“Facu, Facu”, a guy calls him as soon as he peeks out of the cop tunnel on the way to the bus. He recognizes him from afar, even though he is wearing the Argentine diver’s hood. “A photo?”. And the point guard stops smiling at the camera. Click, and the boy excitedly hugs his mother. Facundo Campazzo is an idol in Mar del Plataand a few days ago he returned to the city where he shone.

“I can’t wait to play here at the Poli and for the field to be full”, confesses on the parquet of the stadium where he won everything he faced with Peñarol, where he also seemed a base for the national team, of which he has been part for a decade. Back at the Parque de los Deportes stadium, this time he must take on a new role in the team, that of leader – after the retirement of the louis scola“irreplaceable”, he will say – of a new generation of players.

In the sports center “Falkland Islands” it will be the night of Monday 29 August before Bahamas, already across the board as the Cordovian captain hopes (the tickets sold out in a few hours), but before that, Canada plays-Thursday 25-, as a guest. Both sides, which he described as “very difficult”not only because of the weight of the rivals, but because of the long pilgrimage of a round trip there in North America, they correspond to the elimination phase of the FIBA.

“The journey will be hard, they are very long distances. The window problem is the one that should be slightly improved, because we have to travel with more stops, we have like a whole day of travel and the next day we come back, and two days later we play a final here with the Bahamas “, analyzes Campazzo after. morning training in office coach Nestore Garcia.

The base, which comes from playing in Denver Nuggetsand now as a free agent he awaits the call of some other NBA franchise, even if he is still in the crosshairs of Real Madrid, where he has already played, he said that during training under the supervision of García the team “It flowed more, we are more dynamic”.

“What Néstor offered us at the beginning is the extra step, play dynamically, don’t get stuck, don’t doubt. I think we lacked a bit of oil in the beginning and as we went through the workouts we started to flow more, we are much more dynamic in passing the extra ball, so we have to think about who is the best right now. We are very intelligent in this sense, we go from minor to major “.

The first match of this double FIBA ​​appointment will be Thursday evening against Canada, a team that Campazzo defines “very hard, very athletic and intense”.

“They score from all positions, inside and out, in the paint they have players who always impose themselves, who protect the circle very well. To get the victory there we must try to impose our game, the extra pass as I said before, defend strong and control the rebounds, I think if we control the rebounds well we will have a better chance of winning, “he explains.

It gives the impression that the observation on the rival may well explain it to the “new blood” that integrates the chosen one, that of that impetuous Golden generation It has only the presence of Carlos Delfino. “And goes on Facu– Be smart: don’t go into their game, back and forth, one on one and so on, that’s where they get stronger. We have to be smart in this sense, it will be very important to us. “

As well as Argentina contemplates the long journey ahead of ThursdayThe same must take into account the Bahamas for the match on Monday 29 in Mar del Plata. “Maybe it’s the same, but we don’t have to think about it, because I think Canada is not counting on our journey: we have to put aside excuses”, without losing sight of who is who in each team.

Therefore, he explains, “you have to know who is from the Bahamas, as a player, the last window was Buddy Hield, who is a player who raises the level of others, so maybe they add highly effective players. You have to see how they are prepared and how they come. In addition, it analyzes what we did wrong and what we did well against Canada. “They are teams “That require 100% of you both physically and mentally”.

He says he really wanted to come to town, “Every street I walk is a memory I have, it’s amazing, and so are the people, with the love and support they always have. Can’t wait to play here at the cop, do play the national team and fill the field “.

At 31, with an admirable career underway, as well as an idol in Mar del Plata, perhaps Campazzo, in parallel, also be admiration and archetype for your young companions of the older team that now has him as a reference after Scola’s retirement.

“Obviously he misses him, he is an irreplaceable person, his leadership, his impact, how he imposes himself on and off the pitch, it’s time for us, perhaps those of us who have been here longer, even with the new blood that exists. that is, adding everything for the common good, working hard. We always rely on preparation, we must put all our energy into preparation “.