Who made the best summer moves? Barca or Madrid?
Last season, El Clasico was played in the Euroleague semifinal and again in the Spanish league Finals with the same result: Barca was overtaken by Real Madrid. Even if the basketball fans and the bookmakers expected that the Blaugrana team will win both encounters, it didn’t happen. Why? Because of many circumstances. Maybe the most important was that Cory Higgins was out for 7 months with an injury. When he returned with the team, he couldn’t help his teammates at 100%. And it’s normal because even a great player needs time to accommodate himself.
Simply, last year Barca didn’t work in the important games. They dominated the regular season both in Euroleague and in Liga ACB but in the end, they failed because they didn’t have consistency. They were like butter on a hot summer day. It started to melt down and the worst thing for Barca is they lost in front of their archrival, Real Madrid.
This summer both clubs made some important signings. Real Madrid brought back the veteran guard Sergio Rodriguez, two young stars, Mario Hezonja and Dzanan Musa and the French guy, Peter Cornelie. Barca signed Jan Vesely, Tomas Satoransky, Nikola Kalinic, Oscar de Silva and Mike Tobey, while they parted ways with some inefficient players like Calathes, Smits, Hayes and so on.
If you look at the roster changes, Barca is the winner of the summer because the names they brought in are most of them, experienced players. The offense improved, the defense improved and I am sure this season Barca has the first chance to win the title in Liga ACB and without a doubt to reach the finals of the Euroleague in Istanbul.
Image credit: FC Barcelona
The article was written by Gratian Cormos, a Romanian journalist, book writer, life coach and mentor currently living in Barcelona, Spain.
If you are interested in collaborating with his website brainbasketball.net, in order to publish articles, interviews or other features related to basketball, contact Gratian Cormos by Whatsapp or Telegram at this Spanish number: +34 612414486.
