[~EMiLiTA~]

An interview with JC's coach, Antonio, from a Spanish site. I've translated it for u guys below. Hope u find it interesting!

"EN SEVILLA PASARON COSAS DOLOROSAS QUE NOS HAN MARCADO"

En el equipo español de Copa Davis ya no hay tan buen rollo como antes. El entrenador de Ferrero culpa de lo sucedido a los dos capitanes: Arrese y Avendaño.

11.03.2005

JOSÉ MANUEL MUÑOZ (VILLENA)

¿Se esperaba que España perdiera por 4-1 en Bratislava?
Entraba dentro de lo posible, como que nos pusieran una pista tan rápida. Lo que me sorprendió es que no jugara Nadal.

Avendaño dijo que frente a Eslovaquia perdieron todos, incluso Ferrero.
No entiendo sus declaraciones. Si somos partícipes de la derrota, también nos gustaría ser los responsables en la victoria; por ejemplo en Sevilla. Entre otras cosas porque Juan Carlos, aunque no jugó la final, sí que logró el empate en Alicante cuando íbamos 1-0 abajo.

Está muy dolido.
Sí, en Sevilla no se administró bien la victoria. Me refiero a que después del triunfo hubo pequeños detalles, los capitanes y su entorno saben a lo que me refiero, que nos han dolido mucho y nos han marcado.

Se refiere a lo que pasó en el viaje de regreso a Madrid.
Entre otras cosas. Pero sí, en ese AVE parecía que había dos equipos. Los capitanes y el presidente con Nadal y Moyá en preferente y Ferrero y Robredo en el furgón de cola. Y el equipo debe ser sólo uno, y más cuando los jugadores son muy amigos.

Y los capitanes son los culpables.
Por supuesto. ¡Pero si Juan Carlos y Rafa son íntimos amigos y están jugado todo el día a la Play! Es una lástima lo que pasó. Se debe cuidar el buen rollo entre los jugadores porque es una de las claves para que el tenis español y el equipo de Copa Davis funcione. En el 2000 se hizo mejor que ahora. Por eso si ahora dicen que perdimos todos, en Sevilla también deberíamos haber ganado todos. Y allí parecía que sólo habían ganado Nadal, Moyá y los tres capitanes.

¿Le sorprendió que Arrese y Avendaño no apoyaran a Perlas?
Bastante, como que no se consultara a los jugadores antes de tomar la decisión de no renovar a Perlas.

Por lo tanto, pese a ganar dos Copas Davis en cuatro años, la herida sigue abierta en el tenis español.
Están cambiando muchas cosas. Entre los 100 mejores del mundo hay tres valencianos, dos madrileños y sólo un catalán. No podíamos seguir con el centralismo catalán tan acusado que había.

¿Se lleva usted bien con Arrese y Avendaño?
Bien y excelentemente con Perlas, pero eso no quiere decir que les diga lo que hacen mal. Nunca nos hemos quejado de nada, sólo decimos que en Sevilla no supieron administrar bien la victoria.

¿Deben seguir de capitanes?
Lo que digo es que el nuevo presidente tiene que escuchar a los jugadores antes de decidir si continúan. De lo contrario algunos tenistas pueden sentir que no están integrados dentro de ese grupo.

¿Ferrero ahora no está integrado?
Sí, de momento no hay heridas abiertas, sólo pequeños arañazos.

¿Cree en Pedro Muñoz?
Me llevo bien con él. Es buena persona y amante del tenis. Es muy impulsivo y a veces debería meditar lo que dice. Sus declaraciones en AS están fuera de lugar y todas se las puedo rebatir. Dedicará las 24 horas al tenis, pero se tiene que dejar asesorar. Es bueno que desee fichar a Duarte, un auténtico fenómeno, y a Pato Clavet.

Muñoz, el nuevo presidente, quiere que todos los tenistas jueguen el Campeonato de España y el Masters.Él es el que tiene que acatar las normas del tenis; no los jugadores. Todo se puede mejorar, pero no se pueden cambiar las normas como hace 30 años. Hay que modificarlas de forma democrática escuchando la opinión de todos los jugadores. Y lo de que todos deben estar en el Campeonato de España es imposible. Habrá que consensuarlo. Unos años jugarán y otros no, a no ser que Muñoz opte a la presidencia de la Internacional, de la WTA y de la ATP y lo cambie todo.

Y quiere que todos lleven la misma camiseta nacional.
No entiendo ese debate. Sólo habrá una marca que pondrá problemas. Juan Carlos se pondrá la camiseta de España, como se la puso en Sevilla y en los Juegos Olímpicos de Atenas.

Javier Duarte será el nuevo director técnico de la Federación.
Un gran fichaje. Si le dejan, con él todo funcionará de maravilla. En el 2000 todo lo hizo perfecto.

¿Ferrero jugará en septiembre la eliminatoria de Copa Davis para no bajar?
Por supuesto. Ferrero nunca se negó a jugar en Bratislava. A Perlas le dije que la prioridad de Ferrero era recuperar el ránkig, pero que si lo necesitaban y querían llevarlo, que nos lo dijeran para renunciar al torneo de Dubai. Pero entendieron que siendo el 98 del mundo, cosa lógica, era mejor convocar a otros tenistas.

Y Juan Carlos vuelve a estar bien.
Está jugando bien y pronto estará entre los de arriba. A su torneo, Roland Garros, llegará a tope. Sólo necesita un par de resultados para recuperar la confianza.


"IN SEVILLE HURTFUL THINGS HAPPENED THAT HAVE MARKED US"

In the Spanish Davis Cup team, the atmosphere is not as good as before. Ferrero's coach blames what happened on the 2 captains: Arrese and Avendaño

Were you expecting Spain to lose 4-1 in Bratislava?
It was always going to be possible, since they'd put down such a fast court. What surprised me was that Nadal didn't play

Avendaño said that against Slovakia, everyone lost, including Ferrero
I don't understand his declarations. If we participate in the defeat, we'd also like to be considered responsable in victory; for example in Seville. Amongst other things even though Juan Carlos didn't play in the final, he did level the tie in Alicante when we were 1-0 down.

You're very hurt
Yes, the victory wasn't dealt with well in Seville. I'm referring to the fact that after the triumph, there were small details, the captains & co know what I'm referring to, which hurt and marked us a lot.

You refer to what happened on the return trip to Madrid
Amongst other things. But yes, on that AVE (train) it was as if there were 2 teams. The captains and the president with Nadal and Moyà in club class and Ferrero and Robredo in the back carriage ( i didn't know that! ) And the teams should be just one, even more so when the players are all friends.

And the captains are the guilty ones
Of course. But Juan Carlos and Rafa are close friends and they play the Play Station together all day! It's a shame what happened. The good atmosphere between players should be nurtured because it's one of the keys for Spanish tennis and the Davis Cup team to work. In 2000 it was done better than now. That's why now if they say everyone loses, then in Seville everyone should have been the winner. And there it seemed like only Nadal, Moyà and the 3 captains had won.

Were you surprised that Arrese and Avendaño didn't support Perlas?
Somewhat, since they didn't consult the players before making the decision to not renew Perlas' contract.

So, despite having won 2 Davis Cups in the last 4 years, the wound is still open in Spanish tennis
Lots of things are changing. Among to the top 100 in the world, there are 3 players from Valencia, 2 from Madrid and only 1 Catalan. We couldn't keep going with the Catalan centralisation with all the accusations that there were.

Do you get on well with Arrese and Avendaño?
Extremely well with Perlas, but that doesn't mean I tell them what they're doing wrong. We've never complained about anything, we're only saying that in Seville, they didn't deal with the victory well.

Should the captains continue?
What I'm saying is that the new president has to listen to the players before deciding if they should continue. Otherwise some players could feel that they're not part of that group.

Ferrero's not part of that group now?
Yes, at the moment there are no open wounds, just small scratches

Do you have faith in Pedro Muñoz?
I get on well with him. He's a good person and a lover of tennis. He's very spontaneous and sometimes he should think about what he says. His declarations in AS are out of place and I can refute all of them. He will dedicate 24 hours to tennis, but he has to let people give advice. It's good that he wants to sign Duarte, an authentic phenomenon, and Pato Clavet.

Muñoz, the new president, wants all the players to play the Spanish Championships and the Masters
He's the one that has to observe the norms of tennis; not the players. Everything can be improved, but you can't change the norms like 30 years ago. You have to modify them democratically, listening to all the players' opinions. And the thing about all the players being in the Spanish Championships is impossible. An agreement will have to be reached. Some years they'll play, other years no, unless Muñoz tries for the presidency of the ITF, the WTA and the ATP and changes everything.

And he wants everyone to wear the same national shirt
I don't understand that debate. There'll only be 1 brand that will cause problems. Juan Carlos will wear the Spanish shirt, like he wore in Seville and the Olympic Games in Athens.

Javier Duarte will be the new technical director of the Federation
A great signing. If they let him, with him everything will work marvellously. In 2000 he did everything perfectly.

Ferrero will play in the Davis Cup world group play-off in September?
Of course. Ferrero never declined to play in Bratislava. I told Perlas that Ferrero's priority was to improve his ranking, but that if they needed him and wanted to take him, that they should tell us so we could pull out of the Dubai tournament. But they understood that, being 98 in the world, logically, it was better to have other players.

And Juan Carlos is fine now
He's playing well and soon he'll be up there with the best. At his tournament, Roland Garros, he'll be at his best. He just needs a few good results to get back his confidence.

[helena]

Thx a lot Emily !! It's highly interesting. I've posted it on vamosrafael.com giving you all the credit for the translation of course. Thx again.

[hola]

Originally Posted by ~EMiLiTA~

You refer to what happened on the return trip to Madrid
Amongst other things. But yes, on that AVE (train) it was as if there were 2 teams. The captains and the president with Nadal and Moyà in club class and Ferrero and Robredo in the back carriage ( i didn't know that! ) And the teams should be just one, even more so when the players are all friends.

That is really the shame. Now it is more clear why JC and Tommy were so pissed off after the victory and also didn't made themselfs avaible for the Davis Cup tie. I mean, everyone saw that they treated them bad during the tie and now also after. Not really clever from the capitains. By the way I haven't heard them talking bad about Moya. Double standards

[~EMiLiTA~]

no worries Helena!!

yes, I can also see why JC and Tommy snubbed the DC...that's just pure discrimination!!!

[JuanChuffy007]

thanks a lot EMiLiTA!!

He's playing well and soon he'll be up there with the best. At his tournament, Roland Garros, he'll be at his best.

I hope so...!!

[roisin]

You refer to what happened on the return trip to Madrid
Amongst other things. But yes, on that AVE (train) it was as if there were 2 teams. The captains and the president with Nadal and Moyà in club class and Ferrero and Robredo in the back carriage ( i didn't know that! ) And the teams should be just one, even more so when the players are all friends.

oooh i never knew that! but thats not on, no wonder tommy & jc were mad @ g3. yeah well they fecking deserve it if they're gonna treat half the team like shite.

[Jogg]

thanks for the interview Em
it's very interesting, what do the captains hope to achieve by treating Juanqui and Tommy is such a way it almost like they are trying to cause friction in the team

[Ferrero Forever]

At least we wern't the only ones who think this is totally wrong. Davis Cup is just sounding more like a worse idea to me, i just hope that whatever happens the Spanish player's bond is still kept strong

[~EMiLiTA~]

Originally Posted by Jogg

thanks for the interview Em
it's very interesting, what do the captains hope to achieve by treating Juanqui and Tommy is such a way it almost like they are trying to cause friction in the team

yeah I know what u mean...seems so pointless and pathetic really...what does it achieve?

[hola]

They achieved that Tommy and JC felt themselfs like second class persons during the celebration and that they don't really want to have these capitains and play for Spain.People forget that Tommy achieved a very important point during first round against Chech and that Nadal didn't play alone doubles against France, and that Moya sucked against France and it was JC who won his match. So the capitains are basically an adult person but they handle like they have 10 JC's and Tommy's and that they don't need them actually.
Unfortunatly Tommy didn't give a interview about his point of view on this whole stuff. Would be interesting to read what does he thinks.

[Blanco y Negro]

Em,

Thanks for the story ....it was very interesting and I didn't know there was some special treatment for other players from the Davis Cup team.

I was watching "Open Access" on the Tennis Channel with Feliciano Lopez and he mentioned he was only good friends with Verdasco. I would have assumed he would have been close with Rafael.


I don't know, but thanks again for the news.

[adelaide]

thank you very much for the interview...

poor JC. he needs something to happen so bad... but from what i've heard on personal interviews with him, i think personally he's dealing quite well with it. but i can definitely see why the coach (and Juanqui) would be mad at them.

[User id 7816]

well that all doesnt sound well at all to me....I havent followed much of these captain/player stories and I wish there wasnt such problems between them cuz its bad for everyone. I just want JC to feel good about himself and strengthen his tennis, thats all i care really...thanx emily for posting and translating it

[~EMiLiTA~]

Originally Posted by Blanco y Negro

Em,

Thanks for the story ....it was very interesting and I didn't know there was some special treatment for other players from the Davis Cup team.

I was watching "Open Access" on the Tennis Channel with Feliciano Lopez and he mentioned he was only good friends with Verdasco. I would have assumed he would have been close with Rafael.


I don't know, but thanks again for the news.

Really? only good friends with Nando? that's funny...well I know they're like VERY close friends and they share a coach so maybe that's why he only mentioned Fer...he is definitely friends with Rafa as well though. The only person I know he doesn't really get on that well with is Tommy, though they used to when they were younger

[Action Jackson]

I don't normally come here, but thanks for the translation of that article Em it was definitely worth reading.