Away from the city center, the Mercure hotel in Bourg-en-Bresse is not exactly the place you can pass by on foot. So seeing a man arrive wearing a sweatshirt bearing the “Olympic Committee of Chile” logo quickly reveals his identity: Juan Manuel Cordoba, the Chilean coach. The individual has made a name for himself in recent days at JL Bourg by trying to get accredited for the EuroCup final, even though he is obviously not a journalist. Through Goran Radonjic, he finally found a classic place.
Juan Manuel Cordoba is accompanied by another person, Riccardo Herrera, Sebastian’s father, who came straight from Santiago, Chile, to watch the EuroCup final. On the hotel terrace, between his hesitant English and our faltering Spanish, the conversion begins. The father, a former semi-professional player, talks about how his son got into basketball. “Seba played three sports at the same time: tennis, football and basketball. I asked him to choose. He was a very good tennis player: one day, he played in a tournament and he beat everyone 6-0, 6-1. In the final, he played against Cristian Garin (now a professional tennis player, former 17th in the world, editor’s note). He lost 6-1! So Seba decreed that he would never play tennis again. He took up football and got cut up during a game with tackles everywhere. So, he took up basketball. And I blew a big breath (he laughs). Personally, I wanted him to play basketball but I didn’t want to impose anything on him. »
From the German D2 to the European Cup finals: thank you Mannheim!
30 minutes later, while his father and his coach are dining in the adjoining room, Sebastian Herrera is laughing in an alcove in the reception hall of the Mercure hotel. “I played against Garin?!” Was this guy Garin? A child absolutely killed me. If it was really him, that’s crazy! But it’s plausible, we’re the same age! » The end of the evening surely allowed some family clarifications but the rest of the story is rather consistent: it tells how Sebastian Herrera, child of Vitacura, became the first Chilean to win a European Cup last year, winner of the Champions League under the colors of Bonn.
With 43.1% at 3-points, Seba Herrera is one of the best shooters in the EuroCup (photo: Julie Dumélié)
In this case, it was his mother who indirectly played a major role. Of German origin, living in Chile since the mid-1980s, she left him a second surname, Kratzborn, and above all a German passport. The sesame for Europe. You still had to be spotted… Sebastian Herrera achieved this thanks to the Mannheim tournament in 2014. One of his assistant coaches told recruiters that he held German nationality, the offers ended up arriving. It will be Trier, a stone’s throw from the Luxembourg border, where the relegation of the first team to the German second division, at the end of its first season, will constitute a formidable personal opportunity: the big leap of the U19s towards the Pro A, the antechamber of the BBL, at only 17 years old. Two years later, a certain… Tuomas Iisalo came to pick him up from Crailsheim, still in Pro A. “He and I started from the bottom. Him trusting me changed my life. » Or, at least, his career, from the German second division to the doors of the EuroLeague. “I had to fight to climb the ladder but it’s great”he smiles. “I’m really enjoying what’s going on as much as I can. This is an incredible opportunity. »
Already the greatest Chilean player in history
For a Chilean, this is especially unheard of. Enough to already make him, at only 26 years old, the greatest player in the history of local basketball. “What he is accomplishing is unprecedented for our country”, assures his father, Riccardo. Some compatriots are also in Europe, but at much lower heights: Ignacio Varela in the Spanish second division, Manuel Suarez in Estonia, Nico Carvacho in Poland, Felipe Haase in Greece, Aitor Pickett in the German second division, etc. Together, they form the backbone of the Chilean selection, which has just signed one of the greatest feats in its history by beating Facundo Campazzo’s Argentina last February (79-77), despite the small match of Herrera (8 points at 2/10), captain of the national team. A first in 68 years, which allowed Chile to rise to 61st place in the FIBA ranking, a reference ranking for this endless coastal state of the Pacific Ocean.
Sebastian Herrera waving the Chilean flag last year after Bonn’s BCL title (photo: FIBA)
How to develop basketball in Chile? The second sport in terms of licensees, basketball remains confidential, in the shadow of football (and its star Arturo Vidal) and tennis, which produces three world Top 10s: Marcelo Rios, Nicolas Massu and Fernando Gonzalez. “Unfortunately, it’s not an important sport for us”regrets Sebastian Herrera. “But over the past two years, it has been gaining momentum. Infrastructure and coaches are progressing. More and more players are coming to Europe and that is creating positive emulation. Having representatives on the big stage will set a good example for the next generation. It will motivate young people to take up basketball. Here I try to represent Chile as best as I can! » He did it last year in Malaga, after the BCL coronation, by wrapping himself in a Chilean flag. And we didn’t ask if he had taken it in his luggage in Bourg-en-Bresse. Actually, we already know the answer…
The eye of Juan Manuel Cordoba, his national coach
“Seba is having a great European career, taking one step after another. He arrived very young and is constantly improving. In the national team, he is our captain, a leader on and off the field. He is someone who shows the way for the next generation. He is a very intelligent player, who opens the doors in Europe for all other Chileans. I can’t say what its limit is. I don’t know how far he can go because he’s constantly growing.
In the first leg of the final, he proved that he couldn’t just score points. With his father Riccardo, we said that he was good in many areas. He defended very well, he contributed to the rebounds and made good decisions in attack: in terms of ball circulation or on the switch attack, for example. And then, he will always score, because he is a strong shooter! »
In Bourg-en-Bresse,
2024-04-12 17:01:13
#great #adventure #Sebastian #Herrera #Paris #Chilean #pioneer
