Pedro Martinez: “I will not take full responsibility for successes or failures”
Basket Valencia has introduced Pedro Martinez as its new coach for the next two seasons. The Catalan coach will spend his second spell at the club where he won the championship in 2017. CEO Enric Carbonell noted that “Pedro Martinez needs no introduction. Seven years ago he made us touch the sky. Meet the house and provide experience and requirements. This will be the key point that will make us better every day. With him we will close the stage in La Fontette and begin a very interesting stage at the Roig Arena.”
The presentation took place on the central platform L’Alqueria del Basket with high expectations in the media and where Pedro was happy to repeat his stage in the team where he achieved great success.
“I want to thank the club for this fantastic and super motivating opportunity. This is not my way of selling things that I don’t know will happen. My obligation is to try to help so that things go well. He feels responsible to accept the challenge and that those who chose me are happy. I need a lot of help from everyone so that we can do things well so that people see themselves represented with the values of effort that we wear on our shirts. “Valencia are not a team that settles for little and we must rise to the occasion and live up to what is expected of us.”It is said.
When you left in 2017, did you think about returning to the club later?
I am not a fan of talking about the past, because the present is important to you. In life, decisions are made and at that moment what you agreed to do is done. Now the right circumstances have arisen to get back together and I now look at this as the biggest challenge of my career because it’s next. In the last few hours I’ve been a little overwhelmed by the impact this signing has had. I don’t score goals or get rebounds, I want to help those who do so they feel comfortable.
What game would you like to play?
For a coach, the most important thing is what you have. I hope we get a group of professional players with a good mentality and team play. I hope the players have the mentality to sacrifice and help. This is a priority. I hope we have a good team and that it turns into something more. The goal is not to sign players, but to ensure that they perform at the highest level. In sports, we all want to win, and this is very difficult. We have to play in such a way that the audience has a good time.
Preparing the template
There are players who are under contract and the relationship will continue. I have been informed where the club wants to send the players. I am confident that we will have a good group and my goal will be to work on their best performance. But that’s the job of the sports director.
Artwork by Javi Albert
I consider myself a corporate trainer. I admire Alex Mumbru because he was great at basketball. With Albert I saw a change towards a game where I felt more represented. They ended the season with a great performance that was not rewarded with results.
What is missing from the roster to make it play your style?
We, the coaches, offer, but the players must believe. I have no doubt that we will find a group with a good mentality. We need to agree on how to play and that’s what pre-season is for, to see how we can be more demanding. I like the fast-paced nature of basketball and the fact that the players are very physical. We must try to be one of the best.
Team mentality
We must appreciate the difficulties the team has faced in recent seasons. Euroleague and ACB are very tough competitions. There is a very good team that has put a lot of effort into making both competitions compatible. We must strive to improve the efficiency of the game and ensure that players can adapt to difficult situations.
Expectations….
I hope the team understands that not everything is about winning. We must try our best and we must not fail at it. We should be able to live well in everyday life. We have to grow individually and as a team as the season goes on. We have to be ambitious to do the right things, but it’s not easy to do. The club’s expectations motivate me and don’t scare me. I will help with all my efforts to make everyone in the club proud of me. I will not take full responsibility for successes or failures.
Does uncertainty determine whether you will play in the Euroleague?
This is an illogical situation, and that is why it is conditioning. We just have to figure out how safe it is to play with ACB and we want to play in the Cup with maximum respect for ACB because it is very difficult to be competitive. We need to work with this.
Reunion with fans
It will be exciting, just like every time I come back as a competitor. I will try not to disappoint anyone and make sure everyone is happy. We will not pay much attention to what does not depend on us.
What is the key to playing well in both competitions?
We will have a good team. We hope that they will sign good contracts and that we will compete. We need to be lucky with injuries and we need to get the players right so they fit together and have good team chemistry. We have to help each other and have good chemistry.
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