Rakim Sanders signed for FC Barcelona Lassa last summer, after playing in different European Leagues and the last three years in Italy between Milano and Sassari. He won twice the“scudetto”, either with Dinamo Sassari in 2015 and Olimpia Milano in 2016, being selected as the MVP of the finals in both occasions. He also won three Italian Cups and two Supercups.
The forward born in Rhode Island in 1989 is a winner; in fact he raised his first unexpected trophy even with his new team last week: the “Copa del Rey”.
In spite of the exploit in the ACB Cup, FC Barcelona is not living a great season in Euroleague where the Catalan team is the second-last after 23 games played. We had the occasion to talk with him a couple of weeks ago and asking him about his first half of the season in Barcelona.
Question: How would you rate the first half of the season of FC Barcelona?
Answer: “I think the season hasn’t been bad so far. We use to play hard in every single game. We are experimenting ups and downs, that’s true, but we have lost several games in the last possessions and we haven’t been lucky. Sometimes the team struggles, but we try to learn and play better in the following one”.
Q: After playing in Israel, Germany and Italy, did you feel that coming to Barcelona was a big leap in your professional career?
A: “Indeed it is: for me playing in Barcelona is an important challenge. It is one of the top European teams; Barça has been playing in Euroleague for many years and they are always fighting for win every competition they participate in”.
Q: What do you think that is Barcelona missing for being competitive in Europe?
A: “Concentration and consistency. We are not able to stay focused for 40 minutes. We lost several tied games for playing bad only a quarter or part of it. We need to think on a game at time”.
Q: Do you see any difference between the Italian and the Spanish championship?
A: “I have been playing in different European championship, and I can say that the Spanish one is the best in Europe: it is more competitive and exciting. I enjoyed my time in Italy during last three seasons. Olimpia Milano is a great club, we have been talking about a possible contact extension for me, but then I received the call from FC Barcelona and I couldn’t say no. I feel good here and I think I took the right decision to me”.
The Basketball Drawer 