By Antonis Stroggylakis / info@eurohoops.net
Facu Campazzo admitted that while it was far from easy for him to part ways with his beloved Real Madrid, he strongly desired to materialize a long dream of playing in the NBA. Something that the Argentinian guard will soon do with the Denver Nuggets.
“Given all that Real Madrid means to me, it wasn’t an easy decision,” Campazzo said in an interview for Real Madrid’s website in light of him officially parting ways with the club. “I spent a lot of days and months talking it over with my family and those that are close to me, with my wife… analyzing the different scenarios and everything else. I wanted to accomplish a dream and do everything I could to make it come true.”
Campazzo played his last game with Real Madrid Sunday, in a Spanish ACB League win over Manresa. Few days before that match, he had put on a playmaking show while his team beat Fenerbahce Beko in hist last EuroLeague appearance.
At 29 years of age, Campazzo had all a player could ask for with Real Madrid. He was with one of the biggest sports organizations in the world, competing for major championships and doing so as a team leader, while having possibly the most prominent role on the court among his teammates. Still, he felt an “itch” that it was impossible for him to scratch away.
And that was getting to the NBA.
“What I didn’t want is that in the future, when I retire from basketball, for it to be in the back of my mind that I never tried it,” Campazzo said. “We decided to approach this challenge responsibly, as you have to, and it hasn’t been easy, but being at a club like Real Madrid, with all the comforts we have here and with it being a top-level club really has made things a lot easier for me.
Campazzo arrived at Real Madrid in 2014, a rookie in European basketball after beginning his career in his native Argentina. Following his first season with the club he was loaned to Murcia for two years and returned to Madrid to begin establishing himself as a highly integral piece of the team and one of the top-shelf guards outside the NBA.
“The club has shaped me as a player and when I compare myself to my first year here, I can see that Facundo Campazzo has made big strides and I’ve improved both in terms of my game and on a personal level,” Campazzo said. “My teammates have helped me n this transformation, but I’ve still got a lot of room for improvement. This club pushes you to the limit and you have to perform to 100% to show what you’ve got.”