The genius that Barça discarded when they had already signed him

BarcelonaConvinced that his son (Aleksandar) had the talent to become a professional basketball player and obsessed with turning him into a musical genius, Drazen Petrovic's father was slow to understand the virtues of a young man who would go on to define an era. Movistar has recently released a biopic that revisits his career by understanding his competitive nature. The production, more deliberate than successful, emphasizes the Croatian athlete's rise to the elite.

Petrovic moved from Cibona to Real Madrid, a team with which he won a European Cup Winners' Cup and a Copa del Rey. However, the shooting guard couldn't lift the league title against a Barça side that showcased the value of team play. Biserka Petrovic, Drazen's mother, admitted a few years ago that she thought her son would opt for Barcelona instead of Real Madrid. In fact, the decision had been made. What was the reason for the change of course?

The report From enemy to idol (Informe Robinson) interviewed some of the key players who know what happened firsthand. Mirko Novosel, former Cibona coach, makes it clear. "Thanks to the efforts of agent José Antonio Arízaga, Petrovic first reached an agreement with Barça," he states. Aíto García Reneses, the Barcelona coach, ruled out the signing. "I refused to sign Drazen Petrovic. I didn't like the clauses in that pre-contract because it meant signing him two years later and then starting to pay him in the meantime. Besides, at that time, Petrovic wasn't a symbol of sportsmanship and effort," the coach admits.

"If you sign Petrovic to have him, still, but if you sign Petrovic to not have him, it breaks the whole dynamic you try to instill in your players," Aíto analyzes. When he learned of Barça's refusal, Arízaga picked up the phone to call Real Madrid. Ramón Mendoza didn't hesitate. It was 1986. Two years later he made his debut with Real Madrid, where he only played one season before making the jump to the NBA.

The conspiracy theory

Adapting to Real Madrid, where many of his teammates hated him, wasn't easy, but the Real Madrid team, coached by Lolo Sainz, had a good run until losing the final to Barça. The so-called Petrovic League ended up in the Barça museum. Unable to digest an unexpected defeat, the Spanish press fueled a conspiracy narrative centered around Juanjo Neyro. The referee, whom the Croatian guard had spat on during a summer tournament, officiated three of the five matches in the final.

Taking advantage of a Barça match against Cibona, a pair of former players, Epi and Manolo Flores, and two members of the sports committee who traveled to Zagreb, Ferran Butxaca and Albert Buscató, visited the museum dedicated to Petrovic in 2010. The Barça expedition had lunch with Drazen's mother at the Amadeus restaurant, owned by the Petrovic family. The venue was so named because an Italian journalist described the player as the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart of basketball.

One of the most emotional moments of the visit came when the Barça team noticed a very special medal, the one the Croatian player had received for his participation in the 1985 Club World Cup, played at the Palau Blaugrana and won by Barça.