On October 7, while the terrible Hamas attack was taking place, the Berrocal family's cell phones began to emit unusual alerts.. That morning, the second coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv spent it in the mamat, the bunker of his home, with his wife and his two twin children.. “I wasn't scared, but it was disturbing,” he recalls, the exceptional situation of the team from a country at war, exiled by obligation and security in Belgrade, where this Tuesday (8:15 p.m.) they receive, as a local and without an audience in the stands of the Pionir Room (just a few banners with slogans like Bring them home now! or Stronger together), to Real Madrid and thus solve the match postponed by the Euroleague.

The legendary Maccabi, six-time European champion (1977, 1981, 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2014), is the pride of Israel, a symbol of Hebrew sport that, due to the conflict with Gaza, escaped first to Cyprus – “with our families, we were nomads through Europe for 20 days. It was not easy to run out of the country” – and then settle in the capital of Serbia, where their players and coaching staff live in apartments, “an exceptional situation” from which they try to get something positive.

As unthinkable as a member of the press department having to march to the front. «It was shocking to see him in uniform, sending us messages from the war. He blew me away. It was a relief that he returned,” says Berrocal, former assistant to Svetislav Pesic first and then Xavi Pascual at Barça, king of Europe, and a globetrotter who never cared about adventure (he trained in Ukraine, Bahrain, Turkey or Greece), but who did not imagine himself in such a position, acting more as a psychologist with a staff in which “sadness and pain around” abound..

Berrocal, in training. MACCABI

«I am the oldest coach and group management is not important now, it is essential. I have a great responsibility, we cannot take what is happening in the war as our own.. We remind you that you have to try to put everything aside and when we are on the track, enjoy a little. “Take advantage of the opportunity that basketball gives us to be together,” says the man who was recruited by Odded Kattash – that voracious scorer whose career was ruined by a knee injury – at the beginning of last season.

In the squad there are Americans like the Spanish Lorenzo Brown – or Cubans, like the former Valencia player, Jasiel Rivero – who do not understand very well what is happening, far from the warm Tel Aviv, from what were their homes.. Who have had to send their children to school in Belgrade, although they do not even know if this scenario will last too long. The Israeli players have preferred to keep their families in the country, to which the team will soon have to return for another strange episode. In a few days the Hebrew League will resume and those matches will be played in Israel, although the team lives in Serbia.

Chema Berrocal, who in recent weeks has also had to overcome the trauma of the consecutive deaths of his father and mother, tries to apply sanity in the loneliness of Belgrade, since he chose, for the first time in his life, to separate of his family. From his wife and Jofre and Bruna, “some superheroes” who asked him why missiles were falling on Tel Aviv, and who have returned to their school in Badalona. «You have to push as best you can, because we don't know how long we will be. We are still in survival mode, you feel like you are passing through,” he explains, somewhat surprised even by the good results of a team (ranked seventh in the Euroleague) made to aspire to the Final Four.. «This season, compete, fight and not give up. Whatever happens, it's a success,” he reasons.

Lorenzo Brown, with Berrocal in the background. MACCABI

Nothing is certain in Maccabi, who do not know how the matches they must play in Turkey will be resolved, a hostile country to which they cannot travel for safety reasons.. A squad in a permanent state of uncertainty, always accompanied by warlike security, the protection of Mossad, and that tries to isolate itself from the banners of rejection that they have to endure in some of their matches and trips.. “They are suffering. There is no one who doesn't know someone who wasn't killed or injured, who hasn't lost a family member or friend. “A player told me that the other day he spent the entire day watching the news about the release of hostages,” he confesses.

Enrique Cerezo and Miguel Ángel Gil smiled when Eric Abidal put Atlético de Madrid in pot E of the Champions League group stage draw, last August. Feyenoord was already waiting in the group, and then Lazio and Glasgow Celtic would fall. In terms of sports, they were not bad pairings to forget last year's bad group stage.. The fans were breathing and, however, the Security Coordinator of the Atlético National Police was sighing.

“I always pay attention to the draw to find out what hobbies we have, and this year I thought: 'Uff, the most complicated ones,'” Manuel (not his real name), the security coordinator of the red-and-white team for six years, tells EL MUNDO.. Indeed, the fans of Feyenoord and Lazio are among the worst, but the Atlético Front is not far behind, with two murders in its recent history: that of the realist Aitor Zabaleta, in 1998, and of the sports fan Francisco Javier Romero Taboada, Jimmy, in 2014. “Today, the most violent is that of Feyenoord,” he adds.

The visit of the Dutch ultras, Het Legioen (The Legion), to Madrid a few weeks ago gave a sample of what they can do. In 24 hours, a beating of a young man in the center of Madrid, altercations in the VIP area of the Metropolitano resulted in the arrest of six fans, one a minor, and a draca against members of the Atlético Front. “Dracks were made fashionable by Russian fans,” explains the police official.. They are arranged to adhere to certain rules, usually regarding time and the use or prohibition of certain weapons.

In Rome they do not forget the Dutch's passage in 2015 in a Europa League tie against Roma. The Plaza de España in the Italian capital is still under construction due to the incidents that took place against the police. The balance of the brawl, 23 arrested and a fine of 45,000 euros for eight of them.

“The game of the group that worries me the most is that of Holland,” says the police coordinator once the Dutch have passed through Madrid.. “Two people don't fight if one doesn't want to, and it's always easier for me to control my people here,” he adds.. He is one of the Security Coordinators supported and managed by the National Sports Office (OND), whose main function is the prevention of violence at sporting events.

National Sports Office

There is a Coordinator for each football team up to Primera RFEF and also another for each ACB club and, although they also deal with the rest of the sports, football “occupies 99%” of our work, explains Marcos (not his real name), the head of the OND. “In the 10 years that I have been here, in horse riding, for example, we have only dealt with one incident,” adds the person in charge.

The OND coordinators organize the security and emergency services for each sporting event from the Operational Coordination Unit (UCO) room.. They administer all national and local police units; health services, firefighters and everything related to the proper functioning of the event. “Our responsibility is also that if there is a heart attack in a stand, that person can be treated as soon as possible,” says Marcos.

The attack in the Bataclán room is one of the episodes that produced an immediate compression of security and influenced the functioning of this office and all those that exist at the European level, coordinated among themselves through the National Football Information Point (NFIP).. The worst massacre that occurred on French mainland territory since World War II directly affected, for example, the League classic in 2015.

The Real Madrid-Barcelona match took place just six days after the attacks in the French capital. The party had 1,100 police officers and 1,400 security guards, the largest security deployment in our country to date. “The classic, the Copa del Rey finals, we began to take them as a challenge to improve and face other events such as the Champions final at the Metropolitano or the Libertadores,” explains the head of the OND.

The Libertadores final, a match declared high risk, was organized in record time and was one of the biggest successes for the section. “We spent 15 days in a row working without rest,” reveals Marcos. Preseason for what is coming in 2030: the World Cup will be the biggest challenge in this century for this office.

Javier Romero Taboada, 'Jimmy', in a file photo. EM

The reception of 48 fans and their ultras will be a big problem for the OND. A problem that in Spain is relatively controlled according to the National Police. “Jimmy's death was a turning point,” explains the head of the Office. These events caused changes in the Anti-Violence Commission, in the CSD and in LaLiga, which did not have a Security Department.. Then create it.

“We are in a less violent moment than a few years ago, but there are still ultras and there is still violence”. The speaker is Miquel Ramos, the author of the book Antifascistas in which he dedicates a chapter to football ultras. Ramos places them “diluted” between the entertainment stands and on the outskirts of the stadium. And the National Police does not disagree with him except with Real Madrid: “He confronted them directly. However, there are other clubs that are not capable and of course, in the end what happens to them is that they feed a beast that is increasingly nervous,” they say.

In the last match between Real Madrid and Braga at the Bernabéu, a message from the flan stands (as the ultras of other teams call the Real Madrid Grada Fans) for the Ultras Sur: “Violence out of the stadiums”. This type of stands is what the National Police wants to see spread throughout all the fields in Spain, but not all clubs are for the work, because they are afraid of losing support in the stands.

We have seen the example recently with Los Biris, the Sevilla ultras, having the possibility of speaking with the captains and the coach about the bad situation of the team. “The ultras sell access and it is very attractive for the youngest,” they say from the OND. Precisely, they also warn of the renovation in the ultra stands and the difficulty of controlling increasingly unstructured elements because “it is not known who is in charge.”

However, and despite all the problems we may have in Spain, the OND believes that we are better than other European countries and they talk about Germany, France, after the recent and unpleasant incidents with the Olympique de Marseille, and also about Italy. “Here violence has not been reduced, it's just that now the right governs and since many ultras are related to it, there is less talk about it,” explains Diego Mariottini, journalist and writer of several books related to the ultra phenomenon.

A painting by Gabrielle Sandri on a street in Rome. Luis Núñez-Villavearán The World

The Italian author knows first-hand about the ultra phenomenon in his country and especially that of the Irriducibili, the ultras of Lazio, supposedly dissolved after the murder in 2019 of their leader, Fabrizio Piscitelli, related to cases of drug trafficking and the mafia.. But, as in Spain, what truly came as a shock to Italian society was the death, in 2007, at the hands of the police of a Lazial fan, Gabrielle Sandri, of whom there are still graffiti in Rome.. “It was an important moment to rethink the way we cheer, but also the relationships with other fans and with the police forces,” analyzes Mariottini.

In Spain the relationship between ultras and the Police is not stormy. The Atlético coordinator says that the radicals usually pay attention to him mainly when traveling. Although there are hobbies that are more complicated than others, and the members of the OND speak of the Sevillian, Asturian and Canary derby as the most complicated matches.. The question is whether this phenomenon will eventually become extinct.. “It is difficult, because that empowerment of belonging to a group does not disappear and they regenerate,” explains the head of the OND, who is always alert.

The first league draw in Montilivi took away Girona's leadership, too permissive against Athletic. In a match full of alternatives, with excessive inaccuracies, Michel's team saw its streak of five consecutive victories cut short. This was not enough with the right boot of Aleix García, who places the ball wherever he wants, nor with the speed of Savinho, who repeats the same play a thousand times and no one stops him.. Athletic, with its extensive resources, well deserved the tie. Maybe even something more. [Narrative and statistics (1-1)]

There was almost everything to put the coaches on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Because you had to see Ernesto Valverde complaining about so many lost options in the first half. It is useless to list in detail the endless number of actions in which the goal would be around in both areas..

He cried to heaven, the first, in the 5th minute, incomprehensibly missed by Gorka Guruzeta after a measured ball from Mikel Vesga; The photographers were captivated by the flight of Unai Simón, deflecting Christian Stuani's header, after a center from Yangel Herrera; Óscar de Marcos botched with the broom, after a commotion in the six-yard box; The linesman raised the flag, invalidating Savinho's acceleration to make it 1-0; Paulo Gazzaniga flew to take a left-footed shot from Vesga over the crossbar.. Come on, before the break, no one in Montilivi believed the 0-0, with 20 actions by Athletic in the rival area, including nine shots.

Trouble for De Marcos

Girona, who already had to come back against Villarreal, Almería or Mallorca, did not consider themselves alluded to. Although the high pressure bothered him, although Aleix García took a while to settle into the cockpit, although the slowness of Daley Blind and Eric García caused scandal, the team continued to trust in its enormous offensive flow.

It was tough on Monday for a veteran like De Marcos, exposed to Savinho's mischief. And no less favorable for Iñigo Lekue, on the opposite side, not at all fine in Viktor Tsygankov's goal. Even in the games that it does not control, nor impose its creativity, Girona prevails by pure inertia. The one that tilts the rival field with dizzying football.

Athletic also has players of that lineage, such as the Williams brothers. From the left, Nico was an ordeal for Arnau, while Iñaki ended up managing against the center backs. It was foolish to allow a transition as simple as that of Iñaki and Ohian Sancet at 1-1. With unprecedented audacity, Athletic was once again taking over the situation. They were able to define the 2-1, between Savinho and Pablo Torre. It would not have been fair, in short, because Girona, who usually knows what they are doing, did not have their night this time.

It took 10 years for Fernando Alonso to finish a World Cup in the top five. However, in light of the data, it can well be concluded that the wait has been worth it. Because the Aston Martin leader, as he himself admitted in the Yas Marina mixed zone, has performed at the level of 2012, his best season with Ferrari. These are some of the figures that condense the World Cup of the two-time champion, whose teaching only paled before the insulting hegemony of Max Verstappen.

A loot of 73.2%

During his two years at Alpine, he had only narrowly surpassed Esteban Ocon (19-18), a driver as controversial as he was tough to crack.. And although the head-to-head race against Lance Stroll seemed easier, Alonso settled it (18-4) with the rawness of his best days against Giancarlo Fisichella (28-6), Nelsinho Piquet (21-5), Kimi Raikkonen (16-3) or Felipe Massa (65-12). Despite its weight, this digit can still be interpreted in a more resounding way.. And Alonso has added 206 of Aston Martin's 280 points. That is, 73.5% of the total. An average higher than that of Max Verstappen at Red Bull (66.8%) and Lando Norris at McLaren (67.8%).

Give way 39 times

The overtake against Yuki Tsunoda, with three laps to go, earned him fourth place in the World Championship. Before, in Yas Marina he had already passed Valtteri Bottas, Esteban Ocon and Carlos Sainz. In this way, Alonso closed the championship with 71 successful maneuvers, a considerable figure, although lower than that of Sergio Pérez, George Russell or Lewis Hamilton. And to better appreciate Alonso's expertise, it is better to interpret it in reverse.. Because if we exclude overtaking on the first lap, on the starts, in the pit-lane and with laps, the Oviedo driver was only overtaken 39 times on the track.. The third lowest figure on the grid, only behind the Red Bulls. The case of Verstappen, passed only five times (four in Singapore and one in Las Vegas) would deserve a separate chapter.

Eight podiums and 106 in total

The epic resistance against Pérez in Interlagos served to equal Alain Prost as the fourth driver with the most podium finishes in history (106). As much or more merit had to be attributed to what was seen in Zandvoort, in very delicate conditions and on board an AMR-23 that had already lost the spring thrust. Because if during the opening event, Alonso's average race pace was third on the grid (68 hundredths before Verstappen), in Silverstone he fell to ninth position (90 hundredths) and in Mexico he plummeted to last (2.39 seconds of loss). The eight baths in champagne, compared to seven for Norris or six for Hamilton and Leclerc, only clashed with Red Bull's records.

42 years, three months and 28 days

In Yas Marina, Alonso closed his sixteenth season in the Great Circus at 42 years, three months and 28 days. A more than respectable figure, if we consider that the average age on the grid was reduced to 28.2 years.. Far from exhaustion, the Aston Martin leader performed without a single complaint on Sundays as suffocating as those in Marina Bay, Monza or Losail. His longevity has allowed him to surpass two champions of the stature of Nigel Mansell and Kimi Raikkonen and when the 2024 World Cup starts he will have overtaken Mario Andretti. If he achieves the long-awaited 33rd victory, he will become the oldest driver to reach the top of the podium after Jack Brabham, winner of the 1970 South African GP at the age of 43 years, 11 months and five days..

19-3 in one round

Fernando's regularity on Saturdays has weighed much more than Stroll's outbursts of inspiration. While the owner's son was eliminated seven times in Q1 and eight in Q2, the Asturian only missed Q3 on two occasions.. The final balance of the classifications (19-3, with an average difference of 47 hundredths) does not deserve many more comments. Alonso was responsible for bringing Aston Martin closer to the positions of honor on the grid. If in 2022 the difference with the pole was 1.9 seconds, this year that gap was reduced to 74 hundredths. It's a shame that that fabulous Monaco lap was polished in extremis by Verstappen. Therefore, the candy of pole was missing, like for Piastri, Russell and Norris, the other three opponents who climbed to the front row. To close this chapter, it is enough to highlight that Alonso also beat Pérez's Red Bull on Saturdays (13-9).

36 km/h less in Las Vegas

The slowness on the straights represented a headache from the beginning of the season. In Jeddah, a track already famous for its dizzying straights, Aston Martin was the penultimate team on the grid, with a maximum of 328 km/h, far from Red Bull's 342 km/h. Halfway through the course, during the Italian GP, the AMR-23 seemed to regain some vigor, with a maximum of 351 km/h, the fourth best record. However, in Las Vegas, the last route with huge straights, the green car, with 330 km/h, only surpassed Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri. That weekend, with the most extreme aerodynamic configurations, Carlos Sainz was able to reach 366 km/h.

12 points on the license

Despite the sad episode in Jeddah, with that round-trip podium to the greater derision of the stewards, Alonso closed the World Cup with 12 points intact in the super license. A fact that, far from being anecdotal, reveals his deep knowledge of the regulations and his great neatness in extreme situations.. On the other side of the spectrum it is worth mentioning Hamilton, who lost four points for causing collisions in Spa and Monza, or Pérez, with seven points less, after his mishaps in Singapore, Japan (two) and Abu Dhabi. Among the favorites, only Leclerc finished the World Cup with such a neat disciplinary balance.

53.3% of votes in Bahrain

Since his thunderous emergence in Sakhir on March 5, Alonso has emerged as one of the fans' favorites.. Proof of this were the two Driver of the Day awards, in the Bahrain GP, with 53.3% of the votes (the highest percentage of the year) and the Netherlands GP, with 20.9%. This background could well have increased in Monaco, where recognition went to Ocon, or Canada, with an award for Alex Albon. After 22 races, Alonso entered the top-5 of those most valued by the public 10 times.

Nuria Caballero is 22 years old and is no longer. She is no longer a high jumper, she is no longer a Barcelona athlete, she is no longer an elite athlete. It was until October and it was going to be for a long time, but it is no longer. «When I was little I wanted to be Ruth Beitia. He was always my idol, and I look a lot alike physically. At 11 years old I was already 1.80 meters tall. I love athletics, there is nothing in the world I like more, but I have left it. This year I entered the Sant Cugat High Performance Center, in the summer I was third in Spain, a lot of expectations were placed on me and, honestly, I handled it very badly. I felt a lot of pressure, I stopped enjoying myself and I started to suffer from anxiety. The body asked me to stop. There were too many things to digest,” says Caballero, who is now. She is a Nursing student at the Rovira i Virgili University, she is a fan of climbing – “I am practicing other sports, which I have never done before” – and she is a paradigmatic case.

Caballero exemplifies an epidemic that devastates the sport: early withdrawals. There are many, many who remain in the valley that separates teenagers from adults, amateurs from professionals, unknowns from the famous.

In a study carried out among 442 Spanish athletes by psychologists from the Catholic University of Murcia (UCAM), the University of Murcia and the University of Santiago, 4% confessed to being burned out, exhausted, mentally exhausted and a further 15% admitted to being at high risk. of suffering from the same illness, the so-called burnout. Other countries show similar percentages: the problem is global. The cases of the gymnast Simone Biles or the tennis player Ashleigh Barty brought mental health care to the covers, but it stayed there, on the covers. Every day the list of young people retired without so much as a brief grows.

«It is becoming more common, much more than people think. There are teenagers who already feel pressure and think about quitting.. I give a recent example in the consultation: a 14-year-old girl, successful in a minority sport such as taekwondo, who felt that she could not disappoint her coach, that her club depended on her.. In today's sport we run too much and that is dangerous. In the training categories there is too much focus on victory, on winning a certain championship, and that generates discomfort,” analyzes Jesús Portillo, from Sports Psychologists, professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and psychologist of the Spanish national team. field hockey, among others. «Many times athletes are already burned out, but they continue to win due to talent, conditions or previous training. “This way they hold on until they can't take it anymore,” adds the expert and that is precisely the story of former snowboarder Ana Amor.

«I locked myself at home for a month»

Because Ana Amor was “no longer well” and was also going to qualify for the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games, she was one of the 20 best in the world and shared concentrations with the current Olympic medalist Regino Hernández and the current world champion Lucas Eguibar. A couple of years later, when she was only 23, she, the best Spaniard in the history of snowboard cross, hung up her board. «Before qualification for the Sochi Games began my father died. I was very young, no one talked to me, there was no psychologist in the Federation and I managed it as best I could.. Despite this, I achieved good results and was going to get the place, but there was a moment when everything came crashing down on me.. I was in competition and my mind disconnected. One day, after a jump, I had to absorb the impact and instead I jumped. A very big nonsense. I was seriously injured. Because of that I didn't go to the Games, I locked myself at home for a month so I wouldn't see anything and then it wasn't the same.. I went back to competing as if nothing was happening, but I got injured again. There I already thought: either I do something or you kill me. And I left it,” says Amor, who later started studying Journalism and today wants to write, narrate, explain stories…. about snowboarding.

Ana Amor poses for EL MUNDO David Ramirez / Araba Press Araba

«I spent three years without touching the snow and I live in the Pyrenees. I disconnected from everything, I had a bad time. Now I see it with perspective. Last year I even competed again.. For pleasure, without pressure. I feel the pain, the frustration, the failure of leaving it, but I have enjoyed it again,” he concludes and underlines a note for the solution: “My coach and the Federation lacked tact.”

From the bench

The feared environment. In Spain, federated soccer competitions begin at the age of five; basketball ones, at six; the handball ones, at seven; and roller hockey, for example, at eight; and there are technicians, clubs and institutions that live off their results. The coach of a champion team in Benjamins will be promoted, a club with promise in youth will attract more boys and girls, there will be celebration if Madrid beats Catalonia or Asturias in a regional under-12 championship.

«Many coaches seek the success of their pupils in lower categories because this is how their work is recognized.. It's understandable, but it's hasty. I have also been young and unconscious, but we must differentiate the phases. In the learning phase the important thing is not to win, even if you win. This year Luana Marton was proclaimed world champion at the age of 17 and my job was to manage it, calm her down, keep her learning.. Don't let him get overwhelmed. Mental health is not important, it is the most important thing. If a person is not happy, is burned out and does not want to train, it is impossible for them to reach the elite,” proclaims Jesús Ramal, from the Hankuk gym, coach of the Olympic taekwondo runner-up Adriana Cerezo – who has just turned 20 – and promises like Marton herself, a candidate for everything in the next Paris 2024 Games. “In the end for these things, in the environment, those who are really fundamental are fathers and mothers,” he concludes and there, the master wall.

The work of parents

André Agassi and his father Mike, who forced him to play tennis day and night. Max Verstappen and his father Jos, who abandoned him at a gas station due to a driving error. Terrible examples have drawn a caricature in the collective imagination, but normally fathers and mothers want the best for their sons and daughters.. And they don't have it easy. What to do before a competition? Is it better to ask how you are doing or avoid the topic? And then? Parenting is doubting all the time.

«Sometimes we have not been up to the task. We have always supported her, but we didn't know what to do, everything was too big for us. When she won the first World Cup I just thought: 'Oh, my God, now how do I help my girl?',” admits Toñi Moreno, the mother of Carolina Marín, who at 21 years old was already pointing to what she is: a legend of the badminton. «Any mother tries to do the best for her child. We have known athletes who have retired due to pressure from their family and it was without bad intentions.. Our idea has always been the same: let him know that we are. If you want to celebrate, we are there, if you want to let off steam, we are there, if you need space, we are there.. Giving him that support is our job so that he is happy, so that he does not stop enjoying himself, because that is what we come to in life,” adds Mavi López, mother of the current Olympic climbing champion, also twenty-year-old Alberto Ginés, and she is quite right.

Then, with everything, live

Julia Payola's biography confirms this. A photo of her as a child continues to accompany her name on Google Images. On the right, she, with the large champion trophy; On the left, Paula Badosa, with the little one as runner-up. How many under-10, under-12, under-14 or under-16 competitions did they compete in and how different were their paths in tennis?. At 24 years old, Badosa reached number two in the WTA ranking; At 24, Payola was already retired. His best position on the list had been number 427. Enough.

«There was a time when the results were no longer coming. It was life or death, I didn't enjoy the process and that didn't help me. I left him and went to finish my ADE degree in England, I was very burned out.. And do you know what happened? That I ended up returning and doing sports management internships precisely in a tennis company.. I don't play, but in sports there are many more things to do. Now I think that my career didn't get any better because I didn't have to get any better. It was a beautiful stage, but you have to turn the page and be happy,” concludes Payola, like so many, with elite sport now just another memory.