Barcelona has already removed the daisy from the bench after firing Roger Grimau at the beginning of the week, who had a blank season and was eliminated from the semi-finals of the ACB League with an expressive 3-0 against Real Madrid. Although there were other options such as Xavi Pascual or Jaka Lakovic, the Barça entity has opted for Joan Peñarroya, 55 years old, and with extensive experience on the bench, as well as on the parket as a player. The contract is until 2026.
The basketball manager, Juan Carlos Navarro, was clear that the name was Pascual, since he had him as a coach on the team that won the last Euroleague (2010). But the club’s financial difficulties have not even allowed there to be an offer, since the coach earned around two million net annually at Zenit Saint Petersburg. And although the coach was willing to lower his salary, the differences were abysmal. With Peñarroya, who was unemployed, everything has been much simpler and direct, to the point that in a few days the agreement was closed.
̃, 💙❤ pic.twitter.com/i4vVcRxxeV
— Barça Basket (@FCBbasket) June 14, 2024
After finishing his time as a player – the eleven seasons at Manresa stand out -, Peñarroya started on the bench in the EBA League with Olesa (2006-09) and Navàs (2009-10). But the leap was made with Andorra, where he stayed eight seasons (2010-18) and went on to play two seasons in the LEB Plata, another two in the LEB Oro and four more in the ACB. After that journey, he went to Manresa for one season and was followed by San Pablo Burgos for two seasons, in which he won the Basketball Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup (2021). A year later he took the reins of Valencia, with which he reached the semi-finals of the Eurocup, and was followed by Baskonia, with whom he spent a year and a half, fired due to poor results so that Dusko Ivanovic took over. With all this, he has more than 300 games in the ACB and now the opportunity has arrived for a golden bench, for a Barcelona that he hopes will not repeat the fiasco of the previous year.
With the incorporation of Peñarroya confirmed, the sports area is now working hard to renovate the locker room, since it is known that Kalinic and Jokubaitis, among others, will not continue in the team. For the moment, Juan Núñez is waiting to know the position in the next NBA draft (June 26 and 27) to see if his short-term future involves the North American league or continuing in Europe. after his good work at Ratiopharm Ulm.
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