Ibon Navarro Named Crvena Zvezda Head Coach, Replacing Sasa Obradovic

Crvena zvezda turn to Ibon Navarro for the bench

KK Crvena zvezda Meridianbet have a new head coach. Around 2 June 2026 the Belgrade club confirmed that Spanish coach Ibon Navarro, 50, will lead the men's basketball team, ending the search that followed the departure of Sasa Obradovic. The move brings to the Serbian capital one of the most decorated coaches working in European basketball over the past several seasons.

Navarro arrives from Unicaja Malaga, the club where he built his reputation across four highly successful years. His appointment marks a clear statement of intent from a side that competes on two demanding fronts at once: the Serbian and regional domestic scene, and the EuroLeague, where every coaching decision is scrutinised closely.

A change at the top after Obradovic

The hiring closes a chapter under Sasa Obradovic, a name long associated with Crvena zvezda both as a former player and as a coach. Obradovic's exit opened the position that Navarro now inherits, and the club moved to fill it with an external candidate rather than promoting from within. For a team of Crvena zvezda's profile, the head coach role carries weight well beyond results on any single night, shaping the squad's identity and its approach to the longest games of the calendar.

The transition arrives at a point in the offseason when European clubs are reshaping rosters and staff, and securing a head coach early gives the sporting department a fixed reference around which to plan. Crvena zvezda have acted quickly to set that anchor in place.

What Navarro brings from Unicaja

Over four years at Unicaja Malaga, Navarro collected seven trophies, a haul that placed him among the most laureate figures in the club's history. The centrepiece of that run was back-to-back success in the FIBA Champions League, with Unicaja winning the continental competition twice under his guidance. Those titles underline a coach comfortable managing a deep rotation through a packed schedule of midweek European fixtures and weekend league action.

Beyond the European silverware, Navarro's Unicaja sides became known for a structured, high-intensity style and for competing for honours season after season. That consistency, rather than a single standout campaign, is what made him a sought-after name as clubs across the continent weighed their coaching options.

• Age: 50
• Previous club: Unicaja Malaga (four seasons)
• Trophies at Unicaja: seven, including two FIBA Champions League titles
• Replaces: Sasa Obradovic at Crvena zvezda Meridianbet

A competitive race and a buyout

Landing Navarro was not a straightforward matter, and Crvena zvezda were reportedly not the only club chasing his signature. Barcelona and Bayern Munich were also said to be interested, which gives a sense of the level at which the Spaniard was valued on the open market.

Because Navarro still had a year remaining on his contract at Unicaja, Crvena zvezda reportedly paid a buyout of about 300,000 euros to release him from that deal. Paying to break an existing agreement is a sign of how firmly the club had settled on him as their preferred candidate, choosing to invest in the coaching position rather than wait for a cheaper alternative to become available.

Welcomed in Belgrade

Navarro's arrival in the Serbian capital was marked by a reception at Belgrade airport, where a club delegation led by manager Nebojsa Ilic greeted the new coach. The presence of senior club figures at the airport signalled the importance Crvena zvezda attach to the appointment and the start of the working relationship between Navarro and the organisation.

That welcome sets the tone for the work ahead. Navarro now steps into one of the most demanding jobs in the region, with expectations shaped by the club's history and by the standards he set during his time in Spain. The combination of his European pedigree and Crvena zvezda's ambitions will be tested across a long season on multiple competitions.

The wider picture for Serbian sport

The coaching change lands during a busy stretch for Serbian teams across several disciplines, from the national volleyball setup measuring itself against top opposition in the Volleyball Nations League response tests to closely fought encounters such as Serbia taking a set before the USA closed the match in four. Across age groups too, preparation lines are tightening, as seen when Serbia's U20 side edged Slovenia again ahead of a major tournament.

Against that backdrop of activity, securing a coach of Navarro's standing fits a pattern of Serbian clubs and federations planning ambitiously for the seasons ahead. For Crvena zvezda's supporters, the appointment is the first major piece of the new campaign to fall into place, and attention now turns to how the squad takes shape around their new head coach.