MADRID, 12 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The national men's field hockey coach, Max Caldas, optimistically faces the Pre-Olympic that starts this Saturday in Valencia and which they attend with “a very identifiable style that the players understand” that he hopes will be effective in an event where he sees “the flexibility and adaptation” that they may have.
“We have continued with the progress of knowledge about our own game. I think that we already have a very identifiable style and that the players understand it. The game concepts are already installed and it is about continuing to improve them, as well as continuing to search, both in individually and as a group, the improvement in decision making, improving the game as a whole and for that collective ego to really be present for longer on the field. We have focused the preparation on these aspects,” said Caldas in an interview with RFEH.
The Argentine believes that the preparation for the Pre-Olympic “has been very good” and that last October and November they focused on touring Valencia to find the right hotel, being able to schedule free days during the championship and getting to know the entire environment in detail. and context of the Tarongers and Beteró sports spaces”.
“As for the sporting aspect, we played the V Nations Tournament here and we had the opportunity to train four days together before the holidays in Terrassa. Since January 7 we have been training in Valencia, very well and very calmly,” added the coach. , which indicated that they have taken “measures” to prevent any problem with the flu and that therefore they are “very calm.”
Now, the national team will have to deal with the pressure of seeking the Olympic ticket at home. “It is not about preparing the team on a mental level only for a tournament, everything is a process that goes hand in hand and when one plans in the medium and long term, one understands the phases of a group individually and as a team, inside and outside the field,” he clarified.
“Specifically, for Valencia, we have tried to feel at home, learn how to decompress the moments of tension that we may feel in a home tournament. On the other hand, we have done work with a leadership group with six players so that they get to know each other. each other better and that they understand the different leadership styles of each one. We work constantly with the team psychologist in terms of how we play, how we behave, how we develop, that that is the basis of our performance,” he stated.
For the coach, it is key to “understand that flexibility and adaptation are going to be the two keys for Spain.” “Flexible because there are many ways to qualify for the Olympic Games and you have to adapt to those contexts with complete calm and knowledge of what to do,” he warned.
Caldas analyzed the first rivals in this Pre-Olympic, all of them “very different.” “Austria will demand a lot of speed from us and we want to play the game at a very high pace to break their man-to-man and their defenses in their own half. Korea is a very experienced team and they want to make the most of every opportunity they have, it will be about being patient and I believe that we will have to win that game two or three times. And Egypt is the one we know the least about, they have great individuals, but at the team level it is very difficult for them to be consistent,” he explained.
The Argentine sees these first matches as “three very cool and very different challenges” and that he likes because it will make them “flexible every day”, while of the rivals in the other group, he considers that Belgium “is not one of the best teams in the world with and without a ball and with a great penalty”, that Ireland is “physically very powerful”, that Japan is “very fast” and that Ukraine seems to everyone to be at the “lowest level”, but that it is an “honor” that they are Valencia despite the war in the country.
On the other hand, regarding his team, he is clear that “there is always room for improvement” and that they are “very demanding” of themselves. “We have to work on being more decisive when we attack and that the opportunities we have really end in a goal or a positive performance in the area,” he warned.
“In the low moments, the tendency is that they score goals against us almost always and it is a topic that we constantly talk about, both in the mental aspect and in reading the game and how, tactically and technically, we can do better,” said the Argentine. .
In any case, Calda assures that they are “a very offensive team, very dynamic and very fast with the ball.” “We always intend to press when we don't have possession. Sometimes that takes us out of context, disorganizes us and makes us vulnerable, but what stands out for us is our offensive nature all the time,” he stressed.
“To continue growing, the team has to improve in that the technical bases of each player are increasingly higher, more and more reliable. I think that, within a context of competition, is a matter of experience and exposure to the highest level. high and as much as possible. On the other hand, what we have been doing together, for years, is increasing internal competition for positions and that is something that is already installed in the national team, it is something very positive,” he added.