FCBARCELONA.CAT

19.06.2008 14:17

Navarro: “people should feel excited about this team”

Carles Cascante

Instants after Juan Carlos Navarro had announced he will be retuning to FC Barcelona, the Catalan guard welcomed Barça TV into his home and said he thinks “people should feel excited about this team.”

Juan Carlos Navarro could not hide the fact that he is delighted to be back. After a year in the NBA, he is now part of the new Barça project, and is looking forward to helping the club make history. “I am very happy with the contract the Board of Directors have offered me” he said, singling out “Joan Laporta, Josep Cubells, Joan Creus, and all the people that work there.”

Navarro was speaking to Barça TV and www.fcbarcelona.cat, who he welcomed into his home in Sant Feliu. The 28 year old guard admits that Barça is his home and that he had been thinking about coming back for some time. “I really wanted to” he said. “After a good year in the NBA, I am happy to be coming home. I am keen to make this a winning team again. It is exciting, this is my home. We want to form a good squad so that this team can always be on top and winning things.”

His contribution

Navarro is ready to accept all the responsibilities attached to is homecoming. “I will give it everything, I will be one of the team leaders and do everything to make sure the section performs well. We want to do things immediately, we will try to make a good team and I want to help with that as much as possible.”

Time in NBA

La ‘Bomba’ has positive feelings about his sabbatical at the Memphis Grizzlies: “My time in the NBA was positive. I scored plenty in the All Stars in my first year. I have shown that I could make the grade over there, but the truth is I preferred the idea of coming home and making history with Barça.”

Creus and Pascual

Navarro is a big fan of the new director of basketball, Joan Creus: “He inspires my confidence and was an important figure in the deal. But there were others that helped too.”

He is impressed at what the new coach, Xavi Pascual, achieved towards the end of the season. “I have followed FC Barcelona all year. The last bit was good, it is a shame they didn’t win the title. He is a good coach who knows where he is and how to do things properly.”