From Ljubljana, Slovenia
The objective was met. Argentina had to wait until the last week of competition, just over a month before the start of the Olympic Games, to seal its classification. And it cost, yes. The team did what they had to do, win half of the games each week and not lose to any team that was below them in the world ranking.
In the first week in Rio de Janeiro, the national team defeated Germany and Iran. In the second they beat Canada and Serbia and in the third they beat Türkiye and Bulgaria. The six losses were against Brazil, Japan, the United States, France, Poland and Slovenia (all already qualified for Paris 2024).
During the three weeks of play, the National Team alternated good and bad moments, probably due to a mixture of fatigue and pressure to achieve the goal. Marcelo Méndez made several changes to the team during the tournament and the starting team for the maximum multi-sports event still does not seem to be completely defined. From Ljubljana, Página/12 spoke with the coach the day the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) made the classification official with the delivery of some hats and the Paris 2024 mascot, the Olympic Phryge.
–What do you feel after qualifying for the Games?
-I am very happy with having achieved the goal and very happy with the group because despite not showing our best game, we showed courage, aggressiveness and left Argentina in good standing with the classification. That was the most important thing in this period of the process.
–You said that they did not show the best game, what should be improved?
–We have to continue growing as a team, we have to improve technically, in attack and in serving as well. These are things that we have to do and we are going to try to take advantage of this time until the Games to do them.
The team at times seemed very tired, the players finished their season abroad and immediately began training at CeNARD to then begin this Olympic quest from May 21 until now. With the classification completed, Méndez referred to this issue: “The rest will depend on whether we qualify for the final phase of the VNL or not. “I’m going to try to give them a few days off so they can be with their families and so they can rest and then face this final stage of the process that is the Olympic Games.”
Argentina will have to wait until this Sunday they play Cuba vs. Poland, Japan against the United States and Serbia against Slovenia, to find out if they finally advance to the quarterfinals of the Nations League (VNL) to be played in Lodz, Poland, between June 27 and 30. Afterwards, a rest is expected for the squad and a friendly tour before the Olympic Games that will begin on July 27 in the case of volleyball at the Arena Sur 1 in Paris.
The coach of the Argentine National Team is the only one in history to be in charge of the national team for two Olympic cycles in a row. He is also the technical director of Jastrzębski Węgiel, a Polish Plusliga team with which he won the two-time championship this season and was also runner-up in the Champions League.
–What can you use about Polish volleyball in the National Team?
–It is a different volleyball, more physical, stronger which does not mean that they are not technical as well. Together with Italy, they are the best leagues in the world and they play at a very high level all the time, not only when they are in the National Team, which allows them to be much closer to high performance. We have players from several leagues at different levels, so we have to level up and it is more difficult for us to reach that performance ceiling.
Méndez has been in charge of Argentina since the 2018/2019 season. In 2019 he led the National Team in the VNL and in the Japan Pre-Olympic Qualifiers they qualified for Tokyo, while in Lima, under the command of Horacio Di Leo, another group of players achieved Pan American gold for the second consecutive time. In Tokyo 2020 (which was finally played in 2021) he managed to equal the highest historical milestone in this sport by winning the bronze medal, beating Brazil in the third place match. In 2022 he qualified for the quarterfinals of the World Cup and in 2023 he achieved two unprecedented feats: moving to the final phase of the VNL and winning the South American Championship against Brazil for the first time in 35 editions played.
–What is the key to staying at the highest level for so long?
–The truth is that I think the group is good and is focused on giving the best, that is the most important thing. As I do? I don’t know, the only thing I know is that we work a lot and we want to improve ourselves as a team and individually each day.
Agustín Loser and the Paris 2024 mascot. Behind, Gallego. (volleyballworld.com)
When the last match in which Argentina defeated Bulgaria ended this Saturday, we asked Méndez about the message he told the players at the end of the match. “I told them to rest, to enjoy, that they were weeks of great tension, of great emotional exhaustion, and to take advantage of this moment to enjoy the achievement we made. For me it is a pride to be able to represent Argentina, to reach the Olympic Games twice, which is not easy for us. It is a pride to work, I feel happy where I work and to be able to represent my country in volleyball,” concluded the national team driver.
2024-06-22 16:30:57
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