Pau Gasol
People are often taken by surprise just how popular a sport basketball is in
Spain. Everyone knows that the Spanish are football crazy but you don’t have to
be here long before you find out that, especially with the younger generations,
basketball is now an equally big draw. Look at the playgrounds (or patios, as
they refer to them) in Spanish schools and you’ll always see more kids, of both
sexes, doing basketball drills than playing football.
Much of this is due to the fact that people can play basketball outdoors for
most of the year but also it is down to the increasing number of Spanish
representatives in the greatest basketball league in the world – the American
NBA. And Pau Gasol is right at the vanguard of that Spanish presence.
Pau Gasol Sáez was born in Barcelona in July, 1980 to parents involved in the
medical profession. He was, in fact, born in the Sant Pau Hospital, where both
his parents worked. Not only were his parents medical, however, they were also
both basketball players and Pau quickly followed their example and was soon
scouted by representatives of the local Barcelona team. His progress was such
that, by the age of 19, Pau was an established professional in the Barcelona
squad and was already being monitored by NBA teams. Whilst at Barcelona, the
team clinched the League/ Copa del Rey double in 2001, with Pau being voted Most
Valuable Player in both competitions. This was also the year in which Gasol
became established in the full Spanish squad, after helping the Juniors become
European champions in 1998 and World champions the following year.
It was no shock to anyone then when, at the end of the 2001 season, the 7 foot,
240 lb Pau was tempted across to the USA and signed by Atlanta Hawks, although
they actually traded him with Vancouver Grizzlies before the season started. His
impact in the NBA was instantaneous and he was voted Rookie of the Year in 2002.
He later became the first ever Spanish basketball player to be selected for the
NBA All-Star game, in Houston, in 2006.
Crucially, Gasol has always been sure to maintain strong links with his home
country – visiting regularly and, indeed, becoming a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
for Spain in 2003 and, if anyone bothered to count, has probably appeared in
more television adverts in Spain than any other individual. His commitment to
his country’s national squad has also been exemplary and he has helped them
develop into one of the strongest squads in the world, culminating in their
World Championship success in Japan in 2006. Ironically, in the final of the
European Championships, held, with tremendous enthusiasm, in Spain in 2007, the
pressure to succeed seemed to get the better of Gasol, as he was less than his
usual dominating presence when they narrowly lost to Russia. After the
disappointment, though, Gasol still reacted in the sportsmanlike manner
associated with him and his television interviews were an object lesson of how
to deal with defeat.
Pau Gasol has two younger brothers, both of whom are now beginning to create
their own reputations in basketball. The day I am writing this, ironically, is
the morning after Pau made his debut for the Real Madrid of American basketball,
Los Angeles Lakers, having been traded with the Memphis Grizzles (the franchise
moved from Vancouver) on the 1st February – ironically a trade involving one of
Pau’s brothers, Marc. In his first match at centre for the Lakers, against the
New Jersey Nets, the Lakers won 105 – 90 and Gasol scored 24 points, with 12
rebounds.
So, on the day that Spain play France in a football match, it was Pau Gasol who
was first item on the Sports News!
|
