He is one of Roger Grimau’s assistants on the Barça bench. What is, specifically, its function?
We have a structure quite similar to last year’s junior and Barça Atlètic, in the EBA. We didn’t have a second coach. And now we are all Roger’s assistants, Xavi Beltran, Carles Marco, Òscar Orellana, Rafa Martínez and me. Everyone helps and no one is above anyone else, everyone with their tasks. There are like two working groups, Beltran and Orellana are in charge of the opponent’s offensive part, and Carles and I, the defensive part. Rafa helps in matters of players. We have a very good working group, with 50,000 things to do, because there is also the link with Barça Atlètic, the monitoring, when we travel…
How do they get to the derby?
Perhaps the game that hurt us the most was last Sunday’s defeat in Murcia. Despite not playing well, we seemed to be in control and slipped away in the last four minutes. At the moment I think the season is going very well. Maybe we lacked something away from home, we would have liked to do something more in Madrid and Valencia, in the ACB, or Vitoria in the Euroleague. There are many matches. At the moment we are getting there well, knowing that Girona is a team with a lot of energy that wants to run a lot, that wants to punish with speed. Thursday’s victory against Macabbi strengthens us, that’s for sure.
Are you surprised to see Basketball Girona with a 6-4?
Nothing surprises me anymore in current basketball. Girona plays one game a week, but many rivals in the ACB do not, they are also in Europe, and this means that there are so many games that in the end the dynamics change every ten days. You can go from winning four games and being good to losing three and being bad. Girona in the pre-season seemed to have doubts but they started with a 3-0, then a 0-3…
When he retired was it clear that he wanted to remain linked to basketball from the bench?
I spent four years in the Barça Cadet B with Mateo Rubio, then I was with Roger in the juniors and in Barça B, I am very happy and happy to have found basketball again, I had parked it when I retired. Basketball absorbs a lot, and more than the way we work, it demands a lot. I want to continue being here and in the future we will see if the opportunity to be the first coach arises.
What memories do you have of the two years you spent in Girona, with Akasvayu (2006/2008)?
They were two of the most beautiful years of my life, although the end of the experience was sad for the club, the fans and the city. He came from three years at Barça, where he seemed to have been able to clear his head and be a professional, but in the last year and a half he had had few opportunities. Girona allowed me to regain my confidence and show that I could be valid, thanks to the coaches Pesic and Pedro Martínez. The fans always showed me a special appreciation. Now because I already have my life set up in Castelldefels but in another life I would choose to live in Girona.
I still remember “Víctor Sada, it’s a pass” echoing through Fontajau…
(Laughs) That’s not the only reason I’m telling him, it was a combination of many things. We were very hungry players and the club was growing… but it ended badly. Pedro (Martínez), Pesic and Xavi Pascual are the best coaches I’ve had. We made a very nice family in Girona. We still talk with Marc, Carles de Luna, Martí Artigas, Galdric Serra, and players like San Emeterio, Montáñez, or with the coaches. That’s the most beautiful thing about basketball, when after years you still keep in touch with teammates.
Did you talk to Marc Gasol this week?
Yes we talked, we do often, we send each other memes and some nonsense, from time to time. But with him we don’t talk about the profession, we have enough work with our day to day, we talk about other things.
Is it a solid project?
That Girona is in the ACB is a resounding success, and it is not a job of the current moment. Marc wanted to give back what Girona had given him, and for some time now, with the help of his surroundings, they have been cutting a lot of stone. I don’t know what his ceiling might be. The reality is that this year he opted for a young coach, with desire and enthusiasm. They have their own identity and that is basic.
Sergi Martínez is in Fontajau on loan from Barça, also looking to claim his place. Does it remind you a little of your case?
Yes, it can be somewhat similar. I had him in Barça B and I played with him in B with Jordi Trias. We made friends. I told him ‘you, the same thing you did here, do it in Girona, working twice as hard and being humble’, and that’s what he’s doing. Every player has their strengths and weaknesses. He does what he knows how to do and has to do. I told him ‘have fun in Girona, it’s a very nice city’. He is a Catalan player, made at Barça, with very marked values. He gives everything.
Is there anyone in the league who defends as well as you?
(River). I always say that I had good teammates and that they helped me and I them when defending, supporting each other. He was a player with intensity, and courage and defensive delivery, but there were much better defensive players when he played, and also now. Now everything is evolving, now it is more important to contribute much more in attack, there are no players so specifically marked.
2023-11-25 20:54:28
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