03/21/2024 Act. at 16:05 CET
It was one of the games marked in red on the calendar. The arrival of Saruns Jasikevicius to Fenerbahçe came a few days after the Turkish team faced Barça in the first round of the regular phase of the Euroleague. A defeat, for 89-81, that ended up condemning Dimitris Itoudis, and which marked the arrival of the Lithuanian coach to the Istanbul bench, in his second stage after having played in 2011.
The truth is Jasikevicius has changed the face of Fenerbahçe that with Itoudis he erred on the side of excessive irregularity, and that in a season of such equality as the one we are experiencing this year, it could jeopardize the participation of the Turks in the qualifying rounds prior to the Final Four of the Euroliga. The bet on the former Barça coach, for the moment, has gone well, and ‘Fener’ finds himself, fully deservedly, in the group of great favorites to lift the title continental in Berlin next May.
‘Saras’ breaks his silence
After his departure from the Catalan team last summer, after failing to reach an agreement to renew his contract, Jasikevicius had kept silence, Although it is true that he had already left hints about his discontent with the leaders of the Barça entity, with whom a good outcome was not reached to extend his continuity on the bench. A secrecy that was broken last week, after granting a interview with Piti Hurtado at the Movistar microphones, in which he gave his version of what happened: “Barça is a complicated club, I was very disappointed with my bosses, because of how the treatment was during these three years. I have suffered a lot inside,” commented, among other issues.
A cordial reunion
The Fenerbahçe – Barça this past Wednesday, which ended with a local victory 88-74, It was the first time the two parties had seen each other. And as SPORT has learned, The cordiality marked the reunion between Jasikevicius and the club. The Barça expedition arrived at the Ulker Sports Hall an hour and a half before the start of the match, at which time the players of both teams received the final instructions, both from ‘Saras’ and from Roger Grimau.
Much love to Roger Grimau
It was after those last talks when Both coaches met on the court and greeted each other and hugged each other, while his players performed warm-up exercises. There was time to have a quick chat, in which Jasikevicius also took the opportunity to greet members of the Barça staff, some, present in the Lithuanian’s coaching staff during his time as Barça coach.
The affection with his former players
It wasn’t the only ones he greeted, since after the final horn, in the traditional greeting between the members of the two teams, Jasikevicius also took the opportunity to greet some of his former players. James Nnaji, who had minutes in the game, got a smile with some comment after the crash, while with Tomas Satoransky, one of his ‘requests’ for last season, there were also many displays of affection and a big hug. This newspaper has not been able to confirm if there was a reunion with Mario Bruno Fernandez, sports director of the team, present in the pavilion.
Many familiar faces
Fener – Barça was a match with familiar faces and a past in both teams. Jan Vesely y Nikola Kalinic They returned to Istanbul, and the sold-out crowd for the match received them with a loud ovation, as well as Fenerbahçe himself with a video reviewing the plays of both during their time in the Ottoman team. There were also many displays of affection from Nick Calathes, Sertaç Sanli and Nigel Hayes-Davis towards his former Barça teammates. The American forward, who was the ‘MVP’ of the match, He met former members of the Barça staff in the hallways, with whom there was also an exchange of affection.
Jasikevicius, the great idol of Fenerbahçe
The transcendence and relevance that Sarunas Jasikevicius has taken on in Istanbul is maximum, and ‘Fener’ fans showed their love for the Lithuanian coach with one of the most striking ‘tyfos’ that can be remembered in the current campaign, and which had ‘Saras’ as the protagonist.
After the presentation of the players, an image was raised in one of the backgrounds that had ‘Yellow’, the club’s mascot, and Marko Guduric on either side, as Jasikevicius in the center with the Euroleague title in his hands, with the Brandenburg Gate in the background, one of the emblems of Berlin, home of this season’s Final Four.
2024-03-21 14:52:32
#reunion #Barça #Jasikevicius
