Garbajosa: “European gold is one of the greatest achievements of Spanish sport”

Nine medals this summer, did you expect that?

To be completely honest and we don’t hide it, it was a very difficult outcome to predict. We knew it would be a good summer because of the quality of the players and the way things were going. But medals were never a target for this federation. I’ve made this very clear since I came here: the idea is to train the players. The results support management, but sometimes the ball is slipping and that shouldn’t make it good or bad. It’s a tremendous satisfaction, but they’re not the goal. Let’s say they are a flying target on the way.

Has the pandemic made things too complicated?

They say that hunger sharpens the intellect and that we are creating alternative solutions in times of pandemic. That’s what I’m most proud of, not just of the Federation team, but of the entire structure of the basketball pyramid in Spain.

Are we getting out of Covid better?

Spanish basketball yes. I say this from my heart. Our competitions today are better and more visible than before the pandemic. At the level of the election results, that’s clear and above all, because for me everything I’m saying right now is a result of Spanish basketball becoming more unifying. Now is the time to grow and we have the tools to do it.

Let’s talk about Europe. What did you think as a player when you saw such a young group at the European Championship, the highest level in history?

You can never lie to an athlete. Neither a player from the national team, nor the media, nor the fans. You can’t lie to them, but you must also motivate the team and make the team feel supported. We caught the highest level of transition period in history in Eurobasket. No more small countries. We’ve seen teams like Estonia or Bosnia create a lot of challenges for traditionally very strong teams. The message was as it should be. We are facing the biggest challenge with players who have never competed at this level, and many of whom have not even competed individually. There was a plan drawn with windows in 2017, but you don’t know how it will turn out until you open the melon.

Circumstances didn’t help much with Llull’s last minute injury or a very complicated draw…

But there was the great captain Rudy Fernández, the Hernángómez brothers, Lorenzo Brown, the youth… And they saw this as an opportunity to justify themselves, to show their worth and how far they could go. On top of that, the death group with Lithuania, Germany, France, Slovenia… It wasn’t a good way to end well, but the quality of the Spanish player was brutal. And there is no team in the world that depends on Spanish players. We had some luck at one point, and the coach’s ability to convey that emotion convinced us of the plan. -That feeling, no matter what, we didn’t go out of plan. We talked about the Belgian night, which was very difficult because we could have stayed out. But this internal management of the group was absolutely brilliant.

Nights like Belgium are the things that make the band bigger, right?

It’s not just the group. I am experiencing this as a president as well as being an actor. You know you don’t have to intervene, but you must be alert to any signals coming your way. The player sometimes sends you signals directly or indirectly and you must know how to read what the calm group needs at that moment. There was a plan, and even though things didn’t always go your way, the plan had to go. It is easy for the group to disband when the results are not on your side, but the opposite happened. The group realized with 99% that it wasn’t worth it, knowing they had to give 101 was a wake-up call. From the day in Lithuania the team believed in it and we all really started to believe it. Until Lithuania came, you had to be very firm in your beliefs and follow the prepared plan, so as not to get out of the way and not be in doubt.

Scariolo has a role that goes beyond the role of a coach, he is almost an educator or a father for the coming young people.

Sergio and I have known each other since 1990. Prehistoric! I’ve seen him evolve, and Sergio has a great talent: In his evolution, he’s managed to empathize with the player to the extreme. And more in selection without ever losing the hierarchy. This is difficult because making friends with players is relatively easy. Being an authoritarian boss is relatively easy. But what is difficult is what Sergio does. It is to feel very close to the players and at the same time to make the players feel that they are in charge of the team. And I think it’s something very simple to explain, very difficult to implement, the key to his success as a national coach and for the Spanish team.

And he has an army of auxiliaries just as important or as important as he admits.

We’re talking about three physical therapists, two physical trainers, basketball science director Lorena. We are talking about a team of more than 38 people, many people are perfectly coordinated and all resources are at their disposal. Does this guarantee success? No, but it helps you chart a path closer to success.

In these 20 years of collecting victories, have you noticed that your opponents have more respect for the shirt?

This respect is very evident, but not only because of the results, but also because of the talent, the commitment of the players and coaches to the national team. A good friend of mine, the president of a very important federation, told me “Same story” at the end of the match against Germany. This is respect. Being able to win with Pau, Navarro or Felipe has tremendous value. But not being able to go one step down without them and to be at that level of excellence is a huge respect. An Asian president asked me, how do you do this in a small country, a football country, and a historically short country? Just because of the structure of the competitions, the sports structure of basketball we have in this country, it comes to my mind to say it first. And because of the competitiveness and self-confidence that players have when they come to the national team. It doesn’t matter if you play against Doncic or Antetokoumpo. We always compete to win. Then the ball sometimes goes in, sometimes it doesn’t, but he knows that he is ahead of the opponent Spain.

Many agree that European gold is the biggest success of the year for Spanish sport.

This is a beautiful story. It is a wonderful journey where the mindset of tackling challenges is created. There were later entrants, others not struggling to be in the best condition in their club… This is a story that goes far beyond a medal. For me it is one of the greatest achievements of Spanish sport. The way it is won by the degree of sacrifice and seeing players literally break their spirits. Seeing a newcomer like Lorenzo Brown put in tremendous physical effort to keep up with the elders… People feel it.

What values ​​were most associated with the team?

One of the best moments, I tell you with all my heart, was the last U-17 men’s world championship in Malaga. Thanks to the talks between friends, Pau, Navarro, Felipe, it ended there. Mumbrú, Carlos Jiménez… To see children like Candidate, Izán or Langarica play. It was very exciting. We are members of a privileged club that has given its all for the national team, and we are also friends. This is the key to success. It is a philosophy that has been handed down from generation to generation and will continue for many years because that feeling is so deep that it cannot be lost.

There is another feature that characterizes ‘La Familia’, arrogance.

I remember a day when we crossed paths with the Americans and Juan Carlos Navarro was with Ben Wallace, who was twice his age. We were like, ‘Damn, we really can’t even compete with them. But that arrogance, that talent of Juanqui, that ambition, that disrespect, makes you empathize with this team. And it’s a delight for the audience because that’s what binds it.

Is the Spanish shirt heavy?

I won’t name names, but many players tell you it’s a responsibility to dress him up because they’ve seen him compete in an Olympic final against the United States or face-to-face with France in Europe. And at the same time, the respect earned while in front of you rides on your opponents.

They are celebrating their centennial in 2023, what expectations do they have?

Centennial is a worthy excuse to keep growing. We arrived at the centenary in an absolutely unrealistic way. In 2019, I told my team that I wanted the Spanish Federation to be the best basketball federation in the world by 2023. Probably not or yes, but we are first in the world, second in women, third in training, best in Europe in competition, second in the world… Our matches are the best in Europe, our referees, our coaches… What can I say about our players? We want to draw attention in 2023. We want every match of the national team to be a special event. A ‘I was there’ for the media, fans, sponsors… Today we want to show the very high level of Spanish basketball at all levels. We are not satisfied, we want to continue to grow.

Thank you and good luck for 2023.

Thanks.