AXA FC Barcelona

AXA FC Barcelona review

From their heyday in the 1980s, when the stars of Barça's basketball team were as famous as the footballers and matches were played at the massive Sant Jordi stadium, Barcelona basketball has slipped in status. The team's triumph in the 2003 Euroleague, the basketball equivalent of the Champions League, was expected to herald a renaissance. But as the fortunes of Barça football soared with the arrival of president Joan Laporta, the basketball team managed to lose all its best players and its brilliant Serbian manager, Svetislav Pe∫i©. Last year, despite clinching the Copa del Rey, the team contrived to change its coach and brought in many new faces. Xavi Pascual is building a new team around Juan Carlos 'The Bomb' Navarro and Australian forward David Anderson; it remains to be seen if this will help the team to more success both at home and in Europe. See also {A href='ListingID:15751'}Hoop and glory{/A}.