A flash of sharks in an unrecognizable Barcelona and a key question unanswered Euroleague

An hour before the press conference, a couple of local operators were already waiting at Auditori 1899. It is a conference venue for special occasions, right next to the Camp Nou football stadium and the Palau Blaugrana basketball stadium.

As soon as they saw the journalist inside, the three center employees diligently put protective masks on their noses. Barcelona returned guests from Lithuania in late April. The Catalan capital returned to a “new normal routine” just a few weeks ago, opening walls, hotels, restaurants, shops and many other establishments of normal life.

The consequences of the coronavirus are obvious here. On the Vilnius-Barcelona flight, only a third to a quarter of the seats were occupied. Barcelona’s most famous street, La Rambla, has never been as empty in July as it was this year. There’s only one other open-air restaurant here, lonely street artists turned into golden sculptures, a handful of illegal vendors, and dark models having their nightly temptations.

Many stores do not raise their windows after opening here. It is strange to see the lights out and the stools on the tables of Starbucks cafes, where the swarm of tourists often pump coffee.

“It just came to our attention then. The locals have long longed for such a Barcelona,” smiles a famous local basketball journalist. Catalans can enjoy their empty capital, which is generally not left alone by the tourist conveyor belt. 2019, three Lithuanians visited Barcelona, ​​around 8.1 million tourists.

On the streets of Barcelona, ​​every second to third passerby wears a protective mask. It is mandatory in stores, on public transport, in all interior areas, along with a safe distance and a limited number of visitors.

Older people are very careful, a rare person who does not wear a mask. According to the number of COVID-19 cases, Spain was the sixth in the world with almost 300,000. According to the deaths, almost 28.4 thousand, seventh.

But more and more passersby put a mask on their elbows to breathe in the fresh air, which now warms to around 27 degrees. Far from even in all closed places like stores, ATMs use guards. A vendor, without even taking his eyes off the Indian series on the YouTube channel, silently without a mask, not to mention protective gloves, withdrew the coins from the register.

Both Šarūnas Jasikevičius and other participants of the press conference at the Barcelona headquarters did not know much about what to do with the mask.

Coming with a mask painted in Barcelona colors, Shar first put it under his nose and then removed it entirely. Unlike the directors of Barcelona, ​​Joan Blade and Nacho Rodríguez, who sat next to him. No wonder: Lithuania and Greece, where Shar has been on vacation recently, have silenced COVID-19 to a minimum and have already returned to normal life. Furthermore, unlike his new comrades, Šarūnas Jasikevičius spoke much more than they did.

A group of people gathered at the Barça organization to hear Shar’s first words.

When the staff of Auditori 1899 opened the list of invitees to the press conference, it would not lie, it had almost one hundred names. Two representatives of the Lithuanian media, including and, also registered for the press conference in Barcelona 15 minutes.

Just before its launch, it was possible to have around 40 representatives of the media, and behind the red bar, 20 participants of the VIP conference. Due to security requirements, they were all planted in huge spaces between the chairs.

“Social distance”, smiled the local journalist when he saw the chairs erected every meter and a half.

Among the audience were also Shar’s new students. Three main team players, Pierre Oriola, Alex Abrines and Leandro Bolmaro, came to hear the thoughts of the future coach. After the conference, they met in front of the cameras and shared their impressions with interest after the new coach’s first public statements.

“I have no doubt that from now on you will give us a lot of joy. Welcome home, Shariah”, Josep Maria Bartomeu, president of the entire Barcelona organization, introduced the new coach of the basketball team at the beginning of the conference press.

A huge image of Šarūnas Jasikevičius hung above the heads of Barça executives. The last time Barcelona introduced such a new coach was so pompous in 2017, when Sito Alonso was introduced to the public. But even the Spaniard greeted the large community of Barça fans from the narrow press conference room at the Palau Blaugrana Arena. Partly due to security requirements and a much more spacious room, this time Shar’s presentation took place in Auditori 1899, a space dedicated to important occasions.

“We found the best coach for Barça,” said the club’s director, Joan Balde.

They all gathered in the middle of the stage and handed the new coach a grenade with the inscription “Shar”. Turning his back on the camera lenses, Šarūnas Jasikevičius kept them safe and smiled. Behind the particle shirt, four Barcelona executives surrounded the Lithuanian.

Before that, the most important men of the Barcelona organization sat at a table in a closed environment to put signatures under a contract that united Sharah with Catalan pride for three years.

This happened about 10 minutes before the official press conference began, behind closed doors.

Incidentally, as soon as the car carrying Shara appeared in the half-empty parking lot of Auditori 1899, operators and photographers rushed through the doors to photograph the main hero of this gathering.

“I want to thank Žalgiris, whom I loved so much and where I experienced so many good things.” It is time for new experiences. I think it was a good time to return to Barça. Jasikevičius spoke excellent Spanish without interrupting. – I am grateful for the trust shown in me. We will try to play victorious basketball here. “

One by one, the Spanish journalists asked Šas Jasikevičius a question.

Interestingly, the microphone was delivered to them remotely. After each question, the user of the microphone sprayed it with disinfectant before putting it in the other interviewer’s mouth.

“I always try to be open with the players. I will be things, I have always been like this. You have probably seen how he worked in Kaunas, ”Shar said.

The 44-year-old Lithuanian did not have to be very strict or open with journalists in Barcelona.

Locals asked easy enough soft questions, which they had to carefully coordinate with the communication representatives of the Barcelona club on the day of the press conference. During the press conference, one of them warned that only Šarūnas Jasikevičius would be asked questions. As it turned out, questions about Svetislav Pešičius’s attraction were taboo.

The most interesting thing for Spanish journalists was the sentence about Pau Gasol, which made headlines in most of the portals. The name of the Spanish superstar is named among the candidates to add to the Barcelona front line in the near future.

“You all know how much I love Pau Gasol. He is a good friend of mine. He would help us, right? Speaking about the 40-year veteran, Shar turned to club director N. Rodríguez with a smile. – But there is nothing official. There are many names in the media, but we don’t have anything specific at the moment. “

However, Šarūnas Jasikevičius did not clearly answer the locals’ question, how his position suddenly changed regarding the management of the Barcelona team.

Speaking at Mundo Deportivo in the summer of 2018, he publicly questioned the leaders of the Barcelona club, emphasizing that he wanted to work with professionals, not politicians or doctors.

The administration of Josep Maria Bartomeu was only due to a change after the 2021 elections at the Barcelona sports base, but the alliance with Sharu took place in 2020.

The monetary factor was certainly not decisive. According to media reports from across Europe, Fenerbahche from Istanbul had put nearly half a million euros a year on the table more than Barça, around 1.5 million.

So what could have changed Shar’s vision of Barça’s leadership in this way?

“It is the most important question for which we do not know the answer. Until now, it is only speculation and nothing else,” said an experienced local journalist, interested in satisfying the curiosity of “Auditori 1899”.

This is a question for which even the surroundings of Fenerbahce camp did not have an exact answer.

However, the beautifully presented Šarūnas Jasikevičius, after receiving this request, did not want to enjoy the old clothes with his new bosses.

“This summer, they did everything they could to make a decision. It was the right time to take this step, and I am very happy about it, “Shar said.

Only after the conference. 15 minutes In the interview given, the Lithuanian was more detailed: “My wishes were taken into account more. If we put all the details together, the coaching staff where we are going shows that they were ready to give me a great opportunity to be good to me here. And he tried to make me feel good here. It was a fantastic offer and also an opportunity to work with great players. I also go back to a club that I know well. I am surrounded by people I have known for 20 years. It is important. The financial factor was also enormous. This is a contract that is much bigger than in Kaunas. I am truly honored everywhere. And that, of course, makes it even more difficult to work for this club. “

Local reporters said they waited a little longer after such a pompous presentation. Shar, for example, has traditionally not commented on rumors of potential rookies in Barcelona and has even avoided talking about Nick Calathes, who has been associated with the Barcelona club and officially terminated his contract with Panathinaikos of Athens a couple of days ago.

Still, it seemed to reporters that there was too much “disinfectant communication fluid” at the press conference: more charm, excitement, and curiosity were missing. Šarūnas Jasikevičius tried to tease him several times, but the men sitting around him seemed quite apathetic. Perhaps this safe distance from COVID-19 did not allow the coach to feel a greater connection to the story pages and storytellers of Barcelona.

Immediately after the press conference, Shara shook several more hands in the VIP sector and ran out to complete the paperwork at the Barcelona base.

Before leaving the Bara sports complex, he gave two Lithuanian journalists time, giving them the opportunity to have a separate interview.

ALSO READ: Sharjah of Barcelona – leaving Žalgiris with tears and a fantastic offer from Barça

Soon after, Šarūnas Jasikevičius flew to the airport, where he hoped to return to his family in Greece. Due to changes in COVID-19 regulations, the coach was unsure if he would be able to return on his own a few hours before the flight.

Behind him, he left the gray “Palau Blaugrana”, which he tried to paint with posters with images of the most famous basketball players, handball players and indoor soccer players. Among the basketball players, these were Nikola Mirotičius, Ante Tomičius, Pau Ribas: the last two are no longer on the Barcelona team rosters.

Only 7.5 thousand. Grandma’s basketball stadium, which is home to spectators and has been counting for almost 50 years, was never fully filled in 2019-2020. season, and according to the general average – 5,977 thousand. Spectators during the Euroleague game were left one and a half behind the activity of Žalgiris fans.

But Shar’s charisma and victories will return the Palau Blaugrana to “grenade” fans, who have not won major titles since 2014. And Barcelona journalists will still hear many famous stories from Šarūnas Jasikevičius.

The new era of Barcelona began on a daily basis, but was coded to become extraordinary.