Nahuel Lanzillotta
02/19/2020 - 20:33
- Clarín.com
- sports
He wants to talk. After a month and a half of work, of six directed matches, of a very hard defeat in the Avellaneda classic and in the middle of the dense atmosphere that is breathed in Independiente, Lucas Pusineri feels the need to stop the ball to sit for a while and reflect on the moment of his team and the club. There, after lunch and in the privacy of his office in the high-performance center of the Villa Domínico estate, the DT of the Red tries to put the right words to send messages to fans, players and leaders through this game of Questions and answers with Clarín .
- Do you still feel defeat in the classic internally?
-I already turned the page. We have the goal of the South American Cup ahead and improve in the Super League. I understand the discomfort and the feeling that produced not having won that game, but I have to remain focused on the objectives. Each fan in particular will put this classic in the place it deserves in history.
- For you what place does it occupy?
-I put it in a place of 3 points and nothing more. If we are going to talk about other things, it would be important to highlight the story a little ... I prefer that it be only 3 points because that was really what it was worth.
"I already turned the page," says Pusineri about the loss to Racing. Photo: Maxi Failla
-But there are defeats and defeats. Didn't this leave a mark?
-What happened next was important. We quickly had the rematch of being able to win for the Copa Sudamericana. For the championship, although it is difficult to rearrange the pieces a bit, we got a draw. Agon forces, it is true, but the team is trying very hard to straighten the course.
- Diego Cocca once said that he preferred to win a title and lose a classic. He was very criticized, but then champion came out. Will this fall stop hurting if something similar happens in Independiente?
-It would be important to achieve a title, in South American, in the Super League Cup, in the Argentine Cup. It would be important, but not for the classic, but for what compels the story of Independiente.
-There was a lot of talk about the changes you made in that game. Did you go wrong or would you do the same?
-In the first game we played in the Libertadores de América they admonished Barboza and then he was expelled and then we lost that game with River. I received many comments from people who said I should take Barboza. You can not always get a player because he is admonished because you have to live with the moments of a game. On the Racing field, with two more men, I tried to feel that the match could be won and not give rise to the possibility of expelling Sánchez Miño or Bustos. In fact, the third change I didn't make was Lucas Romero, who ended up expelling. The changes were always in search of winning the game.
-You were expelled in almost every game. Why?
-We have to improve there. We do our self-criticism. Obviously in the emotional part we have to improve widely. All expulsions were avoidable. You have to work, without dropping the player in a derogatory way, but noting that he should do things better.
-Can players be isolated from the difficult climate that is lived on the court?
-As a footballer I had to be in situations like that. The best message I can convey is that of simplicity, making things easy from the game. Many times it is the hardest thing about football. From there I want to give my players security to support this moment. Independent demands and pushes and we have to be prepared to get results and get the car back on the road.
-Is it complicated in this context to put the most kids and not burn them?
-The first thing to know is what the reality is. And reality indicates that this is a short squad in which there are also many youth. The idea is to shoot them within a cordial framework so that they can perform fully. You have to know how to treat juveniles. They do not have to be isolated from what happens. It is necessary to give them the possibility of living together, of adding minutes to consolidate them in the future and that their performance is always ascending and does not go down.
Lucas Pusineri and the youth: "You have to shoot them within a cordial framework." Photo: Maxi Failla
- Does the presence of many children today respond to the need for a short squad because nothing was brought but the result of a process?
-It's a bit like that. We grab this process already begun. In this 40 days of work we were watching the players and working with the team we have. In this context of reduced campus we try to provide a framework for them to perform fully. And yes, I have a bit of urgency. Many changes were forced by injuries or expulsions and I have to resort to them. I try to talk a lot to them so that they understand that they are facing a unique opportunity.
- Is it true that you did not ask for reinforcements as they said from the leadership?
-First, I know that Independiente has a good squad, but then some players emigrated. And in that sense I see that in some positions ... One more forward would be missing. Notice that now we have one expelled (Leandro Fernández) and I don't have in Reserve someone to cover that place for me. We also knew the financial context of the institution and one of the premises was to adjust to that. Future things will surely come better. The important thing is to be all aligned together so that Independiente is calm.
- Did you ask that nobody else leave? There is talk of offers by Franco, Benítez, Bustos ...
-The truth is. I thought there were closed pass books. I think we would have to terminate the movement of soccer players in this market unless situations happen that I don't know in the negotiations. The idea is to keep the team to be competitive.
- Do you feel that today, before the first offer, the players of Independiente prefer to change air?
-It may happen that way. That is why I say that I will have the one who wants to be and who defends the team and the group. We represent each other. I understand the context that is also lived in Argentina. It is not easy and everyone seeks to opt for a salary improvement.
- Can debts with the team interfere with the game?
-In all the clubs where I played there was no absolute guarantee of charging a day. They never paid me on time, but in the long run they have always complied with me. The player knows that he eventually ends up charging. There is no doubt that there is a tremendous responsibility to face certain contracts in Argentine football.
- Does Argentine soccer need to rethink things as a result of the country context?
-Yes, definitely. Everything has to be much more orderly. The income he receives from TV here is not the same as that received by a Mexican team because that an Argentine team cannot pay more than one there, for example. If we do not improve in this aspect in the future there may be more complications. It is necessary to avoid that a ball is made and that it returns to the strikes and to what already happened some years ago.
"It may be that today players prefer to change their air," Pusineri reflects on Clarin. Photo: Maxi Failla
- Is the club situation worse or as you expected?
-I arrived in 2002 to the club as a player and prior to the title of that year, Independiente came from a very hot environment. From 2002 to the present, taking out the two South Americans, he had many more bad years than good ones. I always knew what the news of the club was. We try to do something different so that it can be sustainable over time. In these few days we are seeing things and drawing conclusions from players whose continuity will be seen in the future according to their performance. We are constantly evaluating to have a diagnosis. To answer your question, we knew it was a difficult environment. We want to give honesty to the work.
- If it were not Independent would you have taken a step to the side?
-Not really. It never crossed my mind. We have to know what is the present, what is the real state of what happens. People need to be informed.
-And what is the real state?
-That we assume in a process that has already begun, that the context is difficult, that Independent has been doing a lot that is not good and that, beyond a party, we are trying to do serious and planned work. Independent needs to be calm that he never had in a stable way in the last 18 years. After each title won in the last time after a downturn followed. It could never be sustained. It happened in 2002, in 2010 and in 2017.
-How was the crossing you had with some bars and fans after the classic at the exit of Domínico?
-I understand people. The fever. The fan must understand and listen. But you have to understand that this is a small team with several youth. The only truth is the reality. I do not ask for patience, but the reality of the campus is understood. This is reversed with professionalism and honesty.
-You already named the word honesty twice. Do you point to something special?
-As a child they always instilled in me that you have to be "poor but worthy". Without going into details, one wants to do an honest job with the campus. It has cost me a lot of power is here. I had to retire to Colombia to have a job opportunity. Nobody gave me anything. No one put me in this place, which today I defend at all costs. When I say honest, I say honest in my decisions, in going to look for a reinforcement that really serves Independent. When I say honesty I also mean being transparent to soccer players, fans and leaders. I want a project that is sustained over time. It is useless to touch a very high peak and then go very low.
-What do you play in Fortaleza?
-It is a very important classification, an objective that we set ourselves. We give it a fundamental value. Let's go find the classification. We know the complexity we face, but I have a lot of faith in the team. We were already talking about the game and I see them with energy to return with a positive result from Brazil.
The historical and managerial role
“I am a guy who listens and unites. And I understand that the guys who have left positive things to the club always have to be heard, ”says Pusineri, who, as Ariel Holan did at first, makes a place for the glories of the club like Ricardo Bochini, Daniel Bertoni Pepé Santoro, Mandinga Percudani, among others. "They make me feel good. You have to give them the place they deserve, ”says the coach, who also opened the doors to Daniel Montenegro. Rolfi met again with the leadership in order to form the technical secretariat, a project that has long been postponed.
- Do you see him as manager of Montenegro?
-Wine some games and training. It is one of the possibilities that I understand. Welcome be if you choose it. I don't want to give my own names to avoid suspicion.
-But do you agree that there is a manager?
-Yes, there must be someone who can come tomorrow to perform that function in the club. The theme is to choose well. Choose someone who is studious and has presented his project to be able to evaluate it and be able to do a joint work.
Pusineri led just six games to Independiente. Photo: EFE
Pusineri and the welcome to Maradona
Independiente will receive Gimnasia de La Plata this Saturday at 19.40. Beyond the objective of winning again by the Super League after the draw against Arsenal and the defeat with Racing, it will be a special meeting because Diego Maradona will step on the Libertadores de América. Lucas Pusineri is already excited about the presence of the eternal 10.
“For me Diego is an icon. I love what happens on each court you go to. I'm not going to forget the joys we live for him. Maradona was always next to the player, and that I will always value him, ”says the coach of Red before Clarín. And he confesses a situation that happened with Maradona in his time of shorts: “When it was my turn to go from Independiente to River, not in a very good way, Diego called me and gave me words of encouragement. I didn't know him, I saw him once in a Davis Cup match but I didn't want to bother him. ”
Pusi also emphasizes that Pelusa will have a special welcome at Avellaneda: “I love that he is now honored. We will receive it as how big it is. Then, in the match we will try to win. ”
For that match, Red will not be able to count on Alexander Barboza, who reached the fifth yellow. In his place will return the Uruguayan Gastón Silva, already recovered from a sprained ankle. Another that cannot be used is Leandro Fernández. The good news will be the return to the ownership of Lucas Romero, after purging the red of the classic. Cecilio Domínguez will also be available. Will it be bootable again? Pusineri will define for these hours.
From Colombia to Pato Pastoriza
Lucas Pusineri's coach career began in Colombian lands. There he started in Cúcuta, where he left a great memory, and then went to Deportivo Cali, where he also made a good campaign. “Today is a market that exports many players. It became very competitive. They have a very competitive selection. José Pekerman gave him growth in the last eight years. In the playoffs the stadiums are full, but then they don't fill up like here. Mind you, there is a great demand from the people ”, describes Colombian football.
And remember a nice moment: “When I returned to Cúcuta while I was in Deportivo Cali they gave me a welcome. They told me to feel very proud because not many could go to that stadium and applaud it after beating 4 to 1. In Cúcuta we did some of the best campaigns in their history. It was a very nice experience. ”
In Colombia, Pusineri directed Cúcuta and Deportivo Cali. Photo: EFE
Pusineri, 43, highlights the importance of his wife: “I got married in Cúcuta. My wife was the one who encouraged me to go to work there when I was denied the chance in my country. There my children went to school and spent a lot of time at the headquarters. ”
And he makes the link with Independiente: “The same thing happens here. Seeing my children playing ball at the club playon with the shirt on makes me proud. I really liked the concept of the red family of José Omar Pastoriza. A Independiente is taken out all together. The image of the Duck comes to me because he wanted the club together, he was a precursor to the red family. I pretend that. "
