By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
CSKA Moscow has won Turkish Airlines EuroLeague twice (2016, 2019) since Andrey Vatutin became club president back in 2009 and although satisfied, he noted that his dream is to win it with a team made of Russian players only:
“I remember with great excitement the time of CSKA when Evgeni Kisurin, Vasily Karasev, Sergey Panov, Nikita Morgunov played for the team. Each match was like a holiday. Times have changed, the clubs have become professional, private, and they have the task of winning tournaments. To achieve these goals, the best performers are invited. I would like to win the Euroleague one day with twelve Russian players,” he said, per RIA Novosti.
But Vatutin is also aware of how improbable that goal is: “Is it realistic? It is unlikely that these are the realities. Now we can’t find 12 players in the Russian national team, let alone here in one club.”