VilaWeb - Diari escola: Barça: Euroleague champions

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dimecres, 24 d'abril de 2024

> Their second Euroleague title

> Success for Navarro, Ricky and the whole team

> Xavi Pascual, the Guardiola of basketball

dimarts, 11 de maig de 2010

It had been said for some time that they were the best team in Europe. Now, they have the title to prove it: the Euroleague. We are, of course, talking about FC Barcelona.

Indeed, they have just won the Final Four in Paris after comfortably beating Greece's Olympiacos 86-68 in the final. Barça had earlier beaten CSKA Moscow by ten points (64-54) in the semi-final.

Barça won the title by playing a game that was brilliant, fast, defensively solid, and efficient in terms of attack. All this was after having displayed their superiority throughout the entire season, winning 20 of their 22 Euroleague matches.

Yesterday, the team held an emotional and joyous celebration of their win with the fans at the Palau Blau-Grana.

After winning the Euroleague (the most important club title in Europe) Barça are hoping to win the Spanish League, which they are currently leading. If they do so (something that is certainly possible for this truly exceptional team), they will have won all this season's titles.

Their second Euroleague title

+ Roger Grimau lifts the Euroleague trophy.

Since 1988, the Final Four includes the best four teams in Europe, which fight it out for the Euroleague title. Prior to the 2010 final, Barça had played in nine Final Fours: 1989, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2009. However, surprisingly, they had only won once, in 2003, when they beat Benetton Treviso (76-65) at the Palau Blau-Grana. That team included Joan Carles Navarro, who is considered to be one of the finest basketball players in Europe.

Success for Navarro, Ricky and the whole team

+ Navarro is considered to be one of the finest basketball players in Europe.

Known as 'La Bomba', Navarro returned to Barça in 2008, after a season in the NBA in the US, which is regarded as the best league in the world. Navarro is the side's main player, alongside Ricky Rubio, an exceptional basketball player aged just 19, who came from Joventut de Badalona this year. However, although they are excellent, the success of Barça cannot be attributed only to them. It is down to the whole team, a team that expertly combines talent, effort, quality and commitment.

Xavi Pascual, the Guardiola of basketball

+ Barcelona head coach Xavi Pascual.

A significant part of Barça's success is down to the coach, Xavi Pascual, who was born in Gavà (Baix Llobregat) in 1972. Pascual has been involved with the team since 2004, became first team coach in February 2008 and, since then, has won six titles, including the League, the Cup and the Euroleague. He has been compared to the football team's manager, Josep Guardiola, who last year won all the competitions the team played in. Both of them were trained at Barça and are known to be shrewd and hard-working; they favour a spectacular, visually-appealing style of play.

MATERIALS

Euroleague Basketball
Format:Web
Pàgina oficial de l'Eurolliga.
Campions d'Europa
Format:Web
Especial del FC Barcelona.
Euroleague's Channel
Format:Web
Canal de l'Eurolliga a YouTube.
Olympiacos Basketball
Format:Web
Vençut pel Regal FC Barcelona a la final de l'Eurolliga.
El Regal Barça arriba per onzena vegada a la Final Four
Format:Web
Vídeo de VilaWeb TV que repassa la trajectòria europea del Barça (7 de maig).

QUE HO SABIES?

At age 37, Xavi Pascual is the youngest coach to have won the Euroleague.
Joan Carles Navarro was voted best player in the final, scoring 21 points.
Two Catalan clubs have won the Euroleague: Barça and Joventut de Badalona, which won the title in 1994.