The legendary Catalan player concludes 25 career seasons with 33 club titles and 12 medals with Spain
Laia Palau, the best generation figure in the history of Spanish women’s basketball, announced her retirement on Wednesday at the age of 42, after 25 seasons with the elite and a storied career marked by 33 club titles and 12 medals with the selection. “Today you are announcing your retirement, but your basketball, your track record and your values will live on forever. Thank you Laia for being an example to all and congratulations on an unparalleled career!” wrote Pau Gasol following the decision of the Spain captain, who has ended her sports career with Uni Girona, after she also defended Ros Casares in Valencia and in France, Poland, the Czech Republic and Australia, before returning to Europe.
“I’m not going to stop playing basketball. I’ll stop playing, but I’m not retiring. I will continue to work in this world because this sport has been my life, it is my life and it looks like it will remain my life. At the moment I am not leaving the pavilion”, assured the mythical Catalan player, who will now collaborate with the Spanish Basketball Federation (FEB) and dedicate herself to the training academy for girls and young people in Spar Girona that carries her. name. “I have made my decision and I am very happy. Life has treated me very well and has given me a great career,” acknowledged Laia Palau at the Fontajau pavilion, the Spanish player who has worn the Spanish shirt the most (314 ), winning three European titles, in addition to being named second in the world in 2014 and Olympic in 2016.
“Laia Palau is an iconic sports figure in our country, who gave everything on the pitch, but also off it. His influence goes much further,” said FEB chairman Jorge Garbajosa, confident that “he will continue to contribute from another point of view” beyond active basketball, and expressed his “eternal gratitude” to the former player. The Barcelona match director has ended her career with 556 matches in the Endesa Women’s League, the second player in history with the most matches, surpassed only by Noemi Jordana, who reached 572. In Spain, she won seven league titles (five of them with Ros Casares, who also made them European champions for the first time), five Queen’s Cups and five Super Cups.
With the national team, which she defended for 19 years and from which she parted last November, she set a record for appearances in Eurobasket (ten), equaled Uliana Semenova, and was also the Spanish basketball player to have played the most Olympic Games, with four Appearances: Athens 2004, London 2002, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. Laia Palau has achieved all the successes of Spain’s golden age, with seven consecutive medals in the three major competitions, between 2013 and 2019. “There will be no other like her ”, wrote the FEB on Wednesday through its social networks, along with a video showing some of Laia’s best moments in the Women’s League and with the national team.
Source: La Verdad
I’m an experienced news author and editor based in New York City. I specialize in covering healthcare news stories for Today Times Live, helping to keep readers informed on the latest developments related to the industry. I have a deep understanding of medical topics, including emerging treatments and drugs, the changing laws that regulate healthcare providers, and other matters that affect public health.
