He came from Betis to replace Luis Arbalejo. He doesn’t start from scratch because he knows the coach Antonio Pérez, with whom he has been working for five years, very well. He’s grounded and refuses to talk about his promotion fight for now. He’s only been in Alicante for a few days and hasn’t stopped working on his new project. Ambitious but realistic at the same time with a club with significant growth plans in the medium term.
What was the main thing that prompted you to change Sevilla for Alicante?
Basically three factors. The first is the care and trust the club has shown in me since Luis Arbalejo left. Second, the project is as ambitious as it is realistic. There is an exciting growth plan, the results may not be immediate but the potential of the club is very interesting. The third factor is Antonio Pérez, the coach I have worked with in two different clubs before coming to Alicante and I trust him.
What did you find when you arrived?
I’m new to town, learning the organizational chart and talking to all the people who make up the club. I perceive a clear idea of growth where things are done well and there is an important area of improvement that we can gradually achieve with everyone’s work and participation.
Was the fact of coinciding with Antonio Pérez the key?
That has been an important factor, of course this will be the fifth season I’ve been working with him, I know the way he works and his ideas, it’s an advantage since we’re not starting from scratch.
What can you add to Lucentum?
Above all, I avoid personalities and believe in the strength and cohesion of a work team, each of whom should add value to their work. Hard work, humility, loyalty and common sense are essential and fundamental values for us to move on the right path.
What project do you have in mind for the next season?
Without a short-term vision, I want to plan a medium-long-term project, continue the good work done with small nuances specific to each change, and realize different ideas that we will work on with the academy. Include a range of experiences with an international vision that can be very attractive for both players and coaches and in the long run.
Currently there is only one player (Gatell)… Any chance to follow a player from last season?
It’s a question that we’ve evaluated internally and will decide in the coming weeks. We are open to all possibilities in the market.
What can you say about Antonio Pérez?
He is a multidisciplinary coach with very high technical-tactical knowledge that few people can access. He has experience on the bench in different categories of Spanish basketball and modern and attractive game ideas for playing at high speed. The progress of the players is often remarkably remarkable.
The playoffs were reached last year, is the goal to play the final four?
The aim is to play basketball as well as possible and as a result, it will bring us to a certain position. There are teams like Estudiantes, Burgos or Fuenlabrada that are very strong, have very high budgets and even have to be promoted immediately. There are stronger projects that continue to make significant strides towards promotion, such as Coruña, Valladolid or Gipuzkoa Basket. We don’t set limits, we have to build a new team with great enthusiasm and be a very competitive team every week.
Will the first team have a budget to fight for the top positions?
As I told you, there are strong projects considering promotion to ACB. In our case, we want to continue on the same ascending line, but we want to be realistic with the situation. The bigger your budget, the easier it is to sign the best players and thus have a strong roster, but that doesn’t mean a great roster is a great team. Fortunately, it’s a sport and it’s not all about money.
What did the directive convey to you?
Absolute confidence in the decisions taken within the philosophy of the club that must be respected.
Did they tell you about Alicante fans?
Of course there is, I still have the memory of many Lucentum fans cheering for the team on some pitches in Spain, so I can’t wait to see our fans having fun with the team at the Technification Center.
Other than the first team, what goals do you set?
Junior teams are another priority, although for obvious reasons I will be focusing on the first team in the coming months. The first thing is to know and analyze what we have now and make decisions from there to try to improve what has already been done well and add different ideas that can be enriching.
How important should the quarry be in your project?
I was able to confirm that the quarry is a very important point for the club and that is something that makes me happy. The training of our coaches is something we should encourage for their benefit and especially for the development of the players.