Shara from Barcelona – for leaving Žalgiris and crying over Barça’s fantastic offer | Euroleague

This time there was not as much horror as in 2000, when Barcelona director Antonio Maceir invited a young and ambitious Union Olympia player from Ljubljana to dinner and talk about the possibility of playing for a dream team during the series. Euroleague quarterfinals.

So Shar, just 24 years old, trembling with happiness and stunned by the palms he saw as a child, could not believe that opportunity. 20 years later, the next opportunity in Barcelona came very logically.

With modesty “Žalgiriuku” After moving up to third place in the Euroleague and knocking out in the playoffs for the third consecutive year, Šarūnas Jasikevičius received an offer that had been maturing for several years. And to whom he could no longer turn his back this time.

“When Barcelona came up with its terms, I realized that there was not much to think about here. It was probably one of the fastest decisions of my career,” the interview said. 15 minutes Recognized by Shar in Barcelona.

Those conditions never changed around a million. Many European super clubs tried to get Sarah out of Kaunas with tempting sums. However, Šarūnas Jasikevičius always had his own strict criteria, for which the monetary factor did not apply.

But Paulius Motiejūnas, the boss of Žalgiris, felt in vain that, unlike any other summer, the 2020 season for Sharas in Kaunas may be the last. When everything seemed calm, two beasts from the Euroleague – Barcelona and Istanbul – Fenerbahche – fought for the coach.

For Šarūnas Jasikevičius it was very easy to choose Barcelona, ​​but at the same time it was very difficult. Mainly by “Žalgiris”. With the signing of a contract under Catalan pride, the 44-year-old coach was hit by a wave of emotion.

“Those days were very difficult emotionally. We don’t sleep much. <...> I cried when I saw all the videos for myself. <...> Crying and children: they leave their schools, stables, basketball halls “, – 15 minutes Š.Jasikevičius assured.

During the interview in Barcelona, ​​the 44-year-old coach even seemed embarrassed for a moment, as if he survived those four wonderful years on the sideline with the Žalgiris combo board.

Everything happened very fast. Lithuania knew that Shar in Kaunas would not last forever. But when the Lithuanian media, previously lifted by a new wave of basketball, flew after Shar and Žalgiris to all the Euroleague arenas, it was now strange to catch the famous Lithuanian coach at the Barcelona sports base as a local team strategist. .

Introduced to some 40 members of the media and another 20 VIP members in Barcelona at the Auditori 1899 conference center, right next to the Camp Nou and the Palau Blaugrana, Shar began to follow another basketball story, only in Spanish.

Before leaving for his family in Greece, Šarūnas Jasikevičius gave time and interviews on the way to the Barcelona airport. 15 minutes.

– The era of the Shar player in Barcelona began in the spring of 2000, when he was interviewed by the Catalan director Antonio Maceir during the Olympic Games of the Union – Barcelona Playoffs. How Shar-Chief broke up in Barcelona. spark was coach?

– I really didn’t know, as they later officially announced that more and less Pešičius would not be staying at the club. I was not informed of these changes. But when that news came, I felt that Barcelona’s original offer was very strong. I already realized something that this could already happen.

Honestly, now those sparks are diminishing. This is the case when you are a younger player, now there is none. You see this as an opportunity because you know that as a coach you are very dependent on the situations around you. About the people he works with, especially: the players, the budget, the opportunities.

So it was a more childish decision based on emotion. Remember Bars the way you are a little boy. And now this is a good place to work with good opportunities.

You know you will be supported. Everything you asked for was given during the negotiations and showed that you want to be welcome. Those factors were the most important.

We still don’t know much about that situation, but in my opinion the situation in Žalgiris is very optimistic.

– In the summer of 2018, you told El Mundo Deportivo that you did not want to work with lawyers, doctors and lawyers. What did you hear in those conversations with Barcelona this year that you didn’t hear a couple of years ago?

– 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.

– And what was your main wish?

– 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 compelling to work for this club.

– How close were you to moving to Fenerbahce?

– Hard to say. For a time, something happened in parallel. After receiving the first offers and taking them (“Barcelona” – aut.) Given my desire to work with so many people from Kaunas “Žalgiris”, we somehow started to lean towards this side. This is how it came out.

– A.a. his agent Maurizio Balducci has mentioned that he thinks too much in terms of proposals and analyzes at least 20 different parameters. What details occurred to you when choosing between Barça and Fenerbach?

– There were not many details … Especially, there is not much you can do for the players. Many Barcelona players with long-term contracts. But I am happy with the composition.

In my mind, I had created conditions that would leave Žalgiris. It had to be very good conditions, because I was always highly respected in Kaunas. And when Barcelona came up with those conditions, I realized that there was not much to think about here.

It was probably one of the fastest decisions of my career.

– How much did your decision influence the coronary crisis that affected Žalgiris?

– Absolutely not. Absolutely did not have. We still don’t know much about that situation, but in my opinion the situation in Žalgiris is very optimistic.

If we are now talking about the possibility of playing in the full arena “Žalgiris” – the fans, their support and money were very important to us, then if it is the way people speak now, “Žalgiris” will be fiction.

– You have signed a three-year contract with Barcelona. How do you imagine the Barcelona Club in 2023?

– I never look like this. I always live one day. This is life: there is not much to see here.

We will start working. Now there are several things to do: when to start, how to solve it. We interact a lot with the people who seem to come with me and with the people in the club. Much work awaits.

– What will you say to the Barcelona players during the first training session when you put them all together before the season?

– As always, it will be explained that you must first act like normal people.

I think good people understand what are the normal rules of life that we should follow. It is very simple: try to do everything possible for the well-being of the team. Everyone knows it, only sometimes players have to remember it.

But I don’t see any problems, as far as I know, the players, the great people and the great talent. Only everyone will need to absorb each other, and I will squeeze the best qualities out of them, whatever we try to do.

– The team, its caliber and expectations are changing. Will Šarūnas Jasikevičius change?

– I don’t know … Again, everyone must be alone. He does it better. I will stay with me for a while too.

I see that it says there has to be a different kind of communication with the stars. I don’t know, I think that first of all, communication has to be right in front of your eyes, without the curtains, so there are no problems after that. And they never exist if you communicate directly to the eyes. I don’t think those basic things change.

I see that it says there has to be a different kind of communication with the stars. I don’t know, I think that first of all, communication has to be right in front of your eyes, without the curtains, so there are no problems after that.

– Last season, Thomas Walkup, Alex Pérez, Lukas Lekavičius, Rokas Jokubaitis carried out your game on the field, and now you will have probably the most intelligent player in Europe, Nick Calathes, who can brilliantly decide the end of the attack. At Žalgiris, you like game control: how do you strike a balance between a player’s freedom of creativity and the execution of the game plan?

– I think the priority is teamwork, the game plan, our preparation and ideas of what we should do together. Just as each player had to be accessed individually in Žalgiris, it will also be necessary to access here.

This is the job of a coach. I don’t think anything should change much because both coaches and players should be left alone. The key is to find balances between the two sides.

– When you used to form “Žalgiris” from FIBA ​​Champions League players, now you can choose basketball players from a completely different rack. Will the concept change when choosing a Euroleague champion team?

– We are now on the road to self-determination. We are in a situation where we think a lot, we think about where to possibly parish in one situation and drink something in another. It is a path of self-determination.

– You will leave your comfort zone in Kaunas. What do you think will be the biggest challenge for you at this level?

– I’m not thinking about anything now. I don’t think you need to think that way. You just need to start working, first of all, from injury prevention, physical preparation. And then we’ll see how far that team has come, how much it can or can accept new information.

It is not as if you configured something and it is everything. Let’s see how he responds, understands, and if the team can move on. And if not, we go back a bit so we can continue after that.

It is not me who has a very clear plan. The base is there, and then you must look.

– You mentioned that as a player you were not driven by the desire to win, but by the fear of losing. In “Žalgiris” you had a reserve of 9 consecutive losses – despite the failures, the leaders and fans of the club supported you, who did not question your destiny in Kaunas. How much less will be the patience in an organization like Barcelona?

– I don’t know, I can’t imagine it. But I know you really trust me here.

We have had a lot of communication these days and everyone understands the situation. I don’t think the same beginning should be very easy. But just as I always demanded an absolute maximum in Kaunas to go fight for the Euroleague, so it will be exactly the same here.

We will go from game to game and try to beat every opponent.

– I remember listening to the Žalgiris organization, you emphasized not only the good work of the managers, but even the cleaning ones. Will it be necessary to introduce a similar culture in Barcelona?

– I think there is also normal communication with people. We will communicate in the same way that we did in Kaunas. Let’s try to become a family.

It is good for me to meet the majority here, both staff members and virtually all managers. We will try to do it and I don’t think it is much different from working in Kaunas “Žalgiris”.

I think that after changing and organizing things well, Žalgiris will continue to be strong for many years.

– How did you look at the moment you accepted Barcelona’s offer and realized that the stage in Kaunas had ended?

– Nothing, somehow very quickly everything happened. Clearly, there were 2-3 days of crying. I cried when I saw each video for myself (smiles). I am very grateful for such respect. Of course, I am grateful to the city of Kaunas for such respect.

Of course, the children cried: they leave schools, stables, basketball halls … (smiles). The wife somehow reacted more calmly. She will still have to take care of everything. Maybe she is less emotional.

But those days were very difficult emotionally. We don’t sleep much. But life goes on.

– What is waiting for you “Žalgiriukas” in that life now?

– Everything will be fine. Coaches and assistants, I agree, play an important role. But as I always said, they are just a couple of bricks in a house bet.

The organization of “Žalgiris” is fantastic. Very strong with a very strong backing from the city and the state, the arena. I think that after changing and organizing things well, Žalgiris will continue to be strong for many years.