tony growing up the hard way! part 2

[JUUOT]

As promised here is the translation from lequipe and their take on Tony.

19/09/2005
Basket - Euro (H) : Tony Parker au pied du mur

Where is flash? If he is not hiding when comes time to justify to the press, Tony parker has yet to be seen at the euro championship. The French point guard hardly derailed in the first 3 games “for the first time of (his) career”, playing on a false rhythm and putting horrible stats (4,7 points à 21%, 1,3 passe décisive, 2 balles perdues), keeping his coach confidence (27mn a game). After each game the coach took his defense even if parker contrary to what he promised was not ready on D-Day

»I did not think it would be as bad »
« Do not credit parker with more than he is, which is 23, « said the French coach after the loss against Slovenia. “Today, he wants to help, but he can’t. It hurts him ». Injured at knee and leg he is « frustrated of not being able to help my teammates ». He is paying for an active summer, preventing him from fully resting after more than 100 games with Spurs. By themselves each of his decisions is hard to criticize. The medias? The French basket needed for a long time a model. Endorsements? He is half American so you can not blame him even considering his salary. Musical activities ? it is hard to prevent a hypersollicited boy to escape.

But this last point is particularly important. He is not playing guitare fro fun. H eis preparing an album and funding a label. Everything, right now. “maybe, I am doing to many things, even outside of basket, I will have to better structure it”. He believed he was unbreakable, and he persuaded the others he was even the french coach. He has been unbreakable for a long time having nearly no serious injuries before this summer, he realizes now that he is “not a machine” as he was affirming after his first nba le in 2003. Yet, “POP and my parents warned me. They knew it would be hard to play the euro if not being ready physically”. Before the beginning of the tournament he accepted the critics of doing too much. Logicaaly, he ran straight into the wall. Being slaped hard.

”I have to think”
Stuck in the situation and his team with him, he is at a turning point of his career. He will have to make choices. Without capacity to oppose spurs and the investment they have in him, he is leaving his future with the national team in the air. Maybe he hasn’t made his mind yet since they still have to play against Serbia. “I have to think about it, I don’t want to do acompe ion where I am not my self. But to say it is my last compe ion is not true. A member of the French basket association “it is not because French nba players are millionaires that they will reinvent the world”.

Before knowing Parker’s future, there is still a game to play. If a healthy parker can explode any defense anytime, the French team often developed a better basket when rigaudeau (half court offense) or diaw(run and gun offense ala phoenix) were in charge of the team. A French team better without parker? It s hard to accept even if it was in part true in Belgrade. For years to come a TP 100% healthy is still the key to win a le, but not in 2005.

Xavier COLOMBANI, à Belgrade.

Translation, JUUOT for spurstalk

[Slomo]

As always...

Thanks for sharing!

[xcoriate]

Thanks Juuot, will be interesting so see how this all plays out. What are Frances chances to quakify for the next Olympics?

[Kamnik]

Thanks Juuot, will be interesting so see how this all plays out. What are Frances chances to quakify for the next Olympics?

very very slim; almost none

they play Serbia today; i dont think they stand a chance with Parker so down

[velik_m]

Thanks Juuot, will be interesting so see how this all plays out. What are Frances chances to quakify for the next Olympics?

Top 6 six teams qualify for WC. The top teams in WC then qualify for Olympics. The rest of the teams will be determined in the next EC, 2 years from now. If they fail now, they can still get through to the Olympics in 2 years time.

[Slo spurs fan]

Please leave this thread "clean"!!! Don't troll here. Just contribute.

[zeleni]

JUUOT

I have a question... Who already qualified for Japan?

[Summers]

Thanks for translating/posting!

(Poor Tony!)

[Manu'sMagicalLeftHand]

JUUOT

I have a question... Who already qualified for Japan?

Qualified teams so far:
Africa:
Angola
Senegal
Nigeria

Americas:
Argentina
Brazil
Venezuela
USA
Panama

Asia:
China
Lebanon
Qatar
Japan

Oceania:
Australia
New Zealand

Europe:
6 spots to be decided yet.

+ 4 teams invited by FIBA

[zeleni]

what abour Serbia, world champions? I undrestanded they qualify by le?

[Kobayagi]

Yes, Serbia already qualified.

[Manu'sMagicalLeftHand]

No, Serbia qualified for the 2004 Olympics with their 2002 World Championships le.

Argentina qualified for 2006 World Championships because they won the Gold in the 2004 Olympics.

And the winner of the 2006 World Championship will qualify for the 2008 Olympics, and so on.

But, Serbia surely will get an invitation from FIBA, along other countries (maybe Puerto Rico).

[Kobayagi]

Oops, my bad.....I was wrong, they're not qualified...but like the Hand said: they'll most likely get a wild cart from FIBA.