By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
CSKA Moscow and Anadolu Efes will battle each other at Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, on Sunday night for the EuroLeague title. Which teams previously succeeded in the Final of Europe’s premier competition, which head coaches have made it this far before, which players of the two finalists have already tasted glory at this stage? Everything fans need to know about the 2019 EuroLeague Final, Efes and CSKA.
Teams appearances in EuroLeague Championship matches since 1958:
18 – Real Madrid (1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1985, 1995, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018)
15* – Maccabi Tel Aviv (1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1988, 1989, 2000, 2001*, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2014)
14 – CSKA Moscow (1961, 1963, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2016, 2019)
10 – Pallacanestro Varese (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979)
8 – Olympiacos Piraeus (1994, 1995, 1997, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017)
7 – FC Barcelona (1984, 1990, 1991, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2010)
7* – Panathinaikos Athens (1996, 2000, 2001*, 2002, 2007, 2009, 2011)
5 – Olimpia Milano (1966, 1967, 1983, 1987, 1988), Virtus Bologna (1981, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002)
4 – ASK Riga (1958, 1959, 1960, 1961), Split (1972, 1989, 1990, 1991)
3 – Fenerbahce Istanbul (2016, 2017, 2018)
2 – Akademic Sofia (1958, 1959), Dinamo Tblisi (1960, 1962), Spartak Brno (1964, 1968), Pallacanestro Cantu (1982, 1983), Cibona Zagreb (1985, 1986), Zalgiris Kaunas (1986, 1999), Joventut Badalona (1992, 1994), Benetton Treviso (1993, 2003), Saski Baskonia (2001, 2005)
1 – Slavia Prague (1966), Bosna Sarajevo (1979), Virtus Roma (1984), Partizan (1992), Limoges (1993), AEK (1998), Fortitudo Bologna (2004), Anadolu Efes Istanbul (2019)
* European basketball had two top-level competitions in 2000-01. Kinder Bologna won the Euroleague title in a five-game playoff series against Tau Ceramica. AEK Athens and Fortitudo Bologna reached the semifinals. Maccabi Tel Aviv won the SuproLeague in a Final Four that also featured Panathinaikos, the other finalist, CSKA Moscow and Efes Pilsen.
Head coaches with the most Final appearances since 1958:
12* – Zeljko Obradovic (Partizan 1992; Joventut 1994; Real Madrid 1995; Panathinaikos 2000, 2001*, 2002, 2007, 2009, 2011, Fenerbahce 2016, 2017, 2018)
9 – Ettore Messina (Virtus Bologna 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002; Benetton 2003; CSKA 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009)
7 – Pedro Ferrandiz (Real Madrid 1962, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1975)
6 – Alexander Gomelskiy (ASK Riga 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961; CSKA 1971, 1973)
5 – Lolo Sainz (Real Madrid 1976, 1978, 1980, 1985; Joventut 1992), Bozidar Maljkovic (Split 1989, 1990; Barcelona 1991; Limoges 1993; Panathinaikos 1996)
5 – Pini Gershon (Maccabi 2000, 2001*, 2004, 2005, 2006)
4 – Aleksandar Nikolic (Varese 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973), Sandro Gamba (Varese 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977), Ralph Klein (Maccabi 1977, 1980, 1982, 1988), Pablo Laso (Real Madrid 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018)
3 – Evgeny Alekseev (CSKA 1961, 1963, 1965), Zvi Sherf (Maccabi 1987, 1989, 2008), Aito Garcia Reneses (Barcelona 1990, 1996, 1997), Ioannis Ioannidis (Olympiacos 1994, 1995; AEK 1998)
* European basketball had two top-level competitions in 2000-01. Kinder Bologna won the Euroleague title in a five-game playoff series against Tau Ceramica. AEK Athens and Fortitudo Bologna reached the semifinals. Maccabi Tel Aviv won the SuproLeague in a Final Four that also featured Panathinaikos, the other finalist, CSKA Moscow and Efes Pilsen.