Seeing him work in one of the rooms of the Ciutat de Granollers hotel converted into a combat outpost, with the videos, computers, projectors, reports from rivals, the massage tables and the chairs and screens for technical talks, accentuates the vision of professor of Jordi Ribera Romans (Sarrià de Ter, 1963), the most successful Spanish coach, with six medals in eight championships since he took charge of the Hispanics in 2016. Ribera now faces the European Championship in Germany (the debut , on Friday against Croatia) with an eye on a ticket to Paris.
It begins its ninth major championship renewed until 2028, another Olympic cycle. Good sign, right?
It means a show of confidence from the Federation towards the work of the senior team, but also towards the technical direction, training and talent detection. It is another responsibility, although I am not a person who looks much into the future, since the results mark your stages. But having your confidence renewed before finishing an Olympic cycle is always important.
It should end after the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic event. Do you have a pending account with the Games?
I don't have any feeling of having anything pending.
Six medals out of a possible eight at the head of the team is nothing to regret, but Olympic gold eludes them (they have 4 bronzes)…
It's not because of a problem of ambition, but I have never been a person obsessed with achieving something; I am obsessed with day-to-day life, what game I am in and what strategy to follow, but I am not overly motivated by obtaining a medal to vindicate myself. Obviously I am tempted by Olympic gold, like the European or the World Cup... but it has never been an obsession, nor has going to train a team.
A year ago he told La Vanguardia that he was attracted to returning to a club bench to live day to day. Not anymore?
It often happens to me that when I finish a competition, after a month and a half of training, I have that jumpsuit left. But I know that in a club I won't be able to do other things (work groups, talks, traveling to watch games...). I put it on a balance, and after speaking with the president and knowing the project of a handball sports city, one ends up opting to continue four more years. Yes, I had offers from Champions League clubs, but they didn't come at the right time, or they asked me for an exclusivity that I didn't want.
In these eight years in the national team, what do you think is the mark Ribera has left?
We have generated a global, comprehensive project. My initial idea was that the men's teams all had to go hand in hand, and do a project that was not just about building a team, but that there was a model, an identity, that the boys felt identified with their team... I think it was Has got. 700 players have passed through the CAR in Granada, and two of them are here, Jan Gurri and Dani Fernández. When the kids get to the senior team they know how to play, they don't have to adapt, because they play with the same language and feel very integrated.
What defines Hispanics?
It is a choral team – it is always difficult to highlight the best – the figures change in each game, this is achieved by being a homogeneous group. How they celebrate or how they face difficult moments are signs of identity that have been transmitted, that come from before. And it is a team made up of many roles, with players who adapt to different styles, open and closed defenses, and this helps us face competitions with little preparation time. When a year ends we don't start from scratch.
Spain is one of the teams with the best record in the European Championship, with five medals in a row. Should she be considered a favorite?
They don't usually put us in the front row. We end up getting tired of repetition, because we always end up being up there.
Do you mind being ignored?
Personally it doesn't bother me. From 2020 until now, no team has been in the semifinals in all the championships (France and Denmark fell in the European 2020 in the qualifying phase), and we have been in all of them [European'20, World Cup'21, Games'21, European '22, World Cup '23]. This is a luxury that must be endorsed. I'm neither worried nor obsessed that they don't make us favorites. Better for us: they take a weight off our shoulders. I also don't ask the players about historical references, from when we won medals. From the past I extract experiences as a turning point. In the end, the story only serves to obsess.
If you were a rival of Spain, what would you fear most?
Possibly, the ability he has to change things, the defensive variety, the offensive creativity, how he adapts to the opponent.
What value do you have from the Spanish team?
I really like the fighting spirit and the ability to overcome difficult times.
Germany takes almost the same block of world bronze medals as a year ago. The only new additions are Sergey Hernández (for Corrales), Jan Gurri (for Gede Guardiola) and Aleix Gómez (for Ferran Solé). Gurri surprises.
Jan Gurri is the player who had the best Junior World Cup, he has had a good progression at Granollers, he fits a lot with the team's way of playing because he defends and attacks, tactically he fits very well into the dynamics of the game, he is a first-line profile similar to that of Cañellas and Dani Dujshebaev, who can play as a center back, as a left back, even as a right back. He can help us despite his little experience because he is mature in his game.
In the end he does not take Petar Cikusa. Didn't you want to play it?
It's not because of fear or not taking the risk. He is making a very good evolution, he is a player with a lot of vision of the game, with a good one-on-one... he will have his moments, but there are certain times that have to be respected. When it's his turn, he will be there.
Pol Valera has not returned. Has his secondary role at Barça penalized you?
Possibly. Yes, he was a player who played what he wanted in Granollers, with a very high level of demand and responsibility, and at that time he was on the list of 35, and with Ian Tarrafeta's injury I called him. Playing less now and with less responsibility has made him less visible and he has had fewer opportunities. But he is on the list of 35.
What requirements are set in the European Championship? Reach the semi-finals at least?
The maximum requirement is to win every game. We have the Croatia game in mind, and then we will think about the next one. And also qualification for the Olympic Games, this is the first opportunity.
Who don't you want in the final?
I wouldn't want either France or Denmark, they are the two rivals who, due to team construction, are above the others. Because of the way they play, because they have players with characteristics that make it difficult to prepare for matches, because they are easily unbalanced in one-on-one situations, they are always difficult. I wouldn't care about the others that come.
