Mariano Muñoz will look for the title and qualification in Rio de Janeiro. The coach of the Argentine national team works thinking about the South Central American Senior Handball Championship that will be played from November 26th in the carioca city.
A few months ago, Mariano Muñoz was introduced as the coach of Argentina’s adult women’s national team.
Total renovation
- Did the appointment to lead the Argentine national team take you by surprise or was it something you expected?
I didn’t really expect it, I don’t know if it was because of the timing or the situation but it wasn’t something I was expecting right now.
I have been working in Europe for 6 years, particularly in Spain, and I believe that although I did not expect it, I am well prepared and very excited, eager to face this challenge.
- How have the players received it in general?
In general very well, there is a very good working environment, the players are receiving a new way of working, a new game model in a very good way.
It is true that I have known most of them since they were little because I have coincided with them in previous national selection processes in youth or juniors.
Technical Staff
- Regarding the coaching staff, it has been completely renewed, were the people who accompany you proposed by you?
Fortunately, I can choose the technical staff myself. Martín Duhau is the second trainer and is one of the most qualified people in the country.
Gastón González, who will be the technical assistant, also works very well and I have known him for many years; he is a well-prepared, up-to-date professional.
Santiago Bruno is the kinesiologist, he is a great professional, everyone speaks highly of him and Omar Camel is the physical trainer, he is very well prepared.
They are all very well prepared professionals, each one in his or her role, and they will make my task much easier. Maybe we will add someone else later on.
Concentrations in Europe
- You have had training camps in the city of Porriño, Spain, and this October you will be touring the Valencia region. What activities will you be carrying out in addition to the friendly match with the Elche team?
We did a first rally in Porriño, now we are on our way to a rally in the Valencian community.
There are many changes in offense and defense, as well as in transitions. Tactical changes, we know that it will cost them a little to adapt to the new one, but these are moments to sow and lay the foundations of what we want as a national team.
It is not yet confirmed if the friendly will be with Elche, maybe the friendly will be played with Elda.
The rest will be training, work with double and triple sessions with video, weights and court stimuli, it will be an intense week.
First stop
- The South Central American Senior Championship to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil will be your first international competition with the Argentine national team. What are your expectations for the event?
As a main objective we want to start to see the identity of the Argentine national team we want.
We want to be a competitive, hard-fighting, intense team that plays every game as if it were the South Central final and that we can overcome every obstacle that comes our way with tactical tools and get as far as possible.
It is a tough tournament, very intense, it is difficult because the players come from their leagues and we have to adapt in a very short time but they are very professional and we will do our best to be up to the task.
Mariano Muñoz will seek the title and qualification to the World Cup in Germany/Netherlands 2025.
- In the squad of players for the tour of Spain, we have noticed that some players have been called up who had not been taken into account with the previous coaching staff, there are also players who have been wearing the national team jersey without interruption, how is the group?
There is a group of players that has been consolidated for a long time, they are between 25 and 30 years old, they are in the best moment of their career competing at European level in Poland, France, Spain and they are a very solid block.
Of course, we want to see young people and bet on the future, because we know that this is an Olympic cycle.
The group is doing very well, in the first training camp it showed itself to be very solid and with the capacity to understand that just as today there is one, tomorrow there may be another.
- The first objective will be to qualify for the 2025 World Cup and also to win the South Central American title?
Of course, the first objective is to qualify for the world championship and we have to keep that in mind, but we also don’t want to escape the dream of the players who have been very competitive in the South Central and have managed to win medals and compete on equal terms with Brazil.
The main thing we have to understand as a national team is that we have to respect our opponents and play with each other as if it were the final.
Knowing that if we work hard and are at one hundred percent of our potential we can beat any team in the continent.
Planning for 2025
After South Central, each player will return to her league: “We are planning for 2025 with more weeks of work in Europe, in the middle of the year we have in mind to return to concentrate in Argentina and continue with the preparation of the team.”
“As I said at the beginning, there are not only short term objectives, but above all we must think in the medium and long term in the consolidation of a game model, the link between the players and the coaching staff and from there to build the Argentina team of the future”, closed the coach of the Argentine national team.
Marian Muñoz will seek the title and qualification in her first international experience with La Garra in the South Central championship to be held in Rio de Janeiro.
If you liked Mariano Muñoz will be looking for the title and qualification, you can also read: Cristiano Rocha, coach of Brazil’s women’s national team.
Photos: CAH / Federico Soler. CoSCABal / Germán Paez
By Loly Coria
