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Player/Coach Changes /"The Changing of the Guard"

186K views 2K replies 488 participants last post by  Saraya! 
#1 · (Edited)
Ok as this is my first thread on GM( and may very well be my last :p ) so be kind.

I was watching TTC here in the states with the European Madrid feed and the commentators were talking about how and why some South American players continually change coaches. Yes it seems to be a fact for some but not all but then the commentators went on to say that the players seemed to point the blame for their doing poorly squarely on their coaches without taking some of the blame on themselves. I thought this was a bit out of line and obviously an opinion although not stated as such.

Now I know many MTF's have opinions and don't mind commentating a bit themselves. But I also think that there are others here who may actually have information to share in this regard. So comment away please ;)
 
#723 ·
Re: Player/Coach Changes (Stani/Lundgren split, Toni/Rafa speculation)

It'd be interesting to see how Nadal would be affected by a new coach. It would probably be good for him to get rid of Toni Sopranos anyway.
 
#727 ·
Re: Player/Coach Changes (Stani/Lundgren split, Toni/Rafa speculation)

Whatever Rafa decides I will support it. Toni has brought him to a great level and he will never be forgotten, his super strategies and unbeatable command of the game. Rafa might need to do something different. His motivation will be unbeatable next year.
 
#729 ·
Re: Player/Coach Changes (Stani/Lundgren split, Toni/Rafa speculation)

Hitting to opponents' BH and hoping for errors and not knowing what to do if it doesn't work is a super strategy. OK. Now I've seen it all.
you must think of tennis like a stick and ball drawn on a rice paper.
 
#738 ·
Re: Player/Coach Changes (Stani/Lundgren split, Toni/Rafa speculation)

Sicily is an island like Mallorca, no? ;)

I'd say Toni has a big mouth for sure, talks a bit too much sometimes and maybe used some extreme methods but who are we to judge? Maybe that's what it took to make a chamiopn? :shrug:
And Nole fan, as an older person I tell you, what is a 'normal' relationship or not is very debatable. :eek:
 
#740 ·
Re: Player/Coach Changes (Stani/Lundgren split, Toni/Rafa speculation)

Oh please, it's creepy & freaky as fuck & everybody knows it. Can't stand this "on-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand" pussyfooting bullshit. Don Toni & Rafa = a few levels down from Michael Jackson & his dad.
 
#742 ·
Re: Player/Coach Changes (Stani/Lundgren split, Toni/Rafa speculation)

Oh please, it's creepy & freaky as fuck & everybody knows it. Can't stand this "on-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand" pussyfooting bullshit. Don Toni & Rafa = a few levels down from Michael Jackson & his dad.
:lol: Rafatards getting their panties in a bunch... :haha:
 
#743 ·
Re: Player/Coach Changes (Stani/Lundgren split, Toni/Rafa speculation)

^ You're one to talk.

-

That article and many other articles have taken quotes to make things look more dramatic (as they do).

To even start a comparison between Toni & Rafa Nadal's relationship and Michael Jackson's relationship with his father is ludicrous.
 
#745 ·
Re: Player/Coach Changes (Stani/Lundgren split, Toni/Rafa speculation)

It pays to represent Toni as the bad guy to foist off all mistakes of Rafito on his 'evil Uncle' and how it has worked:worship:

Another win chalked off in favor of the Spanish mafioso family:rocker2:
 
#746 ·
Re: Player/Coach Changes (Stani/Lundgren split, Toni/Rafa speculation)

jelena dokic and andy roddick were manipulated by their love-starved parents. many people don't believe so but i do. nadal isn't in that awful type of situation. he loves what he does.
 
#753 ·
Re: Player/Coach Changes (Stani/Lundgren split, Toni/Rafa speculation)

That's the one.
is is crazy fdor a player to talk strategy with his coach? Of course if Nadal does it it is.:rolleyes:
 
#754 ·
Re: Player/Coach Changes (Stani/Lundgren split, Toni/Rafa speculation)

Rafa doesn't need a new coach, he needs a sports psychologist. He just can't beat Nole, not because his game is too bad, I mean.. he beats EVERYONE else with his game, so it can't be that.. it's a mental block in his head, he needs to be confident again.
 
#755 ·
Re: Player/Coach Changes (Stani/Lundgren split, Toni/Rafa speculation)

Rafa doesn't need a new coach, he needs a sports psychologist. He just can't beat Nole, not because his game is too bad, I mean.. he beats EVERYONE else with his game, so it can't be that.. it's a mental block in his head, he needs to be confident again.
He does not have a mental block. Mental giants like Nadal don't get those. It is obvious to anyone who watched a tennis match this year than Djokovic brought his game to Partheon levels. Nadal knows that and now will bring his game to that level next year and de-throne Nole.
 
#756 ·
Re: Player/Coach Changes (Stani/Lundgren split, Toni/Rafa speculation)

Tio Toni = Marlon Brando
Rafa = Al Pacino

Sonny has already been shot at the toll booth, Rafa had already performed the gun in the toilet scene, had already gone to Italy and has now returned, and is trying to make it all work.

Meanwhile he has found more competition to the family (Djokovic) now than when he left.

All metaphorically of course.

Or maybe Toni is Paulie in Goodfellas and Rafa is Ray Liotta's character.
 
#757 ·
Re: Player/Coach Changes (Stani/Lundgren split, Toni/Rafa speculation)

Tio Toni = Marlon Brando
Rafa = Al Pacino

Sonny has already been shot at the toll booth, Rafa had already performed the gun in the toilet scene, had already gone to Italy and has now returned, and is trying to make it all work.

Meanwhile he has found more competition to the family (Djokovic) now than when he left.

All metaphorically of course.
If that's the case then Rafa's about to become one hell of a badass. :eek:

Although to be honest - Don Corleone was far more indulgent than Toni Nadal.
 
#759 ·
Re: Player/Coach Changes (Stani/Lundgren split, Toni/Rafa speculation)

Nah, The Sopranos are an ignorant lot, the Nadals are a cultured and sophisticated clan. ;)
 
#765 ·
Re: Player/Coach Changes (Stani/Lundgren split, Toni/Rafa speculation)

i think some of you are hinting that nadal was beaten as a child and as a result grew some personal and social abnormalities... some of you guys are sick...

in any case, i think the fear is not working the relationship anymore... i think rafa is standing up to uncle toni these days instead of taking another whipping with that piece of 4 x 2 after losses... toni needs to employ some various new methods to test nadal's pain threshold...
 
#766 ·
Re: Player/Coach Changes (Stani/Lundgren split, Toni/Rafa speculation)

i think some of you are hinting that nadal was beaten as a child and as a result grew some personal and social abnormalities... some of you guys are sick...
i wouldn't say beaten physically, but it sure looks like uncle tony took him down a controversial psychological path. Also, I am not trying to stir up crap, but rafa's dad sure looks like a hard-nosed man when watching his son.
 
#769 ·
Re: Player/Coach Changes (Stani/Lundgren split, Toni/Rafa speculation)

The slammed fist is one event that sticks out to me, but I've seen him often enough to say that he gets easily irritable if things don't go his way. He was happy as a clam last year, but he's a completely different man this year for obvious reasons. Seems like a dude that you don't want to get on his bad side.
 
#773 ·
Re: Player/Coach Changes (Stani/Lundgren split, Toni/Rafa speculation)

The slammed fist is one event that sticks out to me, but I've seen him often enough to say that he gets easily irritable if things don't go his way. He was happy as a clam last year, but he's a completely different man this year for obvious reasons. Seems like a dude that you don't want to get on his bad side.
I had this impression of him before, but after reading Nadal's book I'm positive his father is a calm and positive energy in his life. He has very high esteem and regard for his dad, and he speaks of him as the one member in his family that gets things done and finds solutions to Rafa's problems. When Rafa went through his bleakest period after discovering a genetic malformation of his left foot, and was told by the doctors that he would never play pro tennis again, it was his dad who looked up everywhere for a solution and his dad who cheered Rafa up and helped him recover psychologically. It gives me the impression Rafa values his dad's input in his career more than Toni's.
 
#770 ·
Re: Player/Coach Changes (Stani/Lundgren split, Toni/Rafa speculation)

Miguel Angel seems like the most relaxed of the three (actually I read somewhere there is a fourth but I have no clue who it is) Nadal brothers to me. Maybe because he was able to make a name for himself on his own while Toni and Sebastian are living through Rafa, if that makes sense. Miguel Angel was a successful footballer at Barcelona and Mallorca and is now working as the assistant coach for Mallorca--he leads his own life, while his two brothers are heavily involved in Rafa's.
 
#771 ·
Re: Player/Coach Changes (Stani/Lundgren split, Toni/Rafa speculation)

clay warrior needs a world class fitness expert who specializes in the sport of tennis.

and he needs to hire some aussie greats to help him with the net game and the slice.

will it ever happen? never.

the guy is too stubborn. nadal will do it his way no matter what. its a close knit family and team and he will forever keep it that way.
 
#774 ·
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