“Madrid deserves to organise the 2016 Olympic Games”
Monday, June 15th, 2009
"Madrid deserves to organise the Olympics for all sorts of reasons"
Intelligent and skillful, he has a winning spirit and a special gift for basketball. Ricky Rubio (Born in Masnou on 21 October 1990), the European basketball player whose talent and popularity have put him in the sights of all the NBA teams, is a true leader. After admiring his flair in the Beijing Olympic final, the coaches said of this precocious record-breaker that watching him play was “sheer madness.” He is another of the trump cards in Madrid’s bid to persuade the members of the International Olympic Committee.
Tona Vives, his mother and the person who knows him best, defines him as a shy and introverted lad devoted to his friends. She says he is hard-working, intelligent and much more entertaining than people think. What characterises Ricky, she goes on to say, is his simplenature: “He found it very hard at first to cope with popularity, and he wondered whether it was worth losing his adolescence to start playing basketball two years earlier. But he did the right thing. I hope he doesn’t change and it never goes to his head.”
–That’s what your mother says about you. How do you feel about fame and success?
–Well, popularity hasn’t changed me. I’m 18, and no matter how much attention I get, I’m the same Ricky as ever thanks to my parents. I have the same friends and do the same things. That’s why I go to school every day to pass the two subjects – Catalan and chemistry – that I still need to finish my high school diploma. And next year, I’ll decide if I want to go on to do a degree in medicine or physical education.
–You’ve been a precocious talent in every way, and your talent has helped you break every record in Spanish basketball. What’s your limit?
–I don’t know. Everything’s worked out fine so far. It’s like living in a dream: winning the silver medal with the national team at the Beijing Olympics, the King’s Cup, the ULEB Cup, playing for so many minutes… I could never have hoped for so much.
–Are you as shy as your mother says you are?
–Yes, I’m quite shy. A lot of people think I’m a bit stand-offish because I’m not as bubbly as other players, but that’s because I like to go unnoticed and remain in the background. However, I’m very organised, I’m a perfectionist, and I like giving orders and having everything under control.
–Do you find popularity wearying?
–No, but I’d sometimes rather be a normal kid playing volleyball on the beach with my friends, without anyone asking me for an autograph. My parents, though, say that even if you have a bad day, you still ought to smile and set a good example.
–Do you dream of playing in the NBA?
–Yes, but I’m not obsessed about it. There was a lot of speculation about my future, but I’ve decided to present myself for the NBA draft of new players.
–Will it be you who decides on that moment?
–Yes, of course it will. I’m under contract to Joventut in Barcelona for another two years. It’s a club that’s given me everything, and I was planning to comply. But every option has to be examined before deciding which one is best for my future. Whatever happens, it’ll be me who decides. I hope I don’t get it wrong.
–Which NBA team would you like to play for?
–It would be incredible to play alongside Gasol in the Lakers and learn from its magnificent players. In the NBA, though, the draft system means that unless you’re with a free agent, it’s the club that chooses you rather than you deciding on the club.
"I’m really only a novice who’s just beginning"
–Does it embarrass you that the Americans are so full of praise for your talent?
–I’m no match for the expectations that have been aroused. It’s amazing they should describe my play as “sheer madness”, and I’m astounded when I hear all their praise and compliments. It sounds as though I’m going to be the greatest player of all time, when I’m really only a novice who’s just beginning, and who still has to improve in many ways.
–How do you need to improve?
–Everything. Shots, passes, the left side, vision of play… I don’t score a ten at anything. As my father says, “the day you think you’re perfect, you’ll stagnate and improve no further.” All I’m concerned with now is being near great players in order to learn from them.
–Let’s talk about your participation in the Beijing Olympic Games.
–It was incredible, like a dream come true. Two years ago, I watched them winning the World Championship on TV, and now I can share a changing room with those magnificent players and the success they’ve achieved. It was tremendously rewarding for me when Aíto called me up for the Spanish squad and allowed me to make my debut last summer.
"To play the Olympic games was incredible"
–Do you owe Aíto García Reneses so much?
–Yes, a huge amount. He’s a great coach and has always had confidence in me. I debuted in the ACB League with him at the age of 14, I started to evolve as a player with him, and it was with him that I won all my titles – the King’s Cup and the ULEB Cup with Joventut, and the Olympic silver medal.
–What’s a normal day like in the life of Ricky Rubio?
–Very intense. I don’t stop. I get up at nine, I go to training at ten, and I’m already at school by twelve. Then I have lunch, I rest a while, and I train again with my team-mates. Afterwards, either I meet my friends for a drink or I go home and study. Being a professional basketball player means a lot of sacrifices, because you can’t fool around or go out with your friends at weekends, but it doesn’t really matter. The important thing is that I’m doing what I like best: playing basketball.
–Are you in love?
–No, not yet. I’m very young, I’m not in a hurry, and it’ll come when it has to. Since I’m very timid, though, I find it very hard to make the first move. My friends are the ones who take advantage of it.
"They should vote for Madrid’s bid because we’re going to organise the best Olympics in history"
–If you could, what whim would you indulge right now?
–I’d go off with my friends to an idyllic beach to rest and get brown.
–Will Madrid organise the 2016 Olympic Games?
–Yes, I’m sure it will. If Beijing was great, just imagine what it will be like to compete at home, with the support of our own crowd! What’s more, Madrid deserves to organise the Olympics for all sorts of reasons. Its facilities are already built, it has large-scale infrastructures, it offers every service and comfort for the athletes and the Olympic family, it has a large network of volunteers, and its organisation of all sorts of international events over the last few years has given it the necessary experience.
–What would you say to the members of the International Olympic Committee to make them back Madrid?
–Quite simple. They should vote for Madrid’s bid because we’re going to organise the best Olympics in history, and because the city has played a fundamental role in recent years in promoting all kinds of sports and other events. Besides, they’ll eat very well, and they’ll enjoy marvellous weather and an incredible festive atmosphere. Madrid has everything it takes.■
