According to the information coming from Barcelona, it seems that FC Barcelona has decided to take a turn, cut expenses and create another model, perhaps seeking to resemble the work that “its great rival”, Real Madrid, does in the EBA League . In the absence of official confirmation, everything indicates that the culé team would renounce its place in Gold and would seek to play in EBA, performing up to two swaps for it (Força Lleida – Barça and Cornellà – Barça).
Related: Força Lleida completes the exchange of Barça Square in the next LEB Oro – La Manyana
The blaugrana have accumulated a decade in the LEB leagues since they decided on their own subsidiary, the 09/10 being the last with a linked team, Cornellà, which ended with a decline from Gold. Since then, many players have gone through the ranks of the Barcelona team. Now, we look back at that long list.
Season 10/11
LEB Silver – 10º
With players like Lluís Costa, Josep Pérez, Joan Creus, Ablaye Mbaye or Carles Marzo, the pillars were Iván Garcia, with a long history in FEB leagues, and the foreigner Reggie Larry.
Season 11/12
LEB Plata – 5º
Under the baton of Borja Comenge, the aforementioned players of the 10/11 grew, the team experiencing the stellar irruption of a Marcus Eriksson who arrived from Manresa.
Season 12/13
LEB Oro – 10º
The economic crisis opened a hole for him in Gold. With Alzamora and Matalí as “teachers”, it was time for the Häkanson, Eriksson, Spiers and Paulí, who were accompanied by Pérez and Mbaye, as well as a star of the caliber of Mario Hezonja, future NBA in a few years.
Season 13/14
LEB Oro – 13º
After achieving permanence the previous campaign, he could not repeat it in this one. Players like Marc García grew up in roles, Ferran Laviña was the “teacher” and players like Stefan Peno and Emir Sulejmanović arrived.
Season 14/15
LEB Plata – 13º
The descent gave way to new generations, but it was not the best season. Néstor Zamora was the chosen veteran, Häkanson was the general captain, players like Peno, Đedović, Omeragić and Drašković grew with minutes. Mbaye was still in the ‘five’ and we began to see the first stable appearances of Figueras, Mazaira, Eric Vila, Ramon Vilà, Sorolla or Esteban.
Season 15/16
LEB Oro – 12º
Once again, he went back to Gold in the dispatches: the league of 14 opened a gap to Miraflores and so that it was not an odd league, Barça signed up, having to re-draw a calendar that had already been published. It was the time of the “decretazos” because yes. With Alfred Julbe on the bench, the veterans were none other than Jaka Lakovič and Luboš Bartoň, two players with extensive pedigree. Together with them, young people in full splendor like Peno, Marc García, Sulejmanović and an always constant Mbaye. The force came from Eric Vila, Ramon Vilà, Atoumane Diagne, Mazaira, Font, Figueras, Esteban or a beardless Sergi Martínez.
Season 16/17
LEB Oro – 14º
For those who do not remember, it was the season in which Julbe’s men were down and with a stroke of the pen they removed Dago Peña and Volodymyr Gerun from their teams (Coruña and Clavijo, respectively) to strengthen the team and achieve permanence. The Dominican and the Ukrainian joined veterans like Trias and a Víctor Sada who gave his last blows. Along with them the Peno, Font, Diagne, Figueras and Esteban enjoyed minutes, which Sergi Martínez also enjoyed. In addition, two players to follow: Arnas Velička (with a European career after arriving with the vitola of great promise) and none other than a player like Rodions Kurucs.
Season 17/18
LEB Oro – 12º
Generational change, but Julbe did it again and the team remained despite its youth. Aleix Font and Pol Figueras took the reins in the backcourt, Marc García returned to the subsidiary after his time at ACB to regain confidence, and the Đedović, Esteban and Sergi Martínez were needed. Inside, Gerun and Diagne were basic, but the rookie American Denton Koon disappointed; in addition, first appearances of the junior Luka Šamanić before leaving, whereas Rodions Kurucs played minutes between the subsidiary and the first team (losing a little) before making the jump in summer to the NBA.
Season 18/19
LEB Oro – 17º
Diego Ocampo came to the bench and could not work the miracle with a very young squad against an increasingly tough and competitive Gold. To the backcourt A Leandro Bolmaro arrived that was a breath of fresh air, but neither a perennial injured Kári Jónsson, nor Tyler Rawson nor Jaime Fernández gave what was expected of them. Figueras, Aleix Font, Sergi Martínez, Esteban and Diagne were the backbone, with Tom Digbeu appearing steadily before going to Lithuania and Nikola Žižić and David Font slipping into the second unit.
19/20 season
LEB Plata – 6º
The descent made for a total face lift. Ocampo was still on the bench, leading a team that would progress individually. Only David Font, Žižić and Jaime Fernández followed. Players like Bolmaro and Sergi Martínez stood out in Silver every time they played, although they had their minutes in the first team. Several U22 reinforcements arrived such as Quentin Goulmy, Juani Marcos and Brancou Badio, while with the season started, Lluís Costa (after his bad experience in Hungary) and Jaume Sorolla (NCAA) arrived. In addition, players like Carreño, Badji or Tendero pressed from below. The culés could not fight for the promotion after canceling the remainder of the campaign due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Season 20/21
LEB Plata – 2º
The team was put in the hands of Mateo Rubio, an experienced coach who managed to have an enormous season. A compact team that Iraurgi defeated in the Cup and in the championship crossing, although they clearly achieved promotion via the playoffs. Sergi Martínez was at key moments, with a lot of presence in the first team, but the pillars were Juani Marcos, Ibou Badji and Brancou Badio, with reinforcements Dídac Cuevas, Xabi Beraza and physicist Junior Saintel. Jaume Sorolla, Quentin Goulmy, Pau Carreño and David Font also had their moments; there was room, although not in a big way, for juniors like Michael Caicedo, Agustín Ubal, Gael Bonilla and James Nnaji.
We are talking about a total of eleven seasons in LEB leagues where they have always fought, going through their ranks from European stars who are / will be NBA (Hezonja, Kurucs, Šamanić, Bolmaro) to consolidated players in ACB (Marc García, Sergi Martínez, Sulejmanović, Häkanson, Spiers, Gerun, Font), with others with a career in Europe (Peno, Eriksson, Digbeu) or in Gold (Costa, Pérez, Mbaye, Đedović, Figueras, Dago Peña), without forgetting those who practically gave their last blows before leaving professional practice (Laviña, Lakovič, Bartoň, Sada).
The resignation to play in Gold reflects a change that many teams have already made before. Clearly it is difficult to play the Gold with a block of young players; and already in Silver the Blaugrana subsidiary had several players already with some LEB years behind them. However, the change from Silver to the current EBA is drastic and this is not like the one of yesteryear, lowering the level as the number of teams increases.
In the absence of official confirmation, we will have to see the structure of a team that could lead Roger Grimau, whose name has sounded on the networks. It seems that there will be an end of the cycle for players like Cuevas, Beraza, Badio, Marcos, Font, Saintel, Goulmy and Sorolla; and it will be necessary to see in what situations are players like Pau Tendero or Pau Carreño. It would be necessary to know cases like that of Ibou Badji, who could go out on loan or, instead, stay thinking about the first team (if the NBA draft does not change his fate). From Junior, one of the best projects of the quarry could come up, such as Michael Caicedo, like the Latin men Agustín Ubal and Gael Bonilla; all three have had minutes in Silver and close the junior stage. Iñaki Órdoñez and Ian Granja also become seniors. In addition, the generation of 2004 can play at EBA quietly; we talk about the Villar, Martín Iglesias, Aaron Ganal, Ricardo Martín, Teodor Simić and James Nnaji. All this, in the absence of some reinforcement with which they always surprise us.
