Delfino: “In these instances it is necessary to go with a murderous head to win”

Carlos referred to the games that are coming through the third FIBA ​​window. The experience of the escort and his vision of the current situation that the Argentine National Team is experiencing at this time.

Just hours before the end of the friendly duels against the Uruguayan national team, Carlos Delfino spoke about the preparation of Argentina for the next Windows. Lancha, who has just had a very good season in Italy’s Serie A with Pesaro, referred to the intense and positive preparation being carried out by the team led by Néstor García. At 39 years old, the player from Santa Fe is the most experienced of the blue-and-white squad, so his career and wisdom are more than valuable intangibles not only within the playing field, but also in the formation of this renewed group that is getting ready to face Venezuela and Panama on June 30 and July 3, respectively.

-It is a different preparation, with more time of work but without arriving in full competition. How do you consider this?
-These Windows are different. When we come during the year, we are all on par, with a competitive rhythm, and that is where fatigue and short deadlines play more. Now we have more time but we arrived unequal: some finished playing 48 hours before the summons and others did so much earlier. It is good to be able to work more, that gives Néstor (García) a lot of oxygen, because he has us more under his control, he can observe us, he can fill us with his plays, with his identity. And as a group, he can also grow on another level. But I insist, they are different Windows and different teams, so you have to take everything with tweezers, and someone suitable for that is Néstor because he knows how to manage a group, squeeze it and get the best out of it.

-How do you see this group, young and with many players who are beginning a national team career, ahead of the World Cup?
-I think there is a great mix: several who were already World Runners-up; some who are not here today will surely be there later and will raise the level a lot; and others who are starting and must get on track behind the mystique, the way of working and managing themselves as a group of this shirt. For all this, time and work are needed, and the boy’s fresh legs are so important that he hardly played or is taking his first steps in the National Team as the oldest who played a lot and is not as physically fit. Hopefully in the next Windows, Néstor can have all the summoned that he wants available and we can see the ‘full’ project of Argentina, with all the talent and possibilities of it, to know the real value of this group. Always, due to deadlines, competitions, team permits and others, you have to make do with what’s available, ‘patch up’ and try to do the best you can with the available material.

-In what stage of maturity is the team?
-To mature, I think it takes a long time, and we met very recently, but to be a Window, we are working hard and very well. I see Latin American and European teams that met later than us, and that is an advantage, but it is not decisive either. We will try to do it in the best way, and surely with the boys who have joined, especially Facundo (Campazzo), Marcos (Delía) or Leandro (Bolmaro), we will have more resources and more chances of winning, which is what is important.

-During these shared days, is the identity of the group becoming stronger?
-Yes, with work we find the way to play and what is comfortable for us. The two friendlies with Uruguay served a lot in order to continue improving and see authentic game situations, because by training you know what the attack and defense should do, and you learn almost by heart what your teammate does but also your rival, then it is useful to have friction, to see what comes out in a real game. The test, hitting and missing, makes you better. Of course, I prefer to play ugly and win, because with the short time that there is in Windows, you have to adapt. In a long tournament or with more preparation, you want to play beautifully and for everything to go well, but in these instances it is necessary to go with a killer head to win, that hunger has to be our main identity.

-How do you see the team sporting for these next Windows?
-I see it well. The results then rule, but the work we are doing is very intense, we are a lot on the field and in the hotel with the scouting of our rivals. I think that the more time the group spends together, the trend will always be for improvement. I always think positive and that we will be fine. The friendlies gave us another kind of test and let us know better where we stand heading into the points games.

-How much of what was seen in the last Windows is used for games in Venezuela and Panama?
I think we are going to change a lot. The rivals are going to find a different team than the one they faced here, because the arrival of the players we have this time is going to show another Argentina. For a question of schools, we hope that they do not change so much, but their location will surely also matter. We must never think that a game is won simply with the names, we must be responsible for our work and go for the points.