team's reliance on him under the basket by bringing up young Radovanoviàwho in addition to better agility also had a height advantage over ÃÂeÃÂur.
Bosna led the league comfortably most of the season. With three games to go until the end, they were top of the table, two games ahead of the second-placed Petar Skansi-coached KK Split (Jugoplastika) that was coming to Sarajevo for a scheduled league game between two teams. Bosna won their previous contest in Split during first half of the season by 15 points. Going into the Sarajevo game, KK Split players seemed conciliatory, already pronouncing Bosna new champion in their press sound bytes. Bosna players, on the other hand, brimmed with confidence having just recorded a big away win versus KK Partizan, another title contender, on their home court in Belgrade. However, in what was something of an upset, KK Split pulled out a notable away win at Skenderija, getting within only one game behind Bosna. Next fixture, second last of the season, saw Bosna go to play KK Zadar away and lose, which combined with Split winning meant a tie at the top. The final week changed nothing as both teams won their respective games, finishing with identical 23âÂÂ3 records.
The league title was thus decided in a single-game playoff at Belgrade's Hala Pionir where despite leading for most of the second half, and even having an 8 point lead with three minutes to go, Bosna ended up losing 98âÂÂ96 courtesy of Damir à  olman's last second buzzer beater â a crushing defeat along with a feeling that they let the title slip through their fingers.
With the pain and frustration of the previous season hanging over the team as it prepared for the upcoming league campaign, TanjeviÃÂ's Bosna parted ways with center Zdravko ÃÂeÃÂur (who had been seeing his role at the five position gradually reduced ever since the ascent of young RadovanoviÃÂ) and point guard VjeÃÂeslav Tolj (local Sarajevo favourite who decided to retire). On the other hand, the squad was set to benefit from the return of shooting guard Svetislav Peà ¡iàfrom his year-long JNA stint.
Bosna began the league season sluggishly, losing unexpectedly in week 3 away at KK Brest Olimpija 80-76. The loss was even more perplexing considering Olympia played without its best player Kreà ¡imir ÃÂosiÃÂ, with its young guards Joà ¾e Papiàand Marko GvardijanÃÂiàoutplaying Bosna's established stars Delibaà ¡iàand VarajiÃÂ. Week 5 brought TanjeviÃÂ's team the chance for revenge for the previous season's panful loss with Jugoplastika arriving to SkenderijaâÂÂin front of packed stands with 5,000 people in attendance, Bosna entered the contest with lots of nerves but managed to settle down in the second half, winning comfortably in the end 92-84 behind Delibaà ¡iÃÂ's 32 points. By week 9, Bosna separated at the top of the league with an 8-1 record; Jugoplastika and Partizan were in close pursuit with 7-2. The league competition paused for two weeks for the annual Balkan Basketball Championship featuring national teams of Yugoslavia, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey. Coming back to league competition, Bosna players again started slow out of the gates in a nervy home game versus CibonaâÂÂdespite leading for most of the contest, Bosna never managed to put away the visitors who, led by Andro Knego, took the lead down the stretch, pulling off a great upset. League chasers Partizan and Jugoplastika thus joined Bosna at the top of the league standings. The leader of the first half the league season would thus be decided in week 12 with Partizan arriving to Skenderija. In a spectacular game in front of 7,000 fans, Bosna took the early lead but the Belgrade visitors came back to overturn the score and win 102-107 with their stars Draà ¾en Dalipagiàand Dragan KiÃÂanovià(who played on four fouls since the 25th minute of the contest) scoring 43 and 34 points, respectively, and securing the leading position halfway through the league season.
The beginning of the second part of the league season began with two uncomfortable and nervy away trips for TanjeviÃÂ's team: first to Valjevo where the Sarajevans barely managed to overcome KK Metalac in the last two minutes of the game and then to Rijeka where KK Kvarner was no less resilient and it took a lot of effort from Bosna stars Delibaà ¡iÃÂ, VarajiÃÂ, and Radovanoviàto pull out a 100-103 win. Jugoplastika beating Partizan in Split allowed Bosna to catch up to Partizan at the top of the league table. Week 17 brought another spectacular game with Bosna travelling to Split for an away clash against old rivals Jugoplastika: with a lot on the line in front of a hostile home crowd at Gripe Hall in a televised event that attracted a large TV audience, the contest featured many lead changes as Jugoplastika led 100-93 few minutes until the end as Bosna managed a 0-10 run and eventually won 108-114. With six games left in the league season, every single week featured great drama. Travelling away to ÃÂaÃÂak, Bosna eked out a 111-118 overtime win versus Borac followed by another difficult away match, this time in Zagreb where they defeated Cibona 89-92. The title was decided in a game that saw Bosna travel to Belgrade to play Partizan on 24 March 1978. The game took place only three days after the same two teams contested the Korac Cup final in Banja Luka and considering Partizan won that game as well as the one back in the first half of the league season, the Belgrade team also entered this contest as a favourite. However, Bosna proved resilient, managing to put in a great performance and lead for most of the game. At the very end with Partizan trailing by two points, Delibaà ¡iàkept his cool to score on two crucial free-throws as Bosna won 102-109 and almost secured the title. For the title to be mathematically secured, Bosna had to win the last game of the league season at home against KK RadniÃÂki on 27 March 1978. Played in front of the sold-out Skenderija packed with 7,000 eager fans, the contest was never in doubt with Bosna up by 17 at the half and eventually winning 110-88 behind VarajiÃÂ's 34 points and Delibaà ¡iàadding 26. In the end, Yugoslav champions Bosna finished the league season with a 23âÂÂ3 record, two games ahead of second-place Ranko à ½eravica-coached KK Partizan's 21âÂÂ5.
Simultaneously, the same two teams made the FIBA KoraàCup final played on 21 March 1978 in Banja Luka's Borik HallâÂÂBosna's first-ever European final. In a game of great quality in front of 6,000 fans, the score at the end of regulation was tied 101âÂÂ101, requiring overtime in which Bosna succumbed 110âÂÂ117 to Partizan team that got a great contribution from its stars Draà ¾en Dalipagiàand Dragan KiÃÂanoviàwith 48 and 33 points, respectively.
The crown of TanjeviÃÂ's rich sporting career came on 5 April 1979, at Palais des Sports, in Grenoble, when KK Bosna, under his command, became the FIBA European Cup Champions (EuroLeague) champions, by winning the 1978âÂÂ79 FIBA European Champions Cup.
TanjeviÃÂ signed a three-year contract with ASVEL in July 2001.
He got fired by the club president Gilles Moretton after only a season in April 2002. The dismissal led to Tanjeviàsuing the club for breach of contract, seeking â¬1.5 million in damages.
In 1974, KK Bosna head coach TanjeviÃÂ was appointed head coach of the Yugoslavia Juniors that ended up winning the gold medal at the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship in France.
Between 1977 and 1980, Tanjeviàwas an assistant coach of the Yugoslavia national team under Aleksandar NikoliÃÂ, Petar Skansi, and Ranko à ½eravica.
In 1981, TanjeviÃÂ was the head coach of Yugoslavia that won the silver medal at the FIBA European Championship in Czechoslovakia.
TanjeviÃÂ was the head coach of the Italy national team between 1997 and 2000.
TanjeviÃÂ was the head coach of the Turkey national team between 2004 and 2013.
TanjeviÃÂ was the head coach of the Montenegro national team between 2015 and 2017.
Since 2016, TanjeviÃÂ has been investing in the energy sector in Montenegro via owning a partnership stake in Barsolar, a Bar-based limited liability company that lists electric power generation, transmission, and distribution as its activities. In addition to TanjeviÃÂ, the other two partners with ownership stake in the venture are the former head of the Montenegrin government's Department for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Sources, Igor KovaÃÂeviÃÂ and Turkish company Consus enerji isletmeciligi ve hizmetleri anonym sirketi.
In late January 2020, the Montenegrin government's Regulatory Energy Agency (REA) granted TanjeviÃÂ's companyâÂÂspecifically, its solar energy facility in BarâÂÂthe status of "privileged energy producer" for the subsequent two-year period. The privileged producer status made the company eligible for public funds earmarked by the government for support of electricity generation from sustainable and renewable sources.
In March 1969, Tanjeviàmarried Jasna SelimoviÃÂ, a basketball player herself who played for à ½KK à ½eljezniÃÂar and à ½KK Voà ¾dovac during her career, even making the Yugoslavia national team. The two met and began dating in Sarajevo while both played within the KK à ½eljezniÃÂar system, for its men's and women's teams, respectively. Their wedding ceremony took place in Belgrade where 22-year-old Tanjeviàat the time simultaneously pursued world literature studies at the University of Belgrade's Faculty of Philosophy and played basketball with OKK Beograd while Selimoviàplayed with à ½KK Voà ¾dovac. The couple has two daughters and a son. Though temporarily residing in different cities throughout Europe due to TanjeviÃÂ's various head coaching jobs, his family's primary residence since 1986 has been in Trieste, Italy.
TanjeviÃÂ's nephew (his brother's son) Bojan Tanjevià(born in 1974) is a Belgrade-born-and-raised basketball agent, formerly, until 2021, associated with the San Marino-based, Luciano Capicchioni-founded Interperformances agency. Bojan TanjeviÃÂ's best-known client is Nemanja Bjelica; his additional or former clients include Vladimir à  timac, Svetislav Peà ¡iÃÂ, Mile IliÃÂ, etc.
In 2006, TanjeviÃÂ came out in support of Montenegrin independence, becoming part of the pro-independence campaign organized by Milo ÃÂukanoviÃÂ's Movement for Independent Montenegro; TanjeviÃÂ's face appeared on billboards urging the citizens of Montenegro to vote 'Yes' at the referendum.
In a 2013 interview for a Slovenian TV station ahead of EuroBasket 2013 being held in Slovenia, Turkish national team head coach TanjeviÃÂ expressed a nostalgic sentiment towards Yugoslavia, stating: "I don't have a country anymore, because my country was Yugoslavia in every sense. Even today I think we were stronger together. My homeland has been stolen. You've got these seven countries now, but I don't have my own and neither do the two and half million of those who used to declare as Yugoslavs. And I used to be an extreme Yugoslav. Literally an extremist".
During spring 2018, Tanjeviàpublicly voiced his support for longtime Montenegrin leader Milo ÃÂukanoviàahead of the upcoming Montenegrin presidential elections via appearing in ÃÂukanoviÃÂ's campaign video: "Being a very political man ever since my youth â I'm reading all the newspapers cover to cover â and having followed the events on the territory of former Yugoslavia in the last 20 years, I think that Milo ÃÂukanoviàis the best, the smartest, and the right man to be the president of the republic. To those who [negatively] bring up Mr. ÃÂukanoviÃÂ's longevity on the political scene, my answer is: 'Imagine the United States of America with Barack Obama in a 16 or 24-year term instead of just 8 and image how much better the world would be. And then give a thought to why the most developed country in the world [the People's Republic of China] is currently in the process of amending its own constitution so that Xi Jinping can remain its leader'".
In late December 2019, Tanjeviàsigned a petition calling on the European Union institutions to condemn the public demonstrations taking place throughout Montenegro against the religious law passed by the ÃÂukanoviàauthorities. Referring to the protests as "a Serbian attempt of returning Montenegro within the same state with Serbia" and "Greater Serbian nationalist attack that's supposed to set the stage for a new attempt of overthrowing the Montenegrin leadership after it had successfully defended itself from the joint Serbia-and-Russia-organized October 2016 coup attempt", the petition calls on the political figures in the international community to condemn "Serbian attempts at destabilizing Montenegro, a country with an unwavering direction for the civil society, Euro-Atlantic integration, protection of minorities, and good relations with its neighbours". The petition further expands to directly point the finger at Serbia's current official political leadership in Belgrade, the Serbian Orthodox Church, and the local Montenegrin oppositional parties for being the "strategists, financiers, organizers, and logistical support providers for the destabilization of Montenegro, which has once again become the victim of the regenerated policies of Slobodan Miloà ¡eviÃÂ". Finally, the petition places the above-mentioned institutions in the same context and continuity with the "Serb genocide, ethnic cleansing, mass war crimes, and crimes against the humanity in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo".
In October 2022, ahead of the elections for the mayor of Podgorica, TanjeviÃÂ expressed public support for the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) candidate, incumbent Ivan VukoviÃÂ.
In late March 2023, ahead of the second round of the 2023 Montenegrin presidential election, TanjeviÃÂ once again expressed public support for Milo ÃÂukanoviÃÂ via appearing in his campaign video.