ARG – Nicola: ‘It would be wonderful for Argentina to win gold again’

TREVISO (Lega A/Olympics) – Marcelo Nicola helped make Argentina one of the most exciting teams in international basketball and, like most of his countrymen, watched proudly when they captured the gold medal at the Athens Olympics.

A magnificent player for his country, and the numerous clubs he played for in Italy, Nicola is now cutting his teeth in the coaching profession at Benetton Treviso.

Benetton are struggling while in just several months, Argentina will attempt to defend their gold medal.

Nicola spoke about both subjects in an interview with Basketball World News on behalf of FIBA.

FIBA: Marcelo, what has the transition been like for you, going from playing to coaching?

Marcelo Nicola: It’s a new experience, a nice experience to live. For sure, it’s not easy. Fortunately, I found a quick job with a very nice organization like Benetton is, an organization I know because I played here six years ago. It’s been nice making the transition. Last year, the second half, I worked with the young kids, the 16-year-olds, and this year, I’ve been working with the first team as a second assistant coach. It’s been a difficult season, very tough, but for me, it’s a very nice experience and a lot of things to learn.

FIBA: We’re accustomed to seeing a Benetton Treviso that is one of the best teams in Italy. Are we going to see Benetton Treviso that is going to quickly recover to the way things used to be?

Marcelo Nicola: I really hope we come out of this situation. It’s not easy, for sure, as there is a lot of mess from last year. I think, step by step, we have to recover. First of all, from the club, from the organization, we have to push and after, a bigger step from the team. We’ll see. There are two months to try to fix it, to make something real good for next season. We have to work hard from now to prepare for next season.

FIBA: You must be very proud of your Argentinian heritage, having played for the country. What can you tell us about Argentina’s national team right now, the team that you once played for?

Marcelo Nicola: We’ll see who is going to play this summer because some of the guys are tired after some years and they chose not to play last summer in the (Olympic) qualification. But I think after a summer off, we’ll try to play in the Olympic Games. I think if all of the guys come, the team has a pretty good chance to fight for the gold medal. And it would certainly be a wonderful thing to reach this gold medal. It won’t be easy because the United States will be tough, Spain have a good team, Russia won the European Championship, so for sure, it’s not going to be easy but there are the players, and the conditions in the team to fight for the gold medal so we’ll see. They’ll just have to work hard.

FIBA: We’ve seen great players like yourself, Manu Ginobili and Luis Scola play for Argentina. What about the future of Argentina basketball? Is it bright from what you know?

Marcelo Nicola: Yes. Sometimes it’s difficult to find such a pretty good group of such nice, talented players who work all together. So this transition, from the guys who maybe leave in one or two years to the guys who are coming, has to be step-by-step. It began already last summer when some of the young kids began to play like (Carlos) Delfino, or (Walter) Herrmann, or Porta the playmaker. It’s a difficult situation, for sure there has to be a lot of patience and an acceptance that these players must be allowed to grow up, to have confidence and to have experience to fight again for the first places.

FIBA: Marcelo, it’s been very nice catching up with you.

Marcelo Nicola: Thank you.

FIBA