The brand new Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season is upon us, and with the unprecedented parity among teams in recent years, Europe's elite competition is destined to bring thrillers of all sorts each week. One such is a mouthwatering matchup on opening night pits FC Barcelona against Anadolu Efes Istanbul at Palau Blaugrana. These are two of the most successful teams in recent years, but also two that start a new journey on Thursday night.
The EuroLeague has long had famous clashes among rivals. Some are geographic, others may be rooted in a single game or incident, and then there are those that develop over years of historic encounters. Some, however, sprout up over a short period of time. It would be hard to find clubs whose rivalry has grown more in the past few years than the one between Barcelona and Efes, who have clashed in so many meaningful games in recent years.
Symbolic outcomes
Barcelona and Efes might have first played each other in 1980, but their true rivalry has developed over the last five years, and arguably started with their best-of-five EuroLeague Playoffs series in 2019, which Efes won 3-2 and went on to reach its first-ever EuroLeague championship game.
The next major chapter was the 2021 championship game in Cologne, Germany, when Efes beat Barcelona 86-81 to capture its first EuroLeague crown. The outcomes of these games also carry a symbolic meaning of how things have gone for each club in recent years.