Dimitris Kouimtsidis
BARCELONA basketball legend Sarunas Jasikevicius has been appointed as the Catalans’ new head coach.
The Lithuanian manager was announced yesterday as Barca’s new boss, following the departure of Svetislav Pesic.
Pesic was sacked following Barcelona’s surprise defeat at the hands of Baskonia in Tuesday’s Spanish championship final.
The new Blaugrana coach put pen to paper and signed a three year contract.
The 44-year-old was head coach of Lithuanian club, Zalgiris Kaunas, since 2016 and had guided them to the EuroLeague Final Four in 2018, along with winning the Lithuanian championship five times and the cup three times.
Zalgiris Director Paulius Motiejunas said: “We were trying to keep Sarunas, but the competition for him was unbelievably large.
“We would like to thank the coach for all his work, and we wish him all the best in his career.”
Jasikevicius spent four seasons in total as a player with Barcelona, where he won the EuroLeague title in 2003, along with two Spanish league titles and three Copa del Reys.
His task now will be to lead Spain’s second most successful basketball club to both domestic and European glory, with the Catalans not having been crowned European champions in a decade, with their last title being in 2010.
