Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv and Coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos penned a three-year extension on Sunday that will keep him on the sidelines for the Israeli champs through the summer of 2023. Sfairopoulos, 52, has been with the club for just over a year and has a 22-14 record with Maccabi. He led Maccabi to the Israeli League championship last season and has his team currently in fourth place in the EuroLeague with a 9-4 record.
"I am very happy to extend the collaboration with such a big historic club such as Maccabi Tel Aviv," Sfairopoulos said. "I would like to thank the owners of Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv for trusting me and giving me the chance to continue to fight for the club's glory."
Maccabi sports director Nikola Vujcic said in a statement released by the club: "I think that signing Coach Sfairopoulos on a long term deal fits our strategy. It shows that Ioannis shares 100% the Maccabi DNA basketball-wise and personality-wise. His connection with the essence of the club, the fans and the Maccabi moto – we always believe and never give up - is Absolute. I'm happy today and I know that our fans are happy too and this is very important for all of us."
Sfairopoulos started coaching as a teenager with Apollon Kalamarias in his hometown of Thessaloniki in 1986. After more than a decade there, Sfairopoulos spent eight seasons with PAOK Thessaloniki, where he became a head coach for the first time in 2000 and immediately reached the Greek League playoffs. Sfairopoulos joined Olympiacos Piraeus as an assistant from 2005 until 2008. After that, he spent three years as head coach of Kolossos Rhodes and two with Panionios Athens, making the Greek League postseason in all five times. Those jobs were separated by one season as an assistant coach with CSKA Moscow. He debuted in the EuroLeague in 2014 with Olympiacos and spent four seasons with the Reds; Sfairopoulos led the team to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Championship Game in both 2015 and 2017. He also won a pair of Greek League titles with the Olympiacos.