Walter Herrmann, the gladiator who battles time

Takes the ball with one hand, that giant hand, making imaginary drawings in the air while taking the two steps to the hoop and launches. If one day he decided to cut his long, blond hair, change his hair color or even fill his skin with tattoos, everyone would still recognize him with those characteristic drives to the basket. It is, of course, Walter Herrmann, who at 39 enjoys his third cycle as a professional basketball player: "I used to do spectacular actions more often, but although time has passed, I'm still the same as always. I'm fine. Undoubtedly, I have another role, another role to which I was accustomed in my career. I come in as a replacement, I help in whatever it takes and I'm happy. When you train or play a game, you always feel the same, regardless of how old you are."

Herrmann accepted the call of Atenas after being inactive during a season. That was his second period in which he left professional activity. "When I finished that season, I took a break, but 6 months later I wanted to play again. I could not get a team for that tournament, but I felt that I was missing something, and I was determined to continue. I thought about playing the local league of Venado Tuerto, as I had done when I returned from being three years retired between 2010 and 2013, but between playing there and trying to return to the National League, I opted to make one last effort. My friends encouraged me to play at a higher level than with them and my wife also pushed me." The presence of Atenas coach Nicolás Casalánguida, who had led him in his last team, was an important factor in Herrmann's decision. "We already knew each other, we talked, and everything was clear from the beginning. I do what the team needs, I play as small forward or power forward, I work more in defense, I fight more in the rebounds and I live situations that I was not used to since I had always had a lot of offensive protagonist", explains the veteran forward.

With the arrival of Maximiliano Stanic to the team, Herrmann stopped being the oldest, since the point guard is older by a year. "Before, the hashtag was #vamoslospibesyWalter but now it's #vamoslospibesyMaxi. I went to the group of the young players," jokes the former NBA player. In the team there are 5 players under 23 with whom Walter maintains a bond of equal to equal, in spite of the age difference: "When you are a player you are like a boy because this is a game, then the relationship with my teammates is not marked by age. The experience makes you see some things of the game that when you are young sometimes you do not see and from my place, I try to mark some details but without overwhelming them because they must learn over time. On the contrary, they have the energy that the veterans are already lacking a bit." Leonardo Lema, Walter's young roommate in the city of San Pablo, where Atenas returned to the DIRECTV Liga de las Americas after 10 years, laughs when Herrmann remarks that the most important thing in his career at the highest level was training. "He tells me it's all genetic, but I always tell him that what led me to where I got is training. It is the basis of everything. You have to be constant, persevering. I do not remember having a vacation for many years of my career because it was playing the league, then being in the Argentine national team and like that all the time. Then, to arrive in Europe to a small team like Fuenlabrada, then to a bigger one like Unicaja Málaga and there to want to reach the NBA. To meet all these objectives, which are what motivate you and make you grow, there is no other way to train. "

That rigor in his work led Herrmann to the Argentine National Team at its most glorious stage.

"All my memories with the National Team are beautiful. Each citation for me was a huge prize. Also, we always had a great team and we won a lot. Every time I see the Athens 2004 gold medal, I think it's incredible that we won an Olympic Game, especially because when I was a kid it was unthinkable to beat the world powers like the United States. I reckon that over the years one begins to value these conquests more but today I still consider it the most important prize without, perhaps, giving it the value, it really has", analyzes the forward. In fact, he was an unexpected protagonist on the road to conquest of the gold medal. He was one of the last called to that team and had little participation until the quarterfinals against Greece, a match in which he was decisive in Argentina's reaction: "I remember a couple of important actions, I know that I changed the dynamics a bit, but I did not get 40 points either. Anyway, I never saw a full game of those Olympics or any other competition. For me, once it happens that’s it. " In the Semi-Finals against the United States he would shine again. Then watch the Final against Italy from the substitute bench and then climb the top step of the podium. His last participation in the Argentine National Team was ten years later, in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014 in Spain. There he finished his cycle, although he did not put the final point: "I do not close the doors to anything. Just as I do not know when I will stop playing, I never announced that I would not play in the National Team. Also, it is clear that now there are many young players who were part of the replacement and it is good that it is so."

Within the exceptional career of Herrmann, the peak was not even in his dreams as a child: the NBA. The Argentine played three seasons between the Charlotte Bobcats and Detroit Pistons. "I had a great time. When I was in Argentina it seemed unattainable but when I was already a protagonist in Europe, which was full of scouts, I saw it as something possible. The first year at Charlotte I started playing very little and finished as a starter and with many minutes. The coach changed the following season and I lost space. Then they transferred me to Detroit, where I played with some animals and lost the conference final with Boston, which was then the champion. And in the last season Iverson arrived, he played many minutes and the rotation became shorter. I would have liked to play more but it was an incredible three years", recalls Walter.

Of course, not everything in Herrmann's life goes through basketball. The periods in which he decided to stop playing helped him break new ground. In the first, he set up a nutritional supplementation business while in the second he found another course, almost by chance: "While I was in this period without playing, I ventured into the motivational talks telling my life experience. I started after I went to see one of boxer Sergio Maravilla Martinez and as I arrived early, they introduced us. He proposed that I go to the stage to share a few minutes in which I was going to ask questions of champion to champion so that the public could see two athletes who had won worldwide titles. However, when he brought me up, he gave me the microphone and left to prepare the final monologue. Then, I started talking naturally. When I went down Martinez's representative approached me and asked if I was interested in speaking, I said yes and two weeks later I was doing it in Rosario. It was a very nice and completely different experience. The issue is that I was still bitten by the little bug to continue playing basketball, which is what I had done all my life." By the time Herrmann puts an end to his career he already has an open door in that area: "You can help from a different place. People see you as unattainable and when you tell them how you got there you realize that it is not impossible."

Since he joined Atenas, Herrmann lives 400 kilometers away from his wife and younger children: "I enjoy every second I can. We are not together that much, because they are living in Venado Tuerto, where they have their routine. They would like to visit me in Córdoba but at the same time they want to stay with their friends and do their activities. Every time I have a free day, I travel to see them and if not, they go to Córdoba." Bárabara, 9, practices artistic skate while Leyton, 8, is the one who shares the sport with the father. "He loves it, it fascinates him, he has fun. He has talent, he's very fast but he's still too young to know if he's going to want to play," he says with a huge smile. When he manages to travel to his hometown, Herrmann does loves to see his children in action: "They like me to see them and I think it is important that parents and mothers accompany their children in sports.”

Walter will have more time to share with his children because retirement should not be far away, although it is not marked on the calendar. "I do not know when it will be. I enjoy the day to day. I never considered an age limit to retire. When the season is over, I'll see if I feel like playing. And I can say no, and after 20 days I feel like playing again," he explains.

With more or less prominence, with more years and experiences in his life, Walter Herrmann keeps his seal intact. That which led him to play in every place where he proposed it and achieve even greater achievements than he could have dreamed of.

FIBA