By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Here is the complete article, posted at EuroLeague.net:
As opposed to previous texts here, for which numbers of titles, individual or collective, were cited to support my own personal impressions, memories and taste, I wish to base this ranking on numbers alone: specifically, Final Four participations. Of course, as always, I had to discard some names. For instance, Benetton Treviso and Montepaschi Siena have the same number of appearances – four – as Virtus Bologna and Partizan Belgrade, but these last two have won the title. Despite having just won it all, Fenerbahce Istanbul is not yet in my Top 10 Final Four clubs.
With the presence of Real Madrid, Fenerbahce, CSKA Moscow and Olympiacos Piraeus, we not only saw the same four teams at this year’s event as in 2015, but also the same semifinal pairings. In the full history of the Final Four, 31 editions, this happened for just the second time, the first one being in 2009 and 2012 with CSKA, FC Barcelona, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos Athens.
These are the 10 clubs I chose for the list.
10. PARTIZAN BELGRADE
A historic club with some problems in the present time, most of all economic. The team had four Final Four appearances: champion in 1992, third in 1988 and fourth in 1998 and 2010. A never-ending source of young talent, a full team of 12 players went from Belgrade to the NBA. Its great duo of guards formed by Sasha Djordjevic and Predrag Danilovic are still on top of Serbian basketball: Danilovic presides at the Serbian federation and Djordjevic coaches the national team, as well as FC Bayern Munich.
9. OLIMPIA MILAN
One of the historic teams in European basketball. It was the first Final Four champion in 1966 in Bologna, when the team was called Simenthal. Milan also repeated the title when the modern Final Four era began in 1988. The club finished second in 1967 and third in 1992 and was the home of many legends of Italian, European and world basketball, plus some legendary coaches. The team has not been back to the Final Four since 1992 but remains the most influential club in Italian basketball.
8. VIRTUS BOLOGNA
Another historic name in European basketball in a not-so-good moment, but a look into the past could be great consolation. Bearing the Kinder name, the team was European champ in 1998 in Barcelona, and then again in 2001 – albeit in a playoff format that time. The team also reached the championship game in 1999 and 2002. Just like Benetton and Milan, Virtus was an bottomless mine for great national and international players.
7. BASKONIA VITORIA GASTEIZ
Baskonia team was never European champion, but its six Final Four appearances deserve the highest respect as the club has also been in the European elite for more than 20 years now. It was a finalist in the first modern EuroLeague with the playoff format, falling 2-3 to Virtus. It also reached the final in 2005 by defeating host CSKA in the semis. Baskonia was third in 2006 and fourth in 2007, 2008 and 2016. A great team for scouting international talent, especially from South America. Many of those players ended up in the NBA: Scola, Nocioni, Prigioni, Oberto, Splitter…
6. REAL MADRID
Titles speak for themselves. A nine-time European champ, three of them in the Final Four format: 1967 in Madrid, 1995 in Zaragoza and 2015 in Madrid, also a finalist in 2013 and 2014. Madrid was never third and then it was fourth four times, 1993, 1996, 2011 and 2017. Istanbul 2017 was its fifth appearance since 2011, showing consistent quality. Home of too many great players, coaches and directors to mention them all, Madrid is undoubtedly one of the biggest European legends.
5. OLYMPIACOS PIRAEUS
It took the Reds some time to get to the European elite, but since the early nineties, they have always been around. After losing the finals in 1994 and 1995, Olympiacos finally won in 1997 and then repeated with back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013. It was finalist in 2010, 2015 and 2017 and it was also third in 1999 and fourth in 2009. It is one of five teams with 10 or more Final Four appearances. Istanbul also holds a dear place in the memory of Olympiacos fans because of the 2012 title won there against CSKA, with a miracle shot by Georgios Printezis that closed an epic comeback. This year the team just lost the championship game to Fenerbahce.
4. PANATHINAIKOS ATHENS
A domestic rivalry also was translated onto the European stage, as between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos they have 9 titles, 5 runner-up ends and 20 combined appearances, several of them together (1994, 1995, 2009 and 2012). Panathinaikos was the first Greek team to lift the title in 1996 in Paris. No team has won more titles at Final Fours than this club’s six: 1996, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2009 and 2011. Of course, it is a club with great tradition and fans, not to mention a legendary list of players and coaches.
Just like FC Barcelona, Maccabi won’t have fond memories of the season that just ended, but a quick look to the past reveals 12 Final Four appearances and four titles (2001 Suproleague, 2004, 2005 and 2014), six more title games (1988, 1989, 2000, 2006, 2008 and 2011) and two third places. One of the historic clubs in the league, Maccabi has been around since the start of the competition in 1958. The yellow jersey of Maccabi has been worn by many great players and it boasts legendary coaches on its bench. The club also has a legendary president in Shimon Mizrahi, at the helm since August 1969.
2. FC BARCELONA
This past season has not been its best by a long way, but its 14 Final Four appearances back the history of the Catalan club. After four lost finals in 1990, 1991, 1996 and 1997, the team finally lifted the trophy at home in 2003. After that, it managed to repeat the title in a commanding fashion in 2010. Barca was also third three times (2009, 2012 and 2014) and fourth five times (1989, 1994, 2000, 2006 and 2013). A home for many great players, both Spanish and from abroad.
1. CSKA MOSCOW
When in 2011, at the Barcelona Final Four, CSKA president Andrey Vatutin joked that the event had to be cancelled because CSKA was not in it, maybe he was not so far from the truth. Since the modern EuroLeague started in 2000, CSKA has just missed the Final Four twice: 2011 and 2002 in Bologna. However, the team was there in 1966 in Bologna. With its Final Four qualification this season, CSKA has a staggering 17 appearances and nobody can match their consistency. The team has won the title three times at Final Fours – in 2006, 2008 and 2016 – and has been runner-up three more times (2007, 2009 and 2012). It also has seven third places (1966, 1996, 2004, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2017) and four fourth places (2001 Suproleague, 2003, 2005 and 2014). Historic.