Gasol: "The national team has to build its own identity and follow the legacy of 'la Familia'"

MADRID, 30 May. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The former player of the Spanish team Pau Gasol affirms that "this year there is a new challenge" for the national team, immersed in a generational change that has to go through "making its own core, team and building identity" to "follow that legacy of 'the Family'" and, in the process, "they don't have to compare themselves with the previous group".

"This year is a new challenge for the national team. We have established some bases or lines that players who are not so young or rookies have been able to live and digest in some way, but they have to make their own nucleus, their own team and build their own identity. They don't have to compare themselves with the previous group, they have to do the best they can with what they have and team up, build and continue that legacy of 'the Family'", declared Pau Gasol in his presentation as the new change advisor culture in Iberia.

The Catalan believes that "you can win or you can lose", but that "the humility, respect, commitment and pride of wearing that shirt and representing" Spain "is non-negotiable, untouchable". "From there they create their own team, their own core, their own references," he said.

Gasol also spoke about the Eurobasket that the Spanish team will play next September. The former player believes that "externally the expectations are surely lower" and that "it can be used because any good result is going to be a surprise and it will be a plus". "And if it's not done quite right, then you can say, 'Hey, we're in a transition process, a lot of important players are gone,' meaning you have that card if you want to play it, but you shouldn't play it." he explained.

As for what he wants to see from the national team, Pau Gasol is left with "the desire, the ambition, the enjoyment and the dedication to the work that has to be there from the first moment". "I think that is the implication that I would like to see and that it be reflected in each game and I think it has been seen even with all the window games in these years. Whoever was the identity, the competition, the ambition, enjoyment, they have been there and that is the spirit that we want to continue to see and that we will surely see", he assured.

On the possible 'signing' of Lorenzo Brown for the Spanish team, Gasol believes that "that is the job of the technicians or the federation and then you analyze whether it has worked well or not." "Yes, it is true that with the significant casualties, especially in the point guard position, it seems that it is the position where reinforcement is needed," he said, adding that, although he has not followed him much, "I am sure he is a good player." .

"The teamwork, be it him or another, will be to incorporate him, that he feels like one more and that there is that cohesion that is so important to be more competitive and be able to beat teams that have more individual talent, which is something that we have been able to do on certain occasions", declared the Catalan.

Regarding his team until his retirement, FC Barcelona, ​​Pau Gasol has a "good feeling" ahead of the end of the Endesa League. "Yesterday was an important game, a good victory in the Canary Islands and it is already an important advance. The improvement of Cory Higgins is also good news for Barça, after five months away and they have a great team that is full of talent and they should be able to fight for the title and I hope they can also win", he assured.

"For me they have been the best team in Europe for almost the whole year. You can lose the Final Four in the format that it is and it is difficult to win those two games but it is what it touches. At the moment they have not been able to do it in these last two years but they've been in this position, it's important to have gotten there", he commented on FC Barcelona's defeat in the Euroleague semifinals at the hands of Real Madrid.

The former two-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers also spoke about the finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics, which Gasol describes as "entertaining" and "exciting" between "the two most fit teams." The former player, who recognizes that he will try to follow the games as much as he can, also wanted to make his prediction. "Golden State I think has a little bit of an edge but Boston, once you get to the finals, you go all out," he said.

"Two teams that deserve to be there, they have earned it. Golden State is in a very good moment of the game, they have the experience and they have what it takes to be a champion and that will be a point in favor. Boston comes in a projection amazing from the second or third month of the season and suddenly they go up like a shot and eat everyone who has passed their way, "explained Gasol.

Pau Gasol also spoke about his brother Marc, who is currently immersed in the fight to be promoted to the Endesa League with Girona, a team of which he is the owner, president and player. "The Girona project is going very well, my brother's involvement is total, but in the end the project is great, it is long-term," he declared.

The former player, who confirmed his presence in the Final Four in the event that Girona qualifies, revealed that it is "a project of a club that identifies with the city" and highlighted what his brother does. "Marc could be playing in any team, be it in the NBA or in Europe, in the Euroleague, and he is playing in Girona, in LEB Oro, and that says a lot about humility, values ​​and perspective and I am very proud of him", assured.

In Pau Gasol's future, at the moment "the path of being a coach" is not in the short term, although he does do individual training "with some young players". "I like to do that and I can flexibly. But I am looking for ways to collaborate and work with some franchises there in the United States, at the moment without hurry and without anything specific," he acknowledged.

Gasol also gave his opinion on football, specifically on the Champions League title that Real Madrid won by beating Liverpool last Saturday. The Catalan sees in the white team "a mixture of quality and talent" as well as "character, club history and Ancelotti's work", which he valued positively.

"The final is a reflection of what they have done in all the qualifiers, which is what I tried to share on Twitter, in addition to the congratulations, I tried to convey that fighting spirit, of not giving up, of believing at all times despite being down with PSG, City at home and get those games," he explained.

For Gasol, "the winning mentality", "the union" and "the cohesion of the team" have been important, which has been "very great despite the fact that they have had distractions" with different players "that they have had to manage internally ". "They have done very well to be able to win a league title as they have done and win the Champions League, so I can only congratulate them and the other teams to learn, learn from how they do it and why these things happen, because it doesn't happen for accident, you don't win titles by accident", he concluded.