“We all know that it was a missed opportunity.” Not even 25 minutes after winning bronze, Dani Dukhshebaev could not avoid referring to the semi-finals and the feeling that a unique opportunity to compete in the first Olympic final had passed before them.
Forty hours after losing to Germany, the Spanish did what they always do: win the third-place match at the Games (23-22 against Slovenia), for the fifth time (1996, 2000, 2008, 2021 and 2024). The difference this time was the complicated digestion beforehand, the reconstruction of a locker room that saw a train leave and no one knows when it will return. Therein lay the frustration and the merit of the good outcome that returned Spain to the podium after the European slump in January, and which underpinned the generational change – the long-term reconstruction – that began in 2021.
The upliftment after the funereal atmosphere of the return to the Villa began on Friday night in the therapy for the fallen. “We all got together in the room, drank a beer, reflected on the blow we had taken and that was it. That was the key: the team,” said Jorge Maqueda (36 years old), who was instrumental in the energy boost this Sunday. “It is what defines us. Even when Jordi (Ribera) gave us free time to go out to eat, we all went together,” added the full-back.
The effects of the defeat increased in proportion to age and experience. “It took me longer to recover. And perhaps also those who were in Tokyo,” confessed the boss, Jordi Ribera, who understood that he had to play different keys to put the pieces back together. “We didn’t go to training (on Saturday), but to the football field to play some games, to have a bit of fun. It was time to relax because we could work on the tactics on video. It was very good for us to recover our spirits and laugh again,” revealed the coach, a serious, rigorous and conscientious man, who on Sunday did not hide his joy or his sadness. “Disappointment always means a duel, but if there is one thing this team has, it is regeneration. We had a day of mourning, in which we talked, and the next day people began to recover. There was not much time either,” warned the coach.
We all got together in the room, drank a beer, reflected on the beating we had taken and that was it. That was the key: the team
Jorge Maqueda
“In this case,” said captain Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas, “the less experienced ones have been the ones who have brought joy back to the group.” The Olympic virgins who do not know what it is to miss the Games (he did not qualify for Rio 2016) nor had the personal reference of other defeats in the semi-finals, such as against Denmark in Tokyo or in the last World Cup. That rival felt more inaccessible (this Sunday they regained the Olympic throne: 26-39 against Germany) than the Germans. That is why there is that feeling of an opportunity that has been missed this time.
“Perhaps, unfortunately, we are a bit of an expert at this,” said the youngest of the Dukhshebaev brothers. “Since I have been in the national team, I have had to do it several times in the Games and World Cups. You lose, you have a bad day, but we know how it goes, you have another chance,” said the full-back and centre-back.
“Put a Maque in your life”
Frustration settled, at 5.30am they rang the bell this Sunday at the Villa to defeat Slovenia in another joint exercise. Maqueda’s attacks – “put a Maque in your life”, as Viran Morros used to say -, the pace of Alex Dujshebaev, the certainty of Perez de Vargas and the appearance of secondary players like Abel Serdio and Miguel Sanchez-Migallon allowed Spain to apply its rule of Olympic bronze, the metal that never slips away (five matches for third place and as many victories).
Half of the team had no Olympic experience and the average age was five years younger than in Tokyo.
It was the medal of the two reconstructions: the immediate one and the long-term one, which began after Tokyo, when Raúl Entrerríos, Viran Morros, Julen Aginagalde and Dani Sarmiento stepped aside. In this three-year period, the team has turned its sock inside out, especially in this event. In addition to those who retired, other veteran protagonists in this cycle have not been there: Joan Cañellas and Gedeón Guardiola (injury), Adrià Figueras (reserve), Ángel Fernández and Antonio García (technical decision). Even Morros returned for the pre-Olympic.
Six medals in the last seven tournaments
Before the opening match, Ribera recalled that the team was five years younger on average than in Tokyo and that half of the expedition members had never been to the Games. The inexperience affected, above all, the central block, with Abel Serdio and Javi Rodríguez. “This medal will help us in the future,” said Pérez de Vargas. “The experience acquired, with many new people, can give us an extra in the Olympic cycle,” added the goalkeeper, who explained that he had also worked on instilling in the newcomers “that competitive gene.” “We are not required to win, but to compete. We are very good at that,” he recalled.
The second Olympic bronze medal with a much-revamped squad compared to Japan confirmed that the Spanish team still knows the way to the podium with other players. This was the sixth medal in the last seven major tournaments (they only failed at the European Championships in January) and underpinned the best run since the explosion of 1996, which began with a European silver. Since then, 19 medals in 37 possible championships. “We must congratulate the people who have entered for doing so without complexes, without wanting to compare themselves with anyone. They have taken a step forward,” concluded Pérez de Vargas.
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