David Martín: Podium Focus – Defense is Key

David Martín (Barcelona, ​​1977) breathes water polo through all four sides. First as a player and since 2016 as a coach, he demonstrates his passion for this sport in each answer. Since he took the reins of the Spanish team to pilot a necessary reconstruction, he has won nine medals (three golds, three silvers and three bronzes) in international tournaments and enters the key moment of the European Championship in Serbia, which he arrived as the current World and European champion. This Friday (3:30 p.m.), first match of the second phase against Montenegro.

-Three games have already been played in the European Championship, but this Friday the moment of truth begins.

-Yes, the truth is that it is a new experience for us with this format, we had never experienced it like this and now it is as if we had three quarterfinals in a row. Three decisive matches that you have to win to advance to the semifinals. We are prepared. The victory against the Netherlands after the defeat against Serbia was important for mental group growth.

-That defeat against Serbia has left Spain with no margin for error.

-Yes, obviously. We knew it was a very important game, although more so for them. They came out with the knife between their teeth because for them it was life or death. If they hadn’t won that match they were practically out, it no longer depended on them. It has left us in a slightly more complicated situation, but as I always say, we have to try anything that is solvable.

-This Friday Montenegro, Sunday France and Tuesday Hungary.

-In these games we cannot fail, but we must keep in mind that the rivals also play. We all play three more games, many things can still happen, like the draw the Netherlands achieved against Serbia, so I believe that little things can still happen… Let’s not expect all the results to be the logical ones. The most important thing is to go game by game, focus on ourselves and arrive well prepared for each game and if we win all three we will be in the best conditions to reach the semifinals.

-By winning all three matches we will fight for the medals.

-That’s for sure. We have to be optimistic because this team has already struggled in similar situations. These clashes are still like a round of 16 or a quarter-final that we have already had to do in other championships and we have experience. We have to trust ourselves, go to the death every game and play at a high level. If then a team arrives that plays better than you and beats you, then congratulate them and go home, but let it be because we have not been at our level.

The pressure of the champion

-In this situation, where will be the key to fighting for the podium?

-Everything happens through defense. On Serbia’s day we could have defended better, in situations where we were a man down and in some goals we were not 100% concentrated. On the other hand, on the day in the Netherlands we focused a lot on this aspect and the team was very focused because conceding only seven goals is very difficult in this new water polo. If we defend well, we are well back and confident, we have resources and talent up front to hurt our rivals.

-Spain is the rival to beat. Does that make the internal pressure even greater or do you face it with the peace of mind of defending the title?

-I always say that the internal pressure is greater than the external one. Luckily we don’t receive great pressure from the environment because I think we are a team that in recent years has always shown its face. There are times you win and other times you don’t, but the team has always been competitive and the pressure is there, whether you won or lost. Obviously for the rivals we are the rival to beat because everyone talks about Spain being one of the big favorites. I sincerely believe that the reality is different.

-Is it the most even tournament you remember?

-There is a group of four or five very even teams. We already saw it last year at the World Cup in Singapore, which is true that we won, but the semifinals were practically a miracle. Right now there are teams like Greece that have not won any major championship, but they are one of the big favorites because they are a great team. Serbia plays at home, Hungary, Croatia, Italy… Each one with their own style of play, which makes the championship more beautiful. We are the rival to beat because we are the current champions, but it is clear that the level is very very similar.

-Winning is becoming more difficult in sport.

-In elite team sport, equality is maximum. It is very difficult for a team to repeat victory in a World Cup, a European Championship or a Games on a continuous basis.

-And in this situation, with what result would you leave satisfied?

-Right now I’m not thinking about the result, I’m thinking about giving our best version and going home saying ‘hey, we played our best!’. Sport sometimes gives you and sometimes takes it away. The most valuable thing about a team sport and any athlete is giving your best version and understanding that your rivals also train, they also have a lot of quality and one day they can beat you.

-It would be a mistake to think beyond the next game.

-That’s my my idea. In a championship with this format, the first thing is to face Montenegro with our best version and win the game, then France and then Hungary come and our development in the championship takes us as far as possible. But I will make the evaluations at the end, not in the middle of the tournament.

-How do you manage a team that never stops bringing joy to Spanish sport?

– It’s not easy because sometimes you can fall into conformity. It must be taken into account that these players have a very high level of stress, not only with the national team, but also with their clubs. The stress of having to win constantly wears you down. We try to ensure that the player arrives fresh, that there is not constant talk that we have to win no matter what, but what we have to do is play as we know how to play, give our best version in each game, in each championship and from there understand that sport can sometimes be a little unfair.

-Where are Spain’s strong points?

-We are a team that, starting from defense, our counterattack is very dangerous. We are a very well organized team in attack and we have all positions well covered. We have great launchers, good buoys and this is where our strength lies. Furthermore, we are a team that plays a little differently than the others and this sometimes makes the rest uncomfortable. And, above all, that we play as a team and that one day a player appears and another day another appears. Everyone accepts their role perfectly.

-What has David Martín given to the national team?

– I was a team player, I was not one of the mega talented ones but with work and effort I managed to play in the national team, play in some Olympics and within my possibilities I reached the maximum. And that is what I convey to them, that the important thing is the team, that it is impossible to win a championship with only one or two players and that our strength is that talent always has to be made available to the team.

-Do you see yourself reflected now in any player?

-I would say Larumbe or Cabanas, who are players who don’t shine as much but their work is essential for the team. Of course I would have liked to be Álvaro Granados or Alberto Munárriz, but it is very important to accept your role and know what you are good at and what you can contribute.

-Where did your passion for water polo come from?

-I have two older siblings, my brother Jesús and my sister Belén, who started swimming in the old Barceloneta pool. First I was a swimmer until I was 12 or 13 years old and there was a time when I switched to water polo.

-And how can Spain be the rival to beat in water polo and be valued so little in the country.

-I’m not one of those who cries. I believe that sport has to be sold, generate expectations and make people come to watch your sport. There are not many possibilities to train either, because there are many boys and girls who want to practice water polo, but there is a great lack of swimming pools. Except in the province of Barcelona, ​​it is very difficult to practice it.

-Listening to him, everything achieved has more merit.

-That is the big problem and the small miracle of Spanish water polo, that being so focused on a small area of ​​the country it is so powerful in both the men’s and women’s games. Maybe we are not able to sell it properly because it earns a lot live.