The former national team and Real Madrid player will receive the Maria de Villota Award in the Sports Career category
“Spain is in a moment of renaissance; in two or three years we will be green again”
Madrid, September 28 (European Media) –
Former Spain basketball player Fernando Romay believes the national team is in a moment of renaissance that will surely bring new success, having set out on his own path 40 years ago and following in the footsteps of the “Michael Jordan of Spain” In the footsteps of Pau Gasol.
It is with “excitement and pride” that Romaj will receive the Maria de Vilotta Award from Racquet City in the Sports Career category. “I was very excited that it was bestowed upon me because of my admiration for Emilio, Maria’s legacy, in addition to its many other family connotations. I was delighted to receive it, but I was embarrassed to pick it up and see He admitted in an interview with organizers that the honors and “the people who have received this honor before me”, Euronews reported.
With his usual sense of humour, the Spain international does not boast about his record, which includes a silver medal with his country at Euro 1983 and the Olympics a year later, eight league titles and two European Cups with Real Madrid . “It’s a huge joy. The jury has reached its verdict and in this case, choosing me was a huge mistake,” he said with a smile.
“I’m lucky to have some very good teammates. The record is the result of having a good team. That’s why I think we have to value the team concept. Working together can achieve something. I have to thank them a lot because they gave me This record and a lot of other important things in my life, like developing a character or feeling admiration for the people around me,” he added.
Basketball teaches us the importance of being surrounded by a good team, which is a wonderful thing to remember in life. “What’s lost is recognition. We live in a world that trusts individuals more than joint assessments, but we all know that if we don’t walk with the people around us, we’ll never get far.” … That’s what I say about Michael “What Jordan said: ‘If you want to go faster, go alone, if you want to go further, work as a team,'” he recalled.
Romaj looks back on this great career, mentioning in particular the Olympic silver medal that “has been unsurpassed since the first Spanish Youth Championship” without forgetting anything. People started to take pride in what the national team was, what the national team was, discovering basketball. People took to the streets and started dribbling. This is a bombshell, we don’t know what’s going on here,” he said.
In that final, Spain faced some of the best players in history, including Michael Jordan. “We watched him play before the Olympic finals, but it wasn’t just him. We were looking at UNC and we saw them play. You see them playing against posters in your house and it scares you. The ’84 team had some players who are among the 50 best in NBA history,” he recalled.
For Romaj, the Spanish Jordan is clear. “Without a doubt, Pau Gasol. We have to bow to Gasol’s overwhelming record. It’s an impressive thing, but I also like a lot of players from my era, like Cobalan or Fernando. Martin, they mean a lot to our basketball,” he explained. His generation was the pioneer in attracting Spanish fans.
“We have achieved a milestone that almost no team has achieved, like when basketball postponed the Copa del Rey football final, the famous final between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona in La Romeda. Basketball transcends football” Such was the national team’s “passion and desire at the time. If there’s anything about basketball, it’s the ability to regenerate,” he said.
“We come from a glorious team with Gasol, Navarro, Felipe Reyes, and even now we have players like Rudy, Llull, Hernangomez. Plus. The Sauls are leaving, and a generation that makes our mouths water is coming: Garubas, The Almansa, Aday Mara, Núñez, all these names that come from behind may not sound like much, but soon we will have golden letters at the top. We are in a period of renewal. In two or three years we will be crowned again,” he added.
Additionally, Romaj remembers the character he learned at Real Madrid. “It’s education and it’s team education. I remember, as a junior, I came to the training ground with the news that Barcelona had lost a league game. I was very happy. When I walked into the locker room, a veteran Vicente Ramos, told me, he told me: “If you are happy for what others do instead of what you do for yourself, then you are a double idiot. Do your job first and then you’ll see if you’re happy with what others are doing,” he admits.
The former Real Madrid player recognized the great final season Real Madrid had under Jus Mateo and cherishes the current campaign. “Madrid is teaching a basketball lesson, it’s playing with tall players like Tavares, which other teams haven’t done. It’s also teaching us a lesson about players like Llull or Rudy What commitment is required from the players. And it’s probably the team that has the most players. “Players are being taken from the quarry of the ACB league,” he noted.
“There are no limits in Madrid. Limit below, don’t disappoint. That’s the tension. To make people happy, that’s very demanding. This year, we’ve started by winning the Super Cup,” Romaj concluded. , who enjoys being an ambassador for the Spanish Basketball Federation (FEB), “creating value, generating hope and working to launch 3×3, which is the future of basketball.”