CSKA inks Smodis, Langdon through 2010
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Two pillars of CSKA's 2006 and 2008 Euroleague title teams, Trajan Langdon and Matjaz Smodis, have signed to remain in Moscow through the start of the next decade. Smodis, CSKA's top-rated player per game this season, signed a three-plus-one deal that will keep him in the Russian capital until at least 2011. Langdon, voted the Final Four MVP earlier this month, signed for two years and an option one, assuring he will wear the CSKA uniform through 2010. Smodis, 28, and Langdon, 32, joined CSKA in the pivotal summer of 2005. In the three seasons since then, the team has claimed Euroleague titles in 2006 and 2008, losing the middle year's title game by just 2 points. Langdon scored the most points on the team in the first two of those seasons. Smodis had the most rebounds in the first one and the highest average index rating in the last. "Matjaz and Trajan came to CSKA almost simultaneously," CSKA head coach Ettore Messina remarked. "It has been a gift for me to work with these players, especially because both have a significant role in our team."
Smodis had come to CSKA having already one Euroleague title, in 2001 with Kinder Virtus Bologna under Messina. He had also participated in Final Fours with both Bologna teams, Virtus and Fortitudo. He and CSKA teammate David Andersen are among a handful of players in the 20-year Final Four era to reach the event with three different teams.
"I am very happy to stay in CSKA," Smodis said after signing. "It would be foolish to leave this season with this situation, considering all the success we had and the optimum conditions to work. I feel really well in here, especially because right now, CSKA is the best club in Europe. Me and my family want to remain as part of this organization. I put a lot of effort to be in this situation."
"We all had the chance this season to see what Smodis means for CSKA," club CEO Andrey Vatutin said. "His comeback after his foot injury made the team work as one. He has the ability to interact with his teammates with a sixth sense - a gift that Matjaz possesses. When we say that CSKA has the most talented players in Europe, this is what we have in mind, basketball players with unique qualities. Smodis showed his leadership in the most difficult moments of the season, both on court and in the locker room."
Before joining CSKA, Langdon also made one previous Final Four appearance, also under Messina, when both were at Benetton Treviso in 2003. He subsequently played at Efes Pilsen in Turkey and Dynamo Moscow before moving across town to CSKA. In his three seasons with CSKA, Langdon has been named to the All-Euroleague first team in the last two and to the second team in the first. He has now won national titles in three countries - Italy, Turkey and Russia - as well.
"I am glad to stay in CSKA for at least two more seasons," Langdon said. "This shows that both parties are on the same page and have similar thoughts. I am happy here and the time I have been here has been very successful for CSKA. If there is the chance to reach even higher, we need to go for it. We did it in the past, so hopefully we will be able to do it in the future."
"Trajan is an universal basketball player and a real professional," Vatutin said. "He is not simply the best shooting guard in Europe. Langdon can become our leader in the decisive moments of the match, but also be concentrated on defense. We are very happy to continue collaborating with him. He became the deputy captain of the team before the start of this season and Trajan took the added responsibility by noticeably helping other players."
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Euroleague.net
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