Endesa League | Marcelinho: “Basketball is being too good to me”

The Brazilian from Lenovo Tenerife turns 40 this Thursday and continues to make a difference in every game

“I’ve always been a culé and when I came to Spain in 2004 my dream was to play for Barça,” the point guard told SPORT

Brazilian Marcelinho Huertas He continues to make history and this Thursday he turns 40 installed in the elite and making a difference in the Lenovo Tenerife of Txus Vidorreta. The one who was a Barça base between 2011 and 2015 gave an interview to SPORT to talk about the divine and the human.

Although he would already be 41 years old by then, ‘Marce’ dreams of saying goodbye to the Brazilian team at the 2024 Paris Olympics and now he is focused on concluding the season at the highest level with the chicharrero team, with whom he has a contract until 2024. And from there… we’ll see.

The South American recalled the four seasons he played for Xavi Pascual’s Barça with which “he only needed to win the Euroleague”he remembered his experiences with the Lakers in the NBA and, above all, he once again gave free rein to a ‘normality’ that has made him one of the most beloved players in basketball today.

Are you afraid to take a look at your birth certificate?

Not at all. I don’t even think about it. When I train or play, I just try to enjoy myself and if I thought about it, I wouldn’t. The day I leave him I will miss him a lot.

how do you get continue making differences already with 40 years?

Here the key to everything is illusion. I always dreamed of being a professional and I never imagined what I have achieved. The career I’ve had is a gift and I want to continue enjoying it with the same enthusiasm I had as a child. I wish I could play forever. I have come this far based on illusion and hunger to continue learning.

I guess he takes great care…

For athletes, the body is our work tool and you have to know how to take care of yourself in your spare time. Everything you do off the track is important. The gym, prevention, what you eat, how you rest… you have to take advantage of everything to be as good as possible. There are a thousand types of therapies that help you such as machines, compression boots, hyperbaric chambers, ice, working with the club’s physios or sometimes with a private one. It is also key to take care of the mind and have a balanced personal life. If your head is not right, lower your performance. The goal is to perform on game days, but behind it there is a very important invisible job.

It’s just that he was the best point guard in the Endesa League last season at the age of 39!

That’s why I tell you that I don’t look at the DNI. The performance that I am having at my age is a gift and for me it is a privilege. Basketball has been too good to me and it allows me to continue giving joy to people (he was already the best point guard 11 years ago at his ‘premier’ as a Barça player).

Is something missing in your career?

A medal with Brazil in a World Cup or in a Games. We have been close three or four times, but we lost the matches to play for a medal. We stayed out of the semifinals for details. Yes, I have won Copa América, but… I still dream of that medal.

He spent four seasons at Barça and won two Leagues and one Cup. What do you remember?

They were four wonderful years. We were in three Final Fours and we only needed to win the Euroleague. I not only respect Xavi Pascual, I also have great affection for him for welcoming me with open arms. He taught me a lot of things and I really enjoyed Barça. I have always been a culé for football and in 2004 when I came to Spain my dream was to wear the Barça shirt. Having Navarro by my side… I was very excited to play for Barça and it is one of the most important moments of my career, because I fulfilled a dream. Barça gave me a lot and I gave them back a lot. Maybe we missed a couple of Cups and the Euroleague, I remember the 2013 semifinal in which we beat Madrid well and they came back.

Is it still special for you to play at the Palau?

Definitely! And in the rest of the courts of the teams in which I have played. People see that my retirement is closer every year, even if it gets longer (laughs). They recognize my career, what I did in their clubs and I notice that affection. It’s very special. They are the moments that you will take forever over matches or even titles. The love of the people is priceless. When I play in Barcelona and enter the Palau wonderful memories come to mind, everything happens to me like a movie.

And he played on Kobe Bryant’s Lakers from 2015 to 2017!It was great to play in the most successful franchise (17 ‘rings’, the same as the Celtics) and which has an incredible history. The era of ‘showtime’ with Magic, that of Kobe with Shaq and everything that involves wearing the jersey of the biggest franchise in the NBA. It was a luxury to be by Kobe’s side in his last campaign (15-16) and experience the tributes firsthand… I get goosebumps! We had a team under construction, Kobe was pretty touched and he missed a lot of games. In my case, it was hard not to have continuity, to see that he played several games well and then he was two or three games without minutes. It’s a business and you have to accept it.

How important is Txus Vidorreta for you?

A lot. It has given me the opportunity to feel important and to show that I still had basketball to offer. I was with Txus many years ago in Bilbao (2007-08 season) and it was clear to me that I would perform well again with him, although I didn’t expect that much (laughs). He has known how to get the best of me. We have a fairly open relationship and I would say that the results at the team level are very good. Txus makes your job much easier and if I continue playing at this level, his figure is key in recent years.

Is your big goal to reach the Paría Games 2024?

In my head the only thing is to finish as high as possible this season, but you can talk about the future without problems. Of course, my goal is to reach the 2024 Paris Games and that would be my goodbye to the national team. At the club level I have not decided. I have another year left in Tenerife and I would like to continue playing and doing what I like the most as long as I feel well and my head is in order.

Finally, what are you most proud of?

First, that I’m still the same person. I have not changed because I have achieved things and not because I have had a good career. I’m still the same kid, with the same friends and with the same close relationship with my family. For me that is the most important thing, to keep making friends easily and not create problems. I don’t get carried away by the circumstances of a successful career.