The basketball calendar doesn’t let up either. Having just played the Super Cup, last weekend the Endesa League began and this Thursday the curtain rises on the Euroleague, another marathon competition. Real Madrid has played until the last second in the last two seasons, champion against Olympiacos and runner-up against Panathinaikos in those two finals. The white team begins a European campaign with its visit to Bayern Munich (8:45 p.m., Movistar) that faces many new faces due to the renewal of its squad. Without two legends like Rudy Fernández and Sergio Rodríguez, leadership is accentuated in the hands of Facundo Campazzo (Córdoba, Argentina; 33 years old). The point guard says he feels at his best.
Ask. Madrid started last season with 19 straight wins. They have already lost two games, the Super Cup final against Unicaja and the ACB debut against Leyma Coruña. Are the changes so noticeable?
Answer. Yes, we need time and filming. There are many players who have to adapt. That takes a process. It’s what we have to do. Sometimes you start playing at an incredible level and other times it costs a little more. We have to adapt, improve, be demanding with the team and with ourselves, with our game and what we want to become. With your feet on the ground, keep working. There is also a different way of playing for new players and you have to work on it.
Q. Without Rudy and Chacho, do you have to be more of a leader?
R. Yes. We have to take a step forward, from leadership, from example, to infect those who come new. There are several of us who have to take that step to be led by our coach and the captain and to lead. It’s a long season and we all know how demanding it is to wear this shirt. It is a motivation to take that step forward.
Q. What type of leader are you?
R. The leaders who marked me said little and did a lot. They spoke what was just and necessary at the right time, and on a day-to-day basis they were constantly working, they did what they told us. That left me with that, being the best example for my colleagues. If it’s my turn to speak, I will speak. If I have to keep my mouth shut, I will listen. I like to show that I’m ready for any training session and match.
Q. What did you learn in the NBA?
R. I went to the NBA because it was my dream, not for money. When I arrived in Denver, Jokic told me that everything he had learned in European basketball there was of no use. It was another game. I was used to calling the play and the point guard there was Jokic. Balls to him and the rest to move. I had to reinvent myself, change as a player. It was difficult, but the level there was makes it easier for you to adapt. I already knew that I should have a greater impact with less time with the ball in my hand. It had to be effective with less prominence than he was used to. I let myself be carried away by the good feelings, we played well, I was a starter in the playoffsI felt very comfortable.
Q. You they cut in Dallas. Is the NBA as a business cruel?
R. For the good, it’s incredible. And for the bad… that’s how things are, those are the rules of the game. You already know that can happen. All that remains is to raise your head and move forward. In Dallas he had to produce, he barely played and sometimes the ball didn’t go in.
Q. What is the fundamental requirement of a point guard?
R. Knowing your colleagues is the main thing. Add minutes with them, on and off the court, ask them how they like the ball to be passed to them, in which plays they are comfortable scoring. It is the way to generate trust. The goal of the point guard is that they want to play with you, that they enjoy you because you involve everyone. It’s not an easy job, but it motivates me a lot. The point guard is like the coach on the court, you are in constant communication with him. Sometimes it doesn’t tell you anything and it’s your time to decide. It is managing times and being calm. I work on that day by day, not being so emotional, having a cool head.
Q. Is he still as impulsive as before?
R. Less and less. It depends on the party. I control that situation more and more. At the beginning of my career the first thing you saw was how impulsive and emotional I was, and now how I control the game is more highlighted. There are few days when I am calm, the truth is, but I control it a lot, I am more mature and I enjoy this path I am traveling.
Q. Do you have the soul of a coach?
R. I don’t know, that job is very difficult. The most complicated thing is knowing how to manage the group, how to send messages to everyone. Yes, I find myself in situations now on the court in which I read the game and think about what I would do as a coach, and that makes me very curious. I think I would start as an assistant, being more with the player.
Q. What type of coach and leader is Chus Mateo?
R. Always think about the group above all else. He is a type of coach that you don’t see much, he is very close to the player. He was an assistant for a long time, with Pablo (Laso) and he is very open to talking and exchanging opinions. In such a long season and in a club as big as Madrid, that flexibility, that it is open to debate and to the player, is very good. That back and forth makes the team better.
Q. How does the mind work?
R. A long time ago I started meditation. I set a timer, 10 minutes trying not to think about anything, although they seemed long… Now I have moved on to another level, yoga, and I finish the class with meditation. All of this helps me withstand the pressure of a world like this. Many times it happens to me that I think about what’s coming, what will happen in the next game, and that creates a lot of anxiety, I spend a lot of energy and I miss the day-to-day life, and that generates negative things for the game and for me. I am learning to live in the present, put my energy in the field and let the things come that have to come, that’s what I prepare for.
Q. Do you have the soul of a coach?
R. I don’t know, that job is very difficult. The most complicated thing is knowing how to manage the group, how to send messages to everyone. Yes, I find myself in situations now on the court in which I read the game and think about what I would do as a coach, and that makes me very curious. I think I would start as an assistant, being more with the player.
Q. What is Chus Mateo like?
R. Always think about the group above all else. He is a type of coach that you don’t see much, he is very close to the player. He was an assistant for a long time, with Pablo (Laso) and he is very open to talking and exchanging opinions. In such a long season and in a club as big as Madrid, that flexibility, that it is open to debate and to the player, is very good. That back and forth makes the team better.
Q. How does the mind work?
R. A long time ago I started meditation. I set a timer, 10 minutes trying not to think about anything, although they seemed long… Now I have moved on to another level, yoga, and I finish the class with meditation. All of this helps me withstand the pressure of a world like this. Many times it happens to me that I think about what’s coming, what will happen in the next game, and that creates a lot of anxiety, I spend a lot of energy and I miss the day-to-day life, and that generates negative things for the game and for me. I am learning to live in the present, put my energy in the field and let the things come that have to come, that’s what I prepare for.
