Sergio Scariolo (Brescia, 1961) offers in Valduero Winery for a 2024 full of successes with the aim of achieving Olympic qualification with Spain. The coach, who received the BRAND Legendthe highest distinction of this newspaper, is a new member of La Tenada, the most exclusive wine club in the world that belongs to the magnificent winery based in Market Gumiel (Burgos). Between wonderful broths, the coach talks about his future, about the state of current basketball, about the new generations of players.
Q. After many summers of success with the national team, the disappointment of the World Cup arrived. Winter is coming and I have the feeling that the man who was best prepared to take the blow was you.
A. I did not feel any disappointment because I knew that direct qualification for the Games was very complicated as things were and on the contrary, I felt satisfaction with how the team competed in all the games: when they could win by winning and when they could not. winning, competing, reaching the limit of our possibilities. There are many ways to not achieve the objective at the results level. This team has the obligation to choose the best way, which is giving everything and if the rival does it better than you, they are congratulated and that’s it.
Q. Does it seem strange to you to be without training on a daily basis? I heard him saying that he was watching two or three basketball games a day, with a different perspective.
A. Yes, I watch a lot of basketball, with more varied content. When you are involved in a season with two competitions it is very difficult to look up to see other games. Apart from the Euroleague, which I follow with priority interest, some national leagues, G-League matches. I can vary my point of view more without the urgency of seeing an opponent to prepare for a match.
“For me, not competing is the problem, because if you compete and we are left out of the Games, it is sport”
Q. Are you surprised by anything you see?
A. It is impossible for there to be radical changes from one year to the next. There are evolutions that are maintained. It is impossible for there to be substantial news in such a short period of time. Interesting players always come out, but it is very rare for a player to go from not being a national team/Euroleague level player to being one in three months. What you do is follow the evolution, see those who can arrive, those who are on the way. Honestly, I have not seen any Spanish player who has taken the definitive step, but I do see others who have established themselves and are advancing.
Scariolo, with the barrel lid that makes him a member of La Tenada de Bodega Valduero
Q. In 2024 the main challenge for the national team is the Pre-Olympic. What did you think of the draw? Treacherous?
A. I see the draw with pragmatism. Of the five pots, three have given an acceptable result and two the strongest and most fearsome rival. We were 60 percent lucky and 40 percent unlucky. Now, anyone in an isolated match can beat you. Right now almost the evaluations we make are from a bar.
“My idea is to continue training with only one team, club or selection”
Q. Are you worried about playing at home?
A. It is a challenge. Our tradition is negative because of the things we did at home previously. And then the Pre-Olympics usually punish the locals. You have to know how to focus on a mental level. We should not worry too much and try to maximize the help that Valencia fans can give you in difficult moments of the game. You have to accept the objective of the classification naturally and without pressure.
Q. Have you noticed any changes in the FEB since the arrival of Elisa Aguilar? I mean that in a good way. Can you see her seal? She has said that one of her priorities is its continuity beyond 2024.
A. It would be dangerous to change something in the FEB because it works very well. His presence is palpable. She has her stamp, her personality and I appreciate her words, of course. If I decided from my heart, I would also love to continue in the national team, but decisions are made with the brain and there are many components that come into play. You will continue with all the usual motivation and if you do not continue, the motivation will be the same until the last second. I will have the greatest hope until the end.
It would be dangerous to change something in the FEB because it works very well. Elisa has her stamp and her presence is palpable.”
Q. Garbajosa said that not going to the Games would be a pain. How would you rate it?
A. If you have a goal and you don’t achieve it, it is always a problem, always, but I never think about what happens if it is not achieved. I’m not worried about this. It doesn’t worry me. There is always a how when it comes to fighting for a goal. If you compete until the end and someone does it better, well, I think it’s a way to avoid getting hurt. If you don’t compete, for me it’s a bigger deal. It does not worry me. Participating will be a great result, an achievement. Continuing presence in the Games is very difficult, only the United States does it.
Q. Maybe it is a transcendent moment for Spanish basketball with such a good generation of players who can join. How should it be done? There are rules?
A. The plan with the young people will mark their progression, the space they have in their teams, the commitment and attachment to the national team jersey. They are the ones who set the deadlines. We have to be notaries and very objective about what is happening. But I also want to remember that there are people who compete now with this shirt and deserve the respect and all the opportunities that we will also give to those who are growing.
That said, at the Federation we are very excited about a group that could expand beyond the generation of 2004 and 2006. If all goes well, we believe that we can build a backbone of a team that will be able to compete with an amount of talent from first level.
Now, at this moment, we compete for effort, for team cohesion, for work, for commitment and for having a good, but not extraordinary, amount of talent. The mission for the future is that we can maintain these values and add, when these kids are ready, the same soul as always with the talent that allows us to compete at the highest level.
“The plan with the young people will be marked by their progression, the space they have in their teams, their commitment to the national team.”
Q. The contract ends in 2024, they have already spoken to renew. What is your approach? Wait to see how the Pre-Olympic develops? Sign before?
A. The decision will be prior. The idea is to continue with a single team, club or selection. At the heart level, the first thought is the selection, but then there are important components such as each person’s career, contracts, agreements. It is difficult to predict at this time. The brain will decide my future, but listen to the heart. If there is an agreement, we will continue and if there is not, there will be a maximum effort until the last second in every sense.
Scariolo with Yolanda Garca, director of Bodega Valduero
Q. Are you still seduced by an NBA bench?
A. It is the maximum competition in which a basketball athlete can participate. Another thing is how. The how is very variable for players and coaches. After having lived it, I can have more information to know how it can continue to attract me and how it certainly doesn’t.
Q. I suppose it is very uncomfortable to be associated with the Real Madrid bench while your friend Chus is on the bench. They also share an agent, Higinio Alonso.
A. It doesn’t affect me. Communication with Chus is very fluid and with a reinforced guarantee of transparency. It doesn’t affect me or worry me because I also see that it doesn’t affect him or his team.
Q. What does European basketball look like from the sidelines?
A. Every year it seems that the physical aspect grows by 5%. The athletic and physical dimension has grown a lot. Evolution is going there. The technique must respond to a physical capacity that is reflected defensively from the first week of the competition. Teams have players increasingly capable of acquiring the dimension that being gifted with talent is not enough. You have to put mental toughness and physical endurance. Perhaps in this era it is more important than tactics and technique.
