The gentle rustle of olive leaves from his own olive grove in the hinterland of Šibenik is one of the favorite sound backdrops for basketball coach Neven Spahija. Given that during almost four decades of his sports career he often listened to the chants of spectators in arenas across Europe, the United States, and China – it is no wonder that in Danilo, a place near his hometown Šibenik, he arranged a special place named "Sound of Silence". There he hides his other, lesser-known side. Spahija, who has coached the first league club Reyer Venezia since 2023, is wholeheartedly dedicated to olive growing, besides his family and basketball.
In this story, the call of his homeland and the rocky land, perfect for planting olives, played a key role. It is not surprising that not far from the land he inherited from his father, about ten years ago he created the perfect place for relaxation and, along with a small olive grove in that area, bought land for another and planted a much larger one, with advice from olive cultivation expert Davorin Pamić.
Recently, he can boast a gold medal for his varietal "S Olive Oil" won at the prestigious World Olive Oil Competition, in March this year in New York. In short, Spahija‘s oil was included in the gold category where the best cold-pressed olive oils in the world are found.
"This is the gold category of oils that I entered with several Croatian olive growers. This year, Croatia, for the first time, ranked second in quality at that competition, after still unrivaled Italy. That is the best proof that we are a very serious olive-growing region," says the 63-year-old former coach of the Croatian national basketball team.
Favorite Tree
When we asked him why he dedicated his moments of rest to an olive grove of 240 trees surrounding his home "Sound of Silence", made from hand-crafted stone – when he could have been "chilling" in Hawaii – Spahija sighed deeply. He could not explain otherwise what that tree of irregular branches and bark whose "knots" sometimes resemble a tightly clenched human fist, whose leaves are medicinal, and whose fruit is precious, means to him as a Dalmatian.
"Whoever grew up in Dalmatia, loves the olive tree. Even in the toughest times, when its branches bend because of storms, there is still fruit. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but always there. To me, the olive tree is a symbol of perseverance and life, and it is also the most beautiful tree in nature. I always knew that, besides working on the court and my career, I would build an estate dominated by the olive tree. I also know that one day, when I have fewer professional obligations, I will fully dedicate myself to olive growing," says Neven Spahija.
To avoid confusion, the romantic notion of this demanding agronomic discipline ends here. The basketball coach left nothing to chance: in addition to the existing thousand square meters of his father‘s land (where the two of them planted about forty olive trees 23 years ago), in 2014 he bought an additional 10,000 square meters for a new olive grove.
He sent soil samples from his land for analysis, which confirmed that this land was also perfect for planting the same local variety, oblica, along with some lastovka (also from Dalmatia) and a few Istrian varieties for pollination. The spacing between the trees is wide so that the grass can be mowed and mulched with a tractor (this is Neven Spahija’s favorite task), and below the ground, pipes for drip irrigation have been installed, which is ideal for olives.
"The trees soak up the sun, they need moderate moisture and peace. I mow around them and enjoy it," he described, in short, the summer situation. He enjoys it while he can because he will soon have to return to Italy, to the team and training, and when harvest time comes, his mother Nevenka and wife Mateja Kos Spahija will take the stage, along with his daughters from his first marriage, Bruna and Nina, and Mateja’s daughter Tija.
"Bruna and her boyfriend Karlo are in charge of bottling and labeling. Nina spends more time in Zagreb, but she is one of the important tasters and consumers, while Tija and Mateja’s and my friends participate in the harvest. On average, we get about 200 liters a year, my wife is the organizer, and her right hand is my mom Nevenka," reveals Neven Spahija, but his Mateja, owner of the Ljubljana marketing company Medimat Creative Solutions, does not agree with that.
Harvest Team
"I am still far from the logistics of olive harvesting in terms of setting up the demanding ‘machinery‘ and placing nets under the trees, because Neven‘s cousin, Miro Spahija, takes care of all that. The most important person is still the 83-year-old mom Nevenka. My task is to organize help from friends: since they are all Slovenians, it is interesting for them to try something new. So, I am in charge of food and drinks and good spirits during the harvest," says Neven Spahija’s wife.
By the way, Mateja designed the visual identity of "S Olive Oil", highlighting the historical background of the area where the oil comes from, the remains of the Danilo Middle Neolithic culture, and when creating the label and box, she added elements of Glagolitic script. The result is an impressive design of carefully selected half-liter bottles and an elegant gift box: they share them with their guests, among whom were Darvin Ham, former LA Lakers coach, Mike Budenholzer from the Milwaukee Bucks, and Taylor Jenkins from the Memphis Grizzlies, former Spahija’s colleagues from the NBA with whom he remained friends.
"The house is located in a place where there is simply no noise, you can only hear silence. Everything else followed that inspiration, the letter "S" as Sound, then Silence, and it is no coincidence that the surname Spahija starts with the same letter. That’s how the decision was made to call the olive oil, which we process in the nearby Brodarica Oil Mill with Danira and her sons, "S"", says Mateja Kos Spahija, who said "yes" to her man from Šibenik three years ago (for whom she now picks olives).
Let us add in conclusion that the basketball coach laughed heartily when we asked him if he would significantly increase production and become an important "player" in the production of premium olive oil.
"We will remain ‘boutique‘ producers. And create oil primarily with our hearts so that we can give it to our friends with the same emotions, if not greater," concluded Neven Spahija.
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