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“I insist all the time that it will be difficult to get me out of here.” It may be necessary to kick two legs out the door unless there is something very impressive, ”Šarūnas Jasikevičius told reporters a year ago, when in the Euroleague quarterfinal series Žalgiris 1-3 landed for basketball players from the Fenerbahche in Istanbul.
“Something impressive” happened this summer, when the 44-year-old man from Kaunas was first moved by the same “Fenerbahče” who lost Željko Obradovičius, and then – Barcelona, who lost the Spanish championship final and launched Svetislav Pešičiai.
The summer was very tempting for the legendary variant of the Turkish club, but could no longer reject the Catalan offer. This is the team of your dreams.
The specialist’s love for the city of Barcelona and the team was born 20 years ago, when he signed a contract with the Club of Catalonia in 2000 and won the first Euroleague champion title in his career in 2003.
A budget of over 40 million euros, a one million dollar reward for three years, living in a dream city and the opportunity to fight for first place in all tournaments.
Who could reject that?
New and even bigger challenges await Š.Jasikevičius at the Barcelona club, but in Kaunas he leaves such a brilliant impression that it will be almost impossible to beat any new coach.
The legendary player of the Lithuanian national team, who ended his professional career in his native Kaunas in 2014, wore a suit and became Gintaras Krapikas’ assistant in “Žalgiris”.
Another year and a half later, when the door was shown to the predecessor, Š. Jasikevičius took the drawing board in his hands and led the team for more than four years, until he finally received an irresistible invitation from Barcelona.
“Žalgiris” near Shar has become not only a winning organization, but an attractive one as well, as a magnet has attracted new basketball players and given them wings at an even higher level.
This period is the most successful for Žalgiris in this century.
From third place in the Euroleague and the constant balance on the Top 8 border, to dominance on the local front: five of the five titles of the Lithuanian Basketball League and three of the five King Mindaugas Cups.
The most important change is the team’s changed mindset, which began to attract fans to the arena on the island of Nemunas.
“Žalgiris” became dangerous, and Kaunas was the hardest arena for all competitors.
Erik Ovcharenko / 15min photo / Time of the match
An army of green and white fans became a serious back for Žalgiris, which not only generated fear and excitement for the opponents, but at the same time contributed to the financial well-being of the club.
The green and white wallet expanded each year until the insidious COVID-19 pandemic, reaching 11.9 million euros last season.
If in Shara’s first season in Kaunas, according to attendance at the Euroleague, the people of Žalgiris were only slightly behind the fans of Vitorija “Baskonia”: 11,418 against 11,633 spectators, and three years later they had no rival in this category. .
In the 2017-2018 season, an average of 13,560 spectators gathered at the Žalgiris Arena, in the 2018-2019 season – 14,808, and in the 2019-2020 season – an average of 14,221 fans watched Kaunas matches at home in the Euroleague. .
Š.Jasikevičius and the company thanked the company for such support after each match, and the competitors also showed respect.
Some of them emphasized the difficulty of playing in such an atmosphere, others explained that it provides the most motivation and wings.
The fact is that there was no indifference to this phenomenon.
“It looks like the team is made up of professionals, but this season I haven’t seen them as disturbed as they are in the first half today.” I can tilt my head in front of Žalgiris fans due to the atmosphere they created. I think some players didn’t deal with it today, “said Rimas Kurtinaitis, coach of the Moscow” Chimki “region, after losing in Kaunas last February.
Photo by Rokas Lukoševičius / 15min / Šarūnas Jasikevičius
It was difficult for everyone to overcome the “Žalgiris” led by Š. Jasikevičius, whether they were playing on a trip or at home.
In 140 Euroleague games, Shar won 66 wins and suffered 74 losses. If we count the results only in the last three seasons, the balance is positive: 50 wins and 48 losses.
Žalgiris, who competed competitively in Europe, scalped the greats and established himself among the teams that set goals for playing in the playoffs each year.
In the first full season, Sharo’s troops finished in tenth place, second in third, third in eighth, and last, which was stopped by the COVID-19 pandemic, in ninth.
The victories were very resounding.
The blow to the CSKA team in Moscow was memorable when Š.Jasikevičius saw the victory 79:74 in the dressing room due to a disqualifying foul.
This was Žalgiris’ first victory against the Russian giant after 17 consecutive defeats.
“Congratulations to my team, staff and fans. We have been waiting for this fundamental victory for a long time. This can only be accomplished with good workouts. It is a fantastic victory. Show what devotion was. This is a fantastic night, “said Š.Jasikevičius.
VIDEO: Highlights: Zalgiris Kaunas-CSKA Moscow
The quarterfinal series with Piraeus Olympiakos was fantastic when Žalgiris, illuminated by green and white painted stands, ate a 3-1 walnut and reached the Euroleague four final for the first time this century.
The magic didn’t end next season either, when the Kaunas players, who took over the regular season, finished with six straight wins and reached the quarterfinals again.
The last victory of the regular season was won in Madrid. This is the only victory in the Royal Fortress in the history of the modern Euroleague.
“Now I’m thinking about how good it is to go to celebrate,” Šarūnas Jasikevičius joked when asked what is on his mind after the dizzying end of the regular season with six straight wins. – Honestly, it’s a lot of fun … I know Kaunas is celebrating, many fans in Lithuania are celebrating …
I think this is a great step for our organization. We need to be happy with that and appreciate what is happening. It should be understood that such things are only possible when you have players with a great character who continue to strive, work and without breaking. And the moments of this year were very difficult. Especially after a season like last year, when everyone’s expectations increased. “
VIDEO: Kaunas “Žalgiris” on the way to the playoffs
The 2019-2020 season started very hard, it looked like it would be Saro’s first pancake in Kaunas, but the specialist who gained extraordinary confidence survived a series of nine losses and then embarked on another magical assault.
Demonstrating the impressive effectiveness of the attack, Žalgiris won 9 of 12 games and combed his hair on the third consecutive visit to the Euroleague playoffs.
Although the Lithuanian champions showed great ambitions, Shar bass Žalgiris’s last match in the Euroleague ended in a painful defeat during overtime in Saint Petersburg. During Š.Jasikevičius’s 44th birthday.
Photo by Josvydas Elinskas / 15min / Brandon Davies
During the Shar era, “Žalgiris” became a center of attraction for players looking to improve, show off and shoot at an even higher level.
No basketball player in a green and white uniform signed a lucrative contract.
He became a classic of the genre each season in “Žalgiris”. Players who have felt such a successful story can be named and named.
Kevin Pangos, a Canadian player who played in Kaunas for two years and led Žalgiris to the Euroleague four final, not only jumped to the symbolic second team of the tournament, but also received a generous invitation from Barcelona.
Brandon Davies, called Sharos, went to Catalonia as the best center of all time “Žalgiris”, not counting Arvydas Sabonis.
The center, which has become a fan favorite in Kaunas, has joined the first team of the Euroleague season, and next season will join forces with the Barcelona club coach.
Frenchman Leo Westermann successfully increased his value at Kaunas twice, after the first season he went to CSKA in Moscow, and after the second, to Fenerbach in Istanbul.
Other basketball players also made impressive jumps: Serbian universal Vasilije Micičius traded “Žalgiris” for “Anadolu Efes” from Istanbul, to which Australians Brock Motumas also moved.
Lukas Lekavičius, who took Shar’s lessons, became a player for the Panathinaikos in Athens, Aaron White, a member of the Milan Olympics, Axel Toupane went to Piraeus Olympiacos, Deon Thompson – Unicaja of Malaga and Nate Wolters – to Tel Avivo Maccabi.
Working with Šarūnas Jasikevičius put a quality seal on the players’ backs, which greatly attracted the great clubs of the Old Continent.
Rokas Lukoševičius photo / 15 minute photo / Shar “hot” in the match with the “Olympia” in Milan
High level understanding of basketball, agile reaction to events on the field, authority and ability to demand the details desired by the players, and charisma that does not fit in the huge arena “Žalgiris”.
The feeling is that everything Shar touched in Kaunas turned to gold.
“This club is one of the best in Europe. Many in Europe admire” Žalgiris “. If the players or coaches leave the team, it is only part of the pyramid. There is no possibility that Žalgiris will return to the situation he was in. 5 years ago. The organization is too strong now, “after Šasikevičius spoke after entering the Euroleague final in 2018.
As Paulius Jankūnas said, all good things will one day end.
Shar will strive to make his dreams come true in Barcelona, at which time Žalgiris will try to realize the experience gained during this year.
But there is a feeling at the heart that this was not the last union of the White Greens and Š. Jasikevičius.
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