[Sport] Fenerbahce: the decline of a champion

[#Steeven.™]

There was a time not too long ago when Fenerbahce reigned in Europe. With three consecutive appearances in the final and a title, he became the great dominator of the competition and slipped into the elite of European basketball. Now it seems hard to believe that the team that won the title in 2017 is the same one that crawls through the tracks of the Euroleague.

The last game of the Turkish team in the competition has been a complete absurdity. Fenerbahce fell 37 (99-62) at the Zalgirio Arena in a match that barely lasted a quarter (24-7). Kaunas' is the third worst defeat of the Istanbul team that wanders with a 5-10 balance and each week moves further away from the positions that give access to the playoffs. They are three wins behind eighth but they are fifteenth, with many more reliable teams ahead.

Fenerbahce have lost six of the last seven games in the Euroleague, with painful defeats such as -20 against Madrid, -26 against Alba or blushing against Zalgiris, and their feelings are getting worse. In their championship they have already lost two games and, although they are first due to the suspension of matches, Anadolu Efes has the same victories (10) but no losses.

It is true that, after the changes of the summer, no one expected to see Fenerbahce dominating the regular league as in the past, but the situation is beginning to be extreme and the resounding defeat in Kaunas could have serious consequences.

The losses of Gigi Datome and Kostas Sloukas hurt, but much more the Zeljko Obradovic and his sabbatical. So much so that the team wanted to fill that gap with one of the most mediatic signings of the preseason in Europe, Igor Kokoskov. Now, the methods of the first coach born and trained in Europe to train in the NBA (Phoenix Suns) are more than discussed and the European hit is becoming a feared reality.

Some of the masterpieces that Fenerbahce relied on in its European reign remain on the roster. Nando De Colo and Jan Vesely stayed even though half of Europe loved them. Ali Muhammed also followed and Ulanovas, Barthel or Brown arrived. Between the injuries (De Colo) and the non-assimilation of the Kokoskov systems, the team does not carburize and has become a caricature.

It is the decline of a champion who not long ago dominated Europe. In Kaunas, hopefully for the Turkish team, he hit rock bottom. If not, the abyss awaits them.