EXCLUSIVE: Nico Laprovittola on Euroleague 'war' with Real Madrid
BARCELONA - With that old-fashioned moustache, if he had shown up at the auditions of the film directed by Santiago Mitre, 'Argentina, 1985', Nicolás Laprovittola would surely have got a role.
Despite having become a father, the Barcelona guard still looks like a university student. But he is an old-fashioned player. A fantastic maverick, full of talent and heart.
Would you shave off your moustache in exchange for the Euroleague?
"Messi raised the World Cup to the sky and I still have a moustache. I didn't make any promises in one of the happiest moments of my life and, for that reason, I won't do it now either."
Did you know that Enzo Ferrari used to say that a driver loses two seconds a lap when he becomes a father?
"(Laughs) Good thing, then, that Leclerc has no children..."
In your case, did you lose something or did you gain something?
"It helped me to understand what the important things in life are. To not always think about basketball, and that helped take some of the pressure off me."
We come to the Clásico against Real Madrid. How great is the desire for revenge after last year's defeat?
"It was a very hard blow. More than desire for revenge, we want to play a Final Four again. We have a very big opportunity in front of us. We want to play, compete and get to the final."
As the great football fan that you are, you will know that before taking the field, Johan Cruyff used to tell his boys: 'Salid y disfrutad' - go and have fun.
The feeling with Sarunas Jasikevicius, on the other hand, is that he prepares every game like a war. Against Real will there be fun or will it be a war?
"The truth is that I sometimes have a lot of fun, even if Saras gets angry. I believe, however, that next Friday's game will be a war. Yes, a war."
Are you guys in good shape?
"We are well and, in recent times, we have been playing very good basketball. We will have to take the court thinking about all the good things we have done this year".
Someone like Tavares, it is better to have him as a partner than as a rival...
"He was, for me, a great team-mate. It was great luck to play with him. We have to try to make him feel uncomfortable. At the very least we have to try, because he is also a crucial player in the construction of the game."
When people talk about your adventure in Madrid, it is always done with a negative connotation. Yet something positive may have been there?
"At the moment I decided to move to Madrid, Real was the best option. Then, it may be true that things didn't go very well, but playing in Real Madrid, just like playing in the NBA or Barça, changes your career, gives you prestige and that was exactly what I was looking for: I wanted to confirm myself at the highest level in Europe. Here in Barcelona, then, I found fantastic team-mates and a coach like Saras who managed to bring out the best part of my basketball."
Which Real Madrid do you expect?
"It's a difficult game to imagine, but we have prepared by focusing on some aspects, such as the zone that they played against Partizan. It's 40 minutes and we will have to be ready for anything: to fight and overcome difficult moments. Two great teams will play against each other and that's why it will be a very complicated match."
How do you get to the final?
"You must not be afraid to play. And, as far as I'm concerned, I've never had any. Not even every time I decided to go from one city to another to play. There will be no lack of nerves and tension, but if we play with a winning mentality, we will pass."
You were lucky enough to play with your idol, Manu Ginobili, someone Maradona called the greatest sportsman in Argentina's history. What did you take with you from that experience?
"Manu is the idol of my generation, of the next generation and will be the idol of future generations. Forever. I consider myself very lucky to have had this opportunity and to have known not only the athlete, but also the person and his family. To have been on his team is, without a doubt, one of the things that changed my career."
