Leo Westermann: “The city of Kaunas really grew in two years” 2

As he made his return to Zalgiris after a one-year break, French guard Leo Westermann has been thoroughly enjoying his second stint in Lithuania. The thrifty guard played his first season in Zalgiris in 2016-2017 and was adamant that the city of Kaunas has seen a lot of positive changes throughout the last couple of years.

“First of all, the city grew in two years. I can really see that on many aspects. When I came here, real estate wasn’t as amazing as it is now. You can see everything that the mayor is doing. The roads are clean now. There are many things that were not here two years ago.”

Westermann also noted that success last year helped bring the green-and-white fan base together and grow a following for both their EuroLeague home and away games.

“Talking about Zalgiris, you can see that last season really impacted the people. We have fans traveling to all the places that we didn’t really have fans going to two years ago. It’s like we play at home all over Lithuania. The people in the streets are really proud of what Zalgiris did last year. It’s a great achievement for Zalgiris and the players who were here last year.”

The guard also talked about his difficult return from injury and a happy return to the faces in Kaunas.

“I had to find my rhythm. I was out for 3-4 months, so it took a while for me to get back, to get healthy. I was so happy to be back here, to get back with my old teammates, to see familiar faces. It was a really good moment when I signed with Zalgiris.”