In an interview with BasketUSA, Nando De Colo talks about the reasons that led him to sign for ASVEL a few days ago.
“I don’t have a French championship title yet, so we can start there. Afterwards, the project in general appealed to me more. To be honest, I was in contact with two, three clubs: Monaco and Valence above all. Each time I was asked the question, I explained it: Valencia only has one year of Euroleague, so it’s complicated for me to project myself. Monaco, it was a bit the same story. I have so much respect for Valencia (note: where he played from 2009 to 2012) that it bothered me to go back there for a year and see after what could happen, if I had to leave… In the end, it was played between Asvel and Fenerbahce. I come out of three years there where, overall, it was complicated because we change coaches and staff every year. We still manage to grab a title of Turkish champion this year. But starting from scratch is not always the best if you want to go as far as possible. Lyon is a small experience of the Euroleague and the ambitions of Top 8. It’s good, you have to go there after stage and go get this 4th title (in a row) of champion of France. Don’t go too fast, it won’t be easy. The club is trying to structure, I hope I can bring my experience and move things forward. »
The Northerner explains that his goal is to make the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 and that for that, he needs to take a break this summer:
“Today I am fine. I have at least two big seasons ahead of Asvel. Then the Olympics, it will most likely be my last with the Blues. I don’t see it as an early retirement with the France team. I want to be part of the team because I can contribute and because we want to get a result. It’s not just saying goodbye, I don’t really care. There, I must explain the reason for the comment in relation to this summer. But if the silver medal in Tokyo had been my last game with the Blues, I wouldn’t have needed everyone to know about it before it happened. I want to have a big season with Asvel, have a good world championship (2023) to prepare for the Olympics where we will aim for the gold medal. While remaining modest, I think we have the qualities and the workforce to get it. It is not overestimating ourselves to project ourselves on the gold medal. We know that the American team is still very strong and that other nations will start to rise. But summing up on us is the most important. Behind, I surely have one last contract left. We’ll see how it goes. »
Photo: FIBA
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