BarcelonaAndrés Jiménez is a humble former basketball player. He doesn’t even remember where he kept the silver medal from the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. But the Sevillian was one of the great protagonists of Barça’s legendary duels against the Milan Olympics a few decades ago. “The 80s mean the golden age. The word pride it comes to my mind when we review that trajectory. I have a feeling I did a very honest job and I think it served some purpose. I put my grain of sand so that basketball would grow and become the sport it is now. I remember games in which the queue of fans went around the pavilion twice to try to enter “, he tells ARA.
Barça and AX Armani Exchange in Milan share the lead in the Euroleague, where they have only lost one game. This Thursday’s match (8.30pm, DAZN) at the Mediolanum Forum will serve to commemorate a historic rivalry that was born in the 1980s and had its last episode in last season’s semifinals, played in Cologne. “Barça bet on me to win. That a team that had won a sporadic league went on to dominate basketball with four consecutive league titles was spectacular. We won the Korac because at that time we still didn’t play in the European Cup on a regular basis. Then we went on to play it every year, ”says Jiménez.
The winger shared dressing room with such charismatic players as Epi and Nacho Solozábal. His temper was very homely. “We were very flat and discreet people, I don’t know how we would have adapted to today’s basketball. The stars we admired were like that too. Jordan, Bird and Ewing weren’t taking selfies like the players of today do. It was another story, they were humble people who thought about the team, ”he says.
Taking advantage of this Thursday’s match, DAZN is broadcasting a documentary that interviews some players of that mythical rivalry. “Playing against Barça was always a special motivation. We had to increase our own level of effort to achieve victory. We had to be prepared, not only because they were tough, but because they had something special, ”explains Dino Meneghin. “At that time Milan was a team of great quality, they were very good. The proof is that they had an NBA superstar like Bob McAdoo “, argues Ferran Martínez.
“The thorn in our side are the finals of the European Cup that we lost. I don’t see it as a negative thing, but logically I wish I could have that title. I was on a great team to get titles like that, and we were very close to it. I won seven leagues and that’s a pride… There was even that final against Panathinaikos, the illegal cap. I could have retired with this trophy, but despite not having this award I am happy. In Europe we were highly respected and we were practically fixed in the final. I think Barça, who came from not being a regular at the final four, you have to be proud of that stage ”, analyzes Jimix.
A great evolution
When Aíto decided to turn Carmona’s player into a winger, basketball made a decisive leap in its modernization. This new position forced Madrid to spend years and years looking for an anti-Jiménez: Spriggs, Alexis, Rogers, Frederik… “Going to play as a winger was very complicated for me. Although it worked for the team, it was controversial and difficult for me. I had just played from four, both in my previous clubs and in the national team. Although he was versatile, he was not an outside player. My game looked less, but the team got some tactical advantages. Madrid had to assign a foreigner to my position and this allowed us to bet on inside players. That gave us an advantage “, recalls the legendary Barça number 4.
The tactical metamorphosis was not easy. “It was difficult for me to adapt to it because I was very comfortable playing four. There were a lot of league games where I had to defend lower players, and I was having a hard time. This influenced my stats and my individual awards, but I didn’t care because I saw it as useful to the team. I guess it served us to win, which was partly thanks to this tactical innovation. In the selection it offered a more pleasant and attractive version. At Barça, he was fighting for the rebounds and looking to play with his back against players with fewer centimeters “, sums up Jiménez.
