El Loco, different on and off the court, reviews his career with the blue and white, the best moments and why he missed so many tournaments despite the fact that the national team “was the best.” His top anecdotes
Hernán Abel Montenegro was always different. Inside, due to his excellent quality, a rich arsenal of skills and versatility in the game, with a pivot physique (2m07) but perimeter resources. A man ahead of his time who, thanks to his charisma and showmanship, never went unnoticed and wowed crowds. And outside for being an athlete who never dodged the controversy or remained silent, who missed many tournaments with the National Team and left many clubs, all because he believed that the conditions were not given to compete or coexist in the best way . Today, at age 54, eight after his retirement from professional activity (playing the Federal Tournament for Del Progreso de Río Negro) and 27 after his last match in the National Team, El Loco reviews his career with the blue and white, in an extensive talk with CABB press. The vision of a special athlete who was the first Argentine to be chosen in the NBA draft (No. 57, third round, in 1988), played as a foreigner in the glorious era of the Italian Lega, passed through Louisiana State University and had moments of high level, in the National League, in Puerto Rico and the National Team.
-You were always a precocious talent: you made your debut in Bahia at 13, you went to Spain at 16 and your first appointment to the Senior National Team came at 18. What did you feel about that call?
-Precocity is a word that always marked me. For better or worse. I don’t know, everything surpassed me … But yes, I remember the call well, how could it be otherwise. I had returned from Spain, León (Najnudel) had taken the team and I knew it could happen because he had told me that he was looking to make, little by little, a generational change. And that Selection had it, with a young litter and a very tall squad, with Diego (Maggi), Jorge (González), Palito (Borcel), Sebastián (Uranga), with some more experienced players such as Cortijo, Luis Oroño, el Gurí Perazzo… I remember that the summons gave me great joy, especially to see that it was the moment of the youngest. The experience was great and marked us all. It was like a break, from then on the National Team stopped being a caravan that was set up 10 days before a tournament. There was more seriousness and organization, with Cacho Lentini as a doctor, for example.
-The debut was in the South American 1985. How do you remember it?
-Yes, we went to experiment. It was not a bad tournament, it was the beginning in a different way, with a very ours basketball, similar to the one he did with Ferro and undoubtedly that was reflected in time. We are logically behind Uruguay, which was complete with Fefo Ruiz and Tato López, and that famous Brazil of Oscar and Marcel.
– The 86 World Cup came the next year. A new world, for you, I imagine. Did the floor move you?
-Undoubtedly, it was like a second revival. I remember that the 83rd World Cup catapulted me to Spain and the 1986 World Cup opened the doors to the United States for me. With Vlade Divac we were the youngest players in the tournament and John McCloskey, general manager of the Pistons, appeared to talk to me about an interest and that began to open the doors of the USA for me. I remember that he proposed to me to go to Michigan State, Magic University (Johnson), and so I began to fall for opportunities from various universities. In that tournament I made myself known and we had unforgettable moments like the victory against USA.
-The remembered triumph in Oviedo against which he would be the champion.
-Yes, it was a unique, unrepeatable experience, because of the emotional aspect, because of what it meant to beat the USA at that time and because, at that time, at that point in the tournament we were ready to go back immediately. But that game gave us another life, then we beat China and suddenly we had a chance to reach the semifinals. Then we lost to Italy but, for me, it ended up being a great tournament, with Flor Meléndez as coach and Juanqui Alonso as assistant.
-From 1986 we jump to 1992 in your participation in the Selection. What happened in those six years that you weren’t there?
-Yes, I opened up, I missed two World Cups. Somehow, for the same reason that the Golden Generation later denounced years later … At that time they were bad organizations, carried away by the hair. I call them a caravan team, it was a carnival from Rio de Janeiro: 10 days before we got together to train in a place where you couldn’t train, we went to bad hotels, we had bad trips and bad meals. All those situations tired me, the same as fighting with the leaders. That was what separated me from the selections. In sports, I lost but I felt that, as one of the best players in the country, I had to fight for better conditions and time proved me right, when the Golden Generation did so and things were changing until today they had another reality.
-You missed the World Cup 90, for example.
-Yes, a pity, because it was the tournament expected by everyone, at home. But actually, I missed a lot of tournaments. I was on the outside and had an idea of how things should be. And when I saw that everything was a carnival, I would go. He didn’t stretch the agony, he didn’t want to be a part of something like that.
-The Pre-Olympic 92 is a tournament much remembered for the duel against the Dream Team, but we must not forget that Argentina arrived with a team of great players and the Olympic enthusiasm. How do you remember it?
-In my case, as the best in the National Team. I played really well. The team, in general, too. We feel comfortable, we play well and we did not achieve the Olympic place due to the lack of international contact, a constant in those times. The great change in Argentine basketball precisely occurred when the talented boys began to go to Europe. When they grew individually, they made the Selection grow. That was the key. Argentine talent was always there, but without international competition, without friction, there was no growth. Physically we were not at the level of the main teams in the world, in the first place. The way of training was archaic and we had the problem of being far from the world. Being far away on the map kills you. Even the Caribbeans grew more than us because they were an hour’s flight from many places, when we went it took us seven days. We went to Europe very little. We couldn’t run into the great powers, that’s what happened. I’m telling you, I was outside and saw the enormous difference.
-Any anecdote from that duel against the Dream Team and Jordan?
-Yes, I have a pair with Jordan. One happened to me with Seba Uranga, before the game. When we made the classic cross in the middle of the court to greet us, Seba was next to me and when we got to Michael’s side, he looked at me and said. ‘Is this shit Jordan?’ I don’t know what image the Cabezón had, but it is true that MJ was a pin, skinny… ‘That shit is going to kill us,’ I replied. ‘ Then I remember another story when (Walter) Garrone takes me out and La Vaca Tourn enters. I remember I told him ‘hey, notice that Jordan is calm. Don’t hit him, please. ‘ Fabian answered me ‘stay calm, we come to have fun’. At the first play I see that he hits a pinion… Well, ‘you went’, I thought. Until then I had been in a cloud, I would tell you without wanting to play, and the next five minutes were a barrage, a recital. That blow from Tourn woke him up.
-In that tournament you were on everyone’s lips, because of your talent and because you got a shave with the 22 on the back of your neck, being a kind of an Argentine Dennis Rodman. I remember that the American rapporteur said that Robinson and Ewing were going to dream of “Crazy 22” and another journalist made you explain the cut in the post-match press conference. One more proof that you were a showman, who always went beyond basketball.
-Yes (laughs). It was unusual because I had to start to explain the two ducklings, what they meant in the pool (El Loco). And while I was talking and trying to make them understand, Pippen leaned forward and looked at me, as if asking who this guy is. I remember that he finished the round of questions and he came to say hello, laughing. ‘I can’t believe what you told me,’ he told me. One more anecdote of an incredible game. ‘
-The sixth place in the tournament and not qualifying for Barcelona must have left you feeling frustrated, right?
-Yes, especially because we had a very good team and we played very well in matches. But we paid dearly for the lack of friction, that the games were quite close and we lacked that experience to win key games.
-In 1993, in Puerto Rico, it must have been the other way around. They beat Brazil after a long time with a brilliant Espil. You were part of that third place and the 94 World ranking, in your last tournament.
-Yes, it was a great tournament. Juancito was intractable and we played for him. I made a very good contribution, especially against Uruguay, Venezuela and the United States. It was my last tournament, although I didn’t think about it at the time.
-In 1995 you excluded yourself from the Pan American Games and later from what was Olympic qualification: you left the concentration, even angry with your teammates, because they accepted those conditions.
-Clear. That’s how it went. It was that famous confrontation with (Guillermo) Vecchio, who summoned 50 players, something never seen before. No, this is done, I closed the door, because I also realized that my presence altered the whole world. Everyone knew that I was not going to shut up, that I was going to denounce, as I always did, and it generated that tension. At the time it was a bitter pill for me, but when Manu and the boys vindicated my fight, that of the players’ rights, I was left with another feeling. Be careful, we didn’t ask for much, nor did they pay us a million dollars. Just have normal conditions to train.
-Finally, Hernán. What did the Selection represent for you?
-As I say, basketball saved my life and the National Team gave me the possibility of the basketball player I was and the kind of person I am. If I had not played, I would not have gone outside, nor would I have grown in any way. It was everything to me. Some may say that I played little, but in reality I played what I had to play, because I gave the struggles that I had to give. I would return it and what I did I do not change for anything. If I would have liked to play more tournaments, World Cups and even an Olympic Game, obviously, of course … But there are circumstances and moments in life that do not happen as one wants and I repeat, I have no reservations. I did not play to win awards and titles. It was not my goal. My championship was life, enjoying, traveling, especially after the disappointments I had. But, beyond everything, I have absolute gratitude to what the National Team gave, I gave it everything I could, as I could, without excuses or regrets.
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