Rudy Fernández enters the Olympus of Spanish basketball with an emotional memory of his father

With a battered back, 37 years on the DNI and many kilometers on his legs. Thus presented Rudy Fernández to the Eurobasket this 2022. There wasn’t a player whose resignation would have been accepted more. In fact, it would have been understandable. A veteran who takes a step back to focus on his last years of career with Real Madrid, more after having suffered a difficult year personally after the death of his father, Rodolfo Fernández. But Rudy wanted to be that locker room leader to help the youngsters transition (blessed transition in the long run!). As if it were a movie script, the guard’s performance from the bench was transcendental during several moments of the tournament, contributing his excellent defensive capacity, a score from the three that Sergio Scariolo’s team needed and even a harsh anger when the occasion required it. “If I had no words in the round of 16… It is a special and incredible group, they have always believed since the concentration began, proud of them”, said the captain of the National Team after winning the gold medal.

All his companions knew the importance of this metal for Rudy, whom they protected and pampered throughout the celebration. “I am missing my great pillar, who is my father, and I know that he has given us a hand from above,” he said, visibly moved. Rodolfo, father of Rudy and Marta Fernández, died on May 13 at the age of 66, a victim of cancer. The tears of the captain of the National Team looking at the sky of Berlin, dedicating the victory to his father, were one of the images of victory. He also did not forget one of his great friends and Real Madrid teammate, Sergio Llull, who missed the Eurobasket at the last minute due to injury: “Part of this gold is his.” “This is the most special medal,” he reflected.

In the Olympus of Spanish basketball

Pau Gasol, Juan Carlos Navarro, Marc Gasol, Laia Palau… Legendary players who have their names written on fire in the history of Spanish basketball. Due to clumsiness (or for any other reason), the figure of Rudy Fernández has often not been included in said Olympus. After the Eurobasket in Germany, the numbers leave no room for doubt: the shooting guard has equaled Pau’s 11 medals with the national team and is only one behind Laia’s. Also, he is the only Spaniard in history to have six gold medals in his record. And everything does not end here. Scariolo himself warned: the end of the idyll of the National Team and Rodolfo Fernández is not as close as one might think. If the injuries respect, there is Rudy for a while.

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“I’m super proud of you guys, you deserve it so much. It’s just that I can’t… It’s the first time, I’m really telling you, it’s the first time and look, I’ve lived through many championships and many things… This fucking pride I feel for you guys right now, honestly, it’s a feeling I’m going to remember my whole fucking life and my whole fucking career. Thank you“Those words were pronounced by Rudy Fernández in the days before the final, in a locker room harangue shared by the Basketball Federation. It seemed difficult for that young and cheeky shooting guard who nailed a huge mate in Dwight Howard’s face to go to leave a more important image for the history of Spanish basketball.

With a battered back, 37 years on the DNI and many kilometers on his legs. Thus presented Rudy Fernández to the Eurobasket this 2022. There wasn’t a player whose resignation would have been accepted more. In fact, it would have been understandable. A veteran who takes a step back to focus on his last years of career with Real Madrid, more after having suffered a difficult year personally after the death of his father, Rodolfo Fernández. But Rudy wanted to be that locker room leader to help the youngsters transition (blessed transition in the long run!). As if it were a movie script, the guard’s performance from the bench was transcendental during several moments of the tournament, contributing his excellent defensive capacity, a score from the three that Sergio Scariolo’s team needed and even a harsh anger when the occasion required it. “If I had no words in the round of 16… It is a special and incredible group, they have always believed since the concentration began, proud of them”, said the captain of the National Team after winning the gold medal.