Those who experienced Spanish sport in black and white will remember how successes could be counted on their fingers. At the individual level, it was the pioneers Federico Martín Bahamontes, Manolo Santana, Ángel Nieto, Paquito Fernández-Ochoa or Seve Ballesteros who made the headlines; and in the collective, hockey’s sporadic achievements in the 1960 and 1980 Games; Marcelino’s goal in 1964 or the basketball silver medals in the Eurobasket of 73 and Los Angeles 84 fed the illusion of a hobby that was used to defeats. As the post-war period, poor planning and lack of economic and technical means came together over the decades, the problems were covered up with the typical Spanish grit. But that was not enough and, with a view to Barcelona 92, all the structures began to be changed and the protagonists professionalized. Some sports such as hockey, volleyball, gymnastics or water polo, thanks to the ADO plan and its unusual millionaire contribution, opted to hire foreign coaches; others continued betting on the nationals and it was seen that the medals of that magical summer were not something specific. As a result of then, the world titles in handball, basketball, soccer or futsal fell and the men’s and women’s Olympic medals in water polo, basket or handball. Stars such as Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso, Miguel Induráin, Pau Gasol, Rafa Nadal and Carolina Marín also arrived, making Spain admired everywhere. World reference In the age of social networks, the phrase “I’m Spanish, what do you want me to beat you” has become a reality. So other countries have been looking at the Hispanic model for some time to try to replicate the good results. “Spain has great prestige in team sports -explains Miguel Rodrigo, hired as a futsal coach in Japan, Thailand and Vietnam- because we have a very serious working method both personally and collectively and we get involved in the development of base”. In his specialty he felt a bit like «a missionary abroad, trying to take our values around the world together with José María Pazos ‘Pulpis’ (Uzbekistan). Without a doubt, he would repeat the experience, although now my personal situation is already different and I would not be able to travel with my family ». Other technicians such as Bruno García (Japan, Vietnam and Peru), Paco Araujo (Costa Rica), Sito Rivera (Romania) or Pablo Prieto (Libya) followed in his wake. Juan Antonio Orenga (basketball) is of the same opinion, who considers “that it is a great success for Spanish sport that other countries pay attention to their coaches, although it is true that when you go out there you realize how well prepared we are ; in other places there is nothing but deficiencies », indicates the man from Castellón, who is now returning to the TAU in his city after five years coaching the Egyptian team and different clubs in China. The sport of the basket has also exported numerous trainers to exotic destinations, such as Madagascar (Ángel Manzano), Mozambique (Iñaki Martín), Ivory Coast (Natxo Lezcano), Iraq (Manolo Povea), women’s India (Fran García) or more classics. like Canada (Víctor Lapeña), Uruguay (Mateo Rubio), Paraguay (Arturo Álvarez) or Chile Femenino (Ricardo González). Juan Antonio Orenga, Miguel Rodrigo and José Manuel Lara ABC Handball also enjoys great international prestige, as shown by the fact that some of the top managers of the Spanish team have also crossed other borders. It was the case of Valero Rivera when he went to lead Qatar, which he led to the second place in the world; of Xavi Pascual, who was the top manager in Romania, and of the current national manager, Jordi Ribera, for whom training in Argentina and Brazil was a vital experience. «I received an unexpected offer from Argentina after 13 years at Bidasoa and when I was quite frustrated, even thinking about leaving handball. However, one year in Argentina and seven in Brazil, one of them with the complete Olympic cycle from 2012-16, helped me get to know a different world and learn a lot from all the kids and clubs I met in those years. If I could repeat an experience under the same conditions, I would surely do it ». Other prestigious coaches who have tried their luck abroad have been Roberto García Parrondo (Macedonia and Egypt), Mateo Garralda (Chile), Javier García Cuesta (Brazil and USA), Manolo Cadenas (Argentina), Toni Gerona (Ireland, Tunisia and Serbia) or Talant Dujshebaieb (Poland). Soccer also triumphs As regards soccer, following the modern trail of Xavier Azkalgorta in Bolivia and Chile, the former national coaches Javier Clemente and José Antonio Camacho changed the red and white jersey for those of countries of different levels. Serbia, Cameroon and Libya were the accommodations of the Basque, while China and Gabon those of Murcia. But the exodus of Iberian talent began much earlier, when Juan Luque de Serrallonga landed in the Mexican tricolor in 1930. Since then, Spain has provided some sixty selectors to the entire world, such as Sabino Barinaga in post-Francoism in Morocco and Nigeria or Juan Cutillas in its five stages in as many decades in the Philippines. But the most recognizable names today are those of Antonio López (Bolivia) and David Rodrigo (Andorra) in the 90s or the more recent Enrique Llena (Nicaragua), Juan Ramón López Caro (Saudi Arabia and Oman), Benito Floro (Canada), Albert Roca (Arabia and El Salvador), Carlos García Cantarero (Puerto Rico), Roberto Martínez (Belgium) or Luis Milla (Indonesia). The case of Equatorial Guinea is very curious, which has had eleven Hispanic managers, from Manuel Sanchis to Dani Guindos, passing through Quique Setién, Andoni Goicoechea or the Engonga brothers. Other specialties that also know the Spanish charisma are canoeing, as happened with the late Suso Forlán (the muñidore of the Olympic record holder David Cal), who was taken away by a cruel illness at the age of 52 after having been the coach of Brazil. Currently, the Cantabrian Ignacio Gómez Acebo is the Luxembourg field hockey coach and the Catalan Andrea Fuentes, the head of the United States synchronized team. A singular case is that of the golfer José Manuel Lara, who received an offer from the Andorran Federation to take charge of his national team thanks to his television exposure on Movistar Plus. «It was something very curious, because my program is seen a lot there and they called me to take charge of a young and attractive project that made me very excited. Here in Spain I had not been able to develop as a coach because, despite being the player who has won the most medals for this country, they put many administrative obstacles on me. But the doors opened for me with this offer from Andorra and I am happy because I am developing a series of players from the base and, above all, because they have welcomed me with open arms. The hiring of Lara was not the only bizarre one that has occurred. Orenga’s came because once his journey with the ÑBA was over, a friend of Scariolo’s told him that in Egypt he could find a place, while Rodrigo’s in Japan was even more elaborate. «After training in Italy, a transalpine coach (Sergio Gargelli) came to see me at Caja Segovia and told me that a friend of his from Fuchu Tokyo had a member of the Japanese Federation as manager. They were looking for a coach for after the 2008 World Cup and they came to see me win the Super Cup at El Pozo Murcia. They also spoke with Javier Lozano and, since they already had good references on both sides, they hired me.
