By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Sergio Rodriguez of Real Madrid is the next player to step into the spotlight as part of the “Remember The Why” series, a Euroleague Basketball and Adidas collaboration in which Turkish Airlines EuroLeague stars discuss their personal journeys in an in-depth interview.
Rodriguez, nicknamed “El Chacho”, is a two-time EuroLeague champion, having lifted the trophy with Real Madrid in 2015 and CSKA Moscow in 2019. He was chosen as the 2013-14 EuroLeague MVP and won domestic league titles in Spain, Russia and Italy, the latter with EA7 Emporio Armani Milan. Rodriguez has also played for four different NBA teams.
Over his EuroLeague career, “El Chacho” is one of just two players — along with Vassilis Spanoulis — to amass more than 3,500 points and 1,500 assists in the EuroLeague. He is in now playing his second stint with Los Blancos.
“I met a lot of people. I got great experience in different countries, different cultures, languages. So I’m very fortunate to have the career that I had and keep going, playing for Real Madrid, that is my dream club from the beginning and for all my life,” Rodriguez said. “So I’m very fortunate and I’m working every day to get the goals that I want to accomplish.”
His first stint with Real started in 2010, after four seasons in the NBA. In six seasons with the club, he reached four Final Fours and three championship games, lifting the EuroLeague trophy in the Spanish capital in 2015. He recalls his arrival to Real as a career-defining moment.
“I needed to be in a different environment. That’s what I decided to come back to Madrid,” he said. “I think it was a great choice for me because it allowed me to be very successful winning the titles, getting experience playing with a group of guys that we become very close, and being that fortunate to win at home is very important in a club such as Real Madrid.”
Rodriguez made it two more Final Fours, twice with CSKA and once with Milan, the club’s first in 29 years. By helping CSKA win the EuroLeague crown in 2018, Rodriguez became the first Spanish-born player to win the top continental title with a foreign club.
“I thought it was important for me to have a different point of view in a different club, out of Spain,” Rodriguez said. “We were able to win, and it was really special, being that far from my home. We had a great connection and we were all on the same page to get the title.”
Above all, Rodriguez believes that keeping both feet on the ground is critical to basketball success, and remembering how it all started — as a game to be enjoyed — is key to staying grounded.
“There is a lot of pressure and responsibilities when you’re playing at this level,” he says. “But the way that I enjoy every day is giving me the gas to keep going. I think the biggest thing is we are playing a game and we have to treat it as a game, with the pressure, with the focus that is needed. But at the end of the day, we grow up playing basketball, having fun with our classmates, teammates, friends. And that’s the biggest reason that I want to create every day.”
‘El Chacho’ knows that his time as a professional basketball player is limited, but is enjoying the experience of playing for Real again, and that daily excitement for his work is what keeps him young.
“I had a lot of fun. I really enjoyed playing basketball. It’s my favorite hobby. I really had the chance to play in different scenarios and every day going to practice, I really enjoy it,” he said. “So that’s the main reason why I’m in love with basketball.”