This Friday Aíto García Reneses will turn 78 years old and for the last two he has been away from the bench after a last experience in Girona. A few days ago we shared a table and tablecloth after years of disagreements. Barça’s poor start at the time of managing Nacho Solozábal’s farewell as a player, where he was a true reference, marked the beginning of hostilities. Although well thought out, Josep Lluís Núñez, the president, had as much or more responsibility in making the controversial decision as Salvador Alemany, the head of the section, who backed away from the two-year renewal agreement he had reached with his captain. That caused a fracture among the Palau regulars, and journalists who did not agree with the club’s dictates were accused of militancy.
But over time the wounds close, no matter how deep they were, and due to a final four from ULEB in Turin in 2008, where I went as a special envoy of TV3, Aíto, then coach of Joventut, had no objection to assisting me every time I required it, and I thanked him. García Reneses is a coach who generates controversies, among supporters and critics, but does not leave anyone indifferent. However, what cannot be denied is his outstanding role as an innovator. In Spanish basketball there is a before and after of Aíto’s figure as coach. At the age of 27, he left the Barça captaincy to sit on the bench of the Círcol Catòlic de Badalona, Cotonificio. There the legend began to be forged. The players stopped playing for 40 minutes to manage their efforts, and the defensive culture was non-negotiable. To the extent that that obsession with recovering the ball was baptized as karate press . The new way of conceiving the game did not go unnoticed by Barça, who in 1979 asked him to be their coach. But at a meal at the restaurant Gorría rejected Vice President Mussoms’ offer if it was not in exchange for earning one cent more than what the highest-paid player earned. Antoni Serra would end up occupying the bench and winning 2 Leagues and 5 Cups, until his departure in 1985 would lead, this time, to the arrival of Aíto.
At Barça he won all the titles except the much desired European Cup. He crashed on three occasions in the attempt, reaching the final, for a total of five final four . After working on the benches of Joventut, Unicaja, Cajasol, Gran Canaria, Alba and Girona, he lives as a mere observer and lends a hand to any technician who requires his advice. But he repudiates the business that the NBA has become, which deceives its followers with the highlights to continue singing that I love this game .
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