Bernat Sanahuja, from the Tokyo coup against the union as a weapon on the road to Paris

“Tokyo is still a bit sore. It was a very difficult moment. But it made us grow as a group. “We learned a lot from that and it made us grow now,” he said, more serious than usual. Bernat Sanahuja. There are games that continue to hurt over time and the Olympic semifinals three years ago against Serbia, where Spain came with an advantage in the last quarter, is the clearest example of this. Hungary later denied the bronze medal to the Spanish team.

But this one, far from inflicting the moral blow that the last part of the Games represented, rose in a big way to sign off on an absolutely brilliant path to Paris. Spain was declared world champion in 2022, won a European bronze the same year, a world bronze in 2023, its first European gold in January and a few weeks later it added a new world bronze. There have been ten major competitions held since 2018 and the worst result among them was, certainly, the fourth place in Tokyo.

In other words, the team is ready for anything, but it also knows that past results won’t have any impact on what happens in Paris. “I’d rather not have the motivation to see how the medal escaped in Tokyo, but at the end of the day you don’t make up your mind and it’s there.. The important thing is to learn from mistakes, from bad moments. Continue,” said Bernat, knowing the difficulty of the challenge being presented. “We are used to having this role of people expecting us to opt for gold. This is what we are looking for. We want to fight for the medal, for the gold. It’s not pressure, it’s what we want,” he said, but warned. “There are seven or eight teams there and anyone can opt for everyone. This is what makes the competition so good. There is no easy game, you have to give one hundred percent,” he said.

To test this, Spain has been preparing for the big Olympic event for months. The fact that there was a European Championship in January and a World Cup in February increased the team’s working hours. This forced the usual preparation to be different. “What we want is to compete and this year we have absolutely everything. We came with enthusiasm and a desire to be well,” said Bernat. “It’s true that this daily life is different from other seasons,” he admitted. “The break for the European Championship and World Cup in the middle of the season has been difficult for coaches at the management level. But I think we are in a good moment and we will show it,” he said.

That beautiful moment is not only told by the sensations, but also by the results. “I think the plus we got in this cycle is experience. In Tokyo, we all believe we can compete for medals. We stayed at the doors, but the group was already united”, reflected Bernat. “It’s disappointing that it’s a team sport and others are playing too. You go for everyone, but so are they. That day, we weren’t successful,” said Sanahuja.

total union

That same day in Tokyo, the group became even stronger. The boys of the national team showed that, despite the blows, the goal is intact, as they conveyed in this stage. That day the great challenge for Paris began to take shape: to get that medal that ends the work of a legendary generation. “We come to these Games with three years left as a group. At a glance we know what we’re thinking. “That makes it easier,” Bernat said. “At the group level, you never get tired of working because you are with your family. You see more of your colleagues, though. It helps that it’s a very healthy and very happy group,” he describes the day-to-day atmosphere.

Of course, with the highest demand. After a very difficult season, not only with national team appointments but also with a very busy calendar at club level, the internationals have almost a week off before rejoining the dynamics of David Martín’s group. “Different preseasons? Instead, it has been one throughout the year,” laughs Bernat. “We live in a strange time that even the training sessions of the club (in his case, Zodiac Atlètic Barceloneta) can have long-term planning, because in the middle there is a two-month break with the national team,” he reflected. “With the national team we had a very short preseason, but the results show that they have been successful”he pointed out.

In dire need, there are other aspects that need to be handled in detail to arrive fresh in Paris. “You never get tired of training because it’s what we want,” Bernat said. “Maybe it’s more difficult on a mental level, because after the high European Championship we have to focus again because the World Cup is coming and we have to do everything,” he said. “But we are prepared for this because we have worked a lot on that mental aspect“, Explanation. In fact, the work carried out by the players with the psychologist of the national team Richie Serres In the past few months this has become more important than ever. “We also worked on the unity of the group,” added Bernat.

Spain hopes to see this work in Paris, although samples of it have been seen in recent months. If the team has got one thing in them, it is an endless capacity to believe in their possibilities until the end. The historic comeback against Croatia in the European Championship final in January was the clearest example of this. “We improved with three or four games where we were behind and we knew how to get them out. Years ago it was the opposite. We got ahead and it got complicated in the end. It’s about knowing how to fight when it’s good and when it’s bad,” explained Bernat. “That last one could be a change of mind, of believing that we have the talent to do it. It has been proven,” he added.

The various tournaments have shown that Spain is capable of playing in many situations. A good defensive team, they also won tough matches with a very high turnover of goals. “We are a difficult team to defend, because all players have good throws. We also have two dangerous buoys that battle it out for position. If they close, we shoot outside and if not, we have people inside. The magic of this team”, describes Bernat, who contributed himself to the first line. “Over the years I’ve grown to play more games at a very high level. I have more confidence in myself. A lot of the team is at the club and you learn every day. You have more experience at a high level,” he summed up his evolution.

In a selection where the main star is called the team, this is done in detail. Due to difficult defeats, the unity and ambition of a group that is making history in water polo and wants to write the most anticipated page has become stronger. “So far I haven’t won an Olympic bronze. In a few days, maybe”Bernat Sanahuja said with a laugh. Fate was cruel three years ago, but the national team is ready to change it: there is no better way to wake up from a great blow than to form a group to sign a dream cycle. And the team, more united, has the weapons to continue dreaming.