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«I would like to be remembered as a player who played with passion»

Oinatz Bengoetxea (Lei-tza, 37 years old) answers the questions as he plays. Think and answer at a thousand per hour. He reviews his nineteen-year career as a professional, talks about his great rivals, victories and defeats. On Sunday he will play his last match at the Atano III, the fronton where the first of his two manomanista txapelas took place and began his series of four titles in all modalities. He will lead the Aretxabaleta company in front of Peio Etxeberria and Bikuña.


How have last week’s farewell games gone in Arrasate and Bilbao?

– I also played in Trucios. I am happy, and I have also won all three. I look good from the game.


Did you feel the closeness of the people?

– The response of the pitchers is being endearing. I have always felt loved and now, even more.


How is that connection achieved?

– I dont know. As a professional, I have always tried to give everything that I carry on the field. Perhaps my way of being has influenced. Sometimes I have played well and others, not so much. What I have never lacked is desire. I think that’s the key to the connection.


Have you received any unexpected calls or any special messages since your retirement announcement?

– I have received many messages from friends, but none that did not wait for me.


Do you see yourself in a position to remain active?

– I am excited to continue playing a few more matches after saying goodbye at the Labrit in Pamplona on January 29. I don’t know if it will be ten, twenty or thirty until October, which is when my debut is twenty years old. That was my illusion. As it was not possible with the company, I decided that I will do it on my own. I want to play my last game at the fronton in Plaça de Leitza in October.


Will you mount those matches?

– Yes Yes. I have no intention of signing a contract with other companies. You may dispute a loose clash with them. I’m not saying no, probably yes. But I want to continue on my own.


Has coinciding with Olaizola II and Irujo been luck or a headache?

– A lucky, a great luck. They have been tremendous rivals and I consider it an honor to have faced them. The better the players you face are, the more options to improve.


In what weight range has he moved in nineteen professional seasons?

– I made my debut with 68 kilos and in recent years I have been around 76.


How does such a light ball cope in a heavyweight sport?

– The ability also has its importance. Strength and physical power have a lot to do with it, especially in individual matches. Also from that point of view Aimar and Irujo have been superior to me and that difference has been decisive in many moments. They have had more strength, more resistance and more punch. I’ve made up for it by being a ballplayer and being bold.


You have taken many risks in your game.

– Yes, often.


He seemed predestined to shine in the Cuatro y Medio, but he has won more txapelas and before in the Manomanista.

– I have two txapelas from Manomanista and one from Cuatro y Medio, also narrowly won against Jokin Altuna on that 22-21 in Vitoria. I have had skill and speed for the game in the happy frames, but so have all my rivals.


It has been wonderfully coupled with heads up all over the court.

– Yes. Four and a half is very explosive and exhausts from the physical plane. In heads-up, even though it may not seem like it, it is easier to score based on skill and I think my game on the whole court has been based on that point.

«I have coincided in the dressing room with a hundred or more pelotaris, and I don’t get on badly with anyone»

Sweet and sour moments


The sweetest moment of your career?

– They have been numerous, a lot. Especially the txapelas. They suppose to achieve what a pelotari has dreamed of all his life.


A victory?

– Apart from those that my four txapelas meant, I would highlight the three in the finals of the San Fermín Tournament of four and a half, two against Juan and one against Jokin. Personally, I give them as much value as the officers. And the performance I completed against Altuna III in 2018 has been the most special in the cage throughout my entire career.


And the bitterest moment?

– There are several: the Manomanista final that I couldn’t play in 2015 after breaking a finger in training; injuries; the four months that I was standing after falling in the mountains and suffering a fracture in my right ankle; that season in which the company programmed me as the opening act … For twenty years you have everything, but I have taken everything with philosophy and I have tried to be positive. I have never fallen psychologically.

«It was very hard, we saw that mobilization necessary and it was worth it; behaviors have changed for the better »


A defeat?

– The final of the Cuatro y Medio that I lost against Olaizola II in Gasteiz in 2012. There was a war with the material and I had a hard time. I did not enjoy anything in that game. I have bad memories of that day.


In 2014 he suffered a serious ankle injury in the mountains. He recovered well …

– The injury was powerful. More than once I have personally thanked Dr. Mikel Sánchez for what he did for me and I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank him again. He performed a perfect operation and I think I have been able to continue playing ball for another seven years thanks to that.


Do you consider that you have received good treatment from the company throughout your career?

– There has been everything. But I will be honest. I admit that I have always been a bit rebellious and that is why I have not asked the company for total loyalty to me. It is my way of being and the company has its way of acting. I have always tried to do my best as a professional, of course. Now, I have no intention of blaming anyone for anything. I am aware of how this works. Companies are companies and Pelotaris are Pelotaris.


The Baiko pelotaris strike, in which you took part, was another difficult time.

– That was really hard, very hard. We saw that mobilization necessary and it was worth it.


Have things changed since then?

– A little, yes. Behaviors have changed for the better.


Do you understand that your participation in the pelotaris strike has accelerated the end of your career?

– No, I do not think so. In recent months, the veterans of the company have left the workforce. Arretxe, Ibai Zabala, Aimar Olaizola and me. The company has its philosophy, it has decided to count on young people and it seems legitimate to me. When we debuted, there were other pelotaris who went home. It is the law of life. Life itself and sport work like this. I do not want to give it too much importance and I consider that my departure from Baiko is not due to the strike.


It is evident that the companions appreciate him.

– I have made many friends thanks to the ball. I have coincided in the dressing room with a hundred or more pelotaris and I can boast that I have not got on badly with anyone and that I have made friends with most of them.


Barriola-Bengoetxea VI manomanista final at Atano III, in 2008. Two Leitza pelotaris face to face. How did you experience that?

– It was very nice. My first final, I had nothing to lose, I was very young … It was harder for Abel. He had just lost some finals, and I won. That day a great party was held in Leitza. Barriola was very upset, but his behavior was excellent. He’s a classy guy and he showed it on that occasion.

«I have accumulated numerous experiences and feelings on the field; honestly, I have nothing left to do »

The Labrit, «very special»


Do you keep more memories of the Atano III?

– Apart from the final, of course, I do not forget the spring training for the Manomanista. We would go in the morning, with good weather and a pleasant temperature. My most pleasant feeling about the Atano III are those sessions.


His last farewell match will be at Labrit.

– The most special fronton for me. I made my debut there, I’m from Navarre. There is also a good atmosphere in other frontons, but the one in Pamplona is unique in recent years. Most of the pelotaris share that opinion, and I think that also the ball players.


It has stood out for its high competitive level. Is that brought from the source or does it work?

– It comes in the genes. It is essential to compete in the elite and stay at the top for many years.


Will more Bengoetxeas arrive?

– At the moment the saga has reached VII -Ibai, retired-. The children of some cousins ​​are good pelotaris and more Bengoetxeas will come.


Is there anything left for you to do as a ballplayer?

– I don’t have that feeling. I have played a lot of games, more than a thousand, many of them important, I have won several txapelas. I have accumulated numerous experiences and feelings on the pitch. Honestly, I have nothing left to do.


How would you like Bengoetxea VI to be remembered?

– Like a baseball player who played with passion.

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