by Domenico Calcagno
The Argentine Quesada, the new Italian coach: «I listen, I learn and I’m happy to be here. Heart and passion will be our strength”
Gonzalo Quesada is a man of the world. A piece of life in Buenos Aires, another in France, many years in Paris. He speaks four languages: to Spanish, French, English he quickly added ours (“Diego Dominguez’s advice: first he learns Italian”) and he also plays polo. Compared to the two last Italian rugby coaches, the tough Afrikaner Franco Smith and the silent New Zealander Kieran Crowley, the difference is evident. He has a degree in economics and has played 38 times for the Pumas shirt, as an opener, scored 486 points (only three have done better) and has chosen to live in Milan: «Like all foreigners I immediately thought of Rome, but Milan is more convenient for my work. However, I wanted a house just outside the city with a small garden, like in Paris. I found it”.
His contract begins January 1. However, you came to Italy two months ago because you, you explained: I had to listen and understand.
«It was a good decision. I saw that everything is very different from what I knew, especially in France. But I haven’t changed my idea of what I want to do with the team, just my work priorities. However, I still listen, I still learn and I am convinced that I am in the place where I wanted to be.”
He said: my team must advance, with the ball but also without it.
«Advancement is the first law of rugby. Crowley did a good job and there was a lot of talk about Italy’s attack. Anyone who attacks entertains and attracts sympathy. It’s a strong point of the Azzurri and I want to develop it. But when we play against very strong teams we have to learn to attack even without the ball and, above all, to score points every time we have a chance. Scoring against Italy must become less easy.”
Where do we start?
«By building a game strategy, exit structures from our half of the pitch. We must be solid in conquering our 50 meters for the entire 80 minutes of the game. When we achieve this we will be able to play the ball more effectively.”
Given the World Cup, can we say that the rules today favor defense?
«I think that sooner or later something will change. The World Cup statistics say that the teams that kicked the most, and gained the most meters, are the top 5. I don’t think any fan wants to see this rugby. Taking few risks is not the best business. Today, however, it is convenient.”
So will Italy change its skin?
«We are working on a new attack system. Little by little though: going against England on Saturday with too many new features would be a catastrophe.”
Another sore point, the breakdown, the ground battle: Italy is not always effective in this phase.
«Breakdown is a complex area of the game. Once the World Cup was over, Joël Jutge, the head of the referees, sent an email divided into 5 points to several coaches to get their opinion. In first place was the breakdown. The referees struggle to control all aspects of it and as it is interpreted the advantage today goes to the defense. The job of us coaches is to try to win and we spend our days understanding what to do to achieve this. I like Guardiola, having possession, attacking. I like Guardiola, but I also like Simeone’s football, someone who wants to compete. However, Italy cannot be Atletico Madrid, they don’t have the muscles of England. Our strength must be speed and the group.”
Give us an example.
«As a player I lost to Italy in ’98 and as a coach, I was France’s assistant, in 2011. These victories were built on conquest and defence. They were aggressive teams, they jumped on you and left you nothing. My dream is to recover that passion, that heart.”
Argentina and Italy have deep ties, in rugby and beyond. Isn’t it paradoxical that you are the first Argentine chosen to coach the Italian national team?
«I was hoping for this opportunity, I was waiting for it after the many years with the clubs in France, the experience in Superugby, those as an assistant with France and Argentina. But I didn’t ask myself the question: why me? I’m just happy to have been chosen.”
To get where?
«Bringing the national team to its maximum potential. If with that we can win more, we will win more. I studied and listened and I am more convinced than before that in the blue group there are ambitious and quality players, a team in which everyone has a single way of feeling.”
How many times a day do you think about the England team you will face in Rome on Saturday in the first match of the Six Nations?
«Many. And when I don’t think about England I think about Ireland, Scotland, the tour in July, the tests in November…”.
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January 31, 2024 (modified January 31, 2024 | 08:54)
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