Quick Facts
Biography
Joan Plaza Durán (b. December 26, 1963) is a Spanish professional basketball head coach for the Liga ACB team Unicaja. He trained Real Madrid Baloncesto for three years, winning one Liga ACB championship, and an ULEB Cup (now called EuroCup) title. In 2009, after a bad season, he was replaced in Real Madrid, by CSKA Moscows successful coach, Ettore Messina.
Coaching career
Joan Plaza began his career with the basketball school founded by him and his brothers, EB Betsaida. At the same time, he worked for the women's team EB Santísima Trinitat, as well as the small club CB Sant Adriá. In 1995, he at last became a new coach of Joventut de Badalona, where he worked as the youth and assistant trainer, until 2004. His greatest achievement was in the 2000–01 season, when his team won the Spanish Under-20 championship.
In the summer of 2004, following the wishes of the new coach Božidar Maljković, Plaza switched to Real Madrid. When the Serbian coach left after a disappointing season, Plaza assumed the position of head coach.
In the following season, Real Madrid won their first thirteen Liga ACB games in a row, giving Plaza a new record for a coach in his first season. The team also won the European-wide ULEB Cup (now called EuroCup) competition, and he was named the AEEB Coach of the Year.
In the 2007–08 season, Real Madrid signed Greek star Lazaros Papadopoulos, who failed to perform well during the whole season. The team lost in the first round of the Liga ACB playoffs, and didn't reach the EuroLeague Final Four for the 12th consecutive year. Madrid's 2008–09 season's team was reformed, but failed once again to reach the EuroLeague Final Four, or to perform well in the Spanish Cup. After losing in the Liga ACB playoffs' second round to TAU Cerámica, Plaza was sacked, and he was replaced by the 4 time EuroLeague champion head coach, Ettore Messina, on June 18. The following day, he signed a one-year contract with the Spanish club Cajasol Sevilla.
Personal
Most American sports fans heard of Plaza for the first time, on January 11, 2010, when he was featured on the humor web site, "Totally Looks Like", shown next to a picture of Steve Carell, sporting a beard.
Honours
- Real Madrid
- ULEB Cup (1): 2006–07
- Liga ACB (1): 2006–07
- Individual
- AEEB Coach of the Year: 2007
- ACB Best Coach: 2008