Patricio Albacete He left his mark on the Argentine rugby, being one of the important pieces in Los Pumaswhere it was part of the best performance of the national team in a world Cup (third in France 2007). His 15 -year career as elite athlete has already concluded and, in the midst of personal and family projects, the former second line He presented a book in which he tells his memoirs on and off the court with detail.
A thousand battlesas the 424 pages of the work published by the publisher are titled Planethe was born almost fortuitously, since Albacete He had never crossed his head writing a book. After his retirement, in 2019, he received an unexpected call to begin a literary project focused on his trajectory within rugby. “Who can this generate interest?”It was his first impression. But on the other side there was optimism that it could work and the talks advanced.
“I never had the idea of making a biography. But when I stopped playing, they contacted me to offer me a project. At that time I asked if I could really generate interest that my career tells, but the guy was convinced that my story was going to be interesting and we started working. This man had health problems, then the pandemic came, we resumed a little, everything was cut and, unfortunately, this man died. The project was truncated, But as I had done enough work and I didn’t want to leave it unfinished, I contacted planet and agreed to polish everything I had. We work it and end up getting it, ”he told him Pato a Infobae About the reasons for presenting his biography, which went on sale in February this year.
The pages describe peak moments as their debut in the Manuel Belgrano Club and his wake in the French rugby, where he played to Colomiers, Paloise section, Toulouse stadium (won 4 titles) and Racing 92. In addition to its passage through Los Pumaswith those who participated in three world cups and totaled 57 meetings in a decade. “Rugby gave me much more than I would have ever expected. It allowed me to know different cultures, to make friends in other countries, strong and genuine. It also allowed me to train as a person. I tried to give him everything he could. I think I can’t demand anything from rugby, but rugby can’t demand me either, ”he acknowledged.
From that 2007 World Cup in France, where the Pumas gave a historic batacazo against the local team in the match for third place, Pato Albacete He recalled that it was “An incredible moment and an impressive stage” in which it was achieved “the conjunction of experience with experience and a very promising youth.” In addition, he argued that one of the keys to the deed was given by the place where the competition was developed: “For many of us it was like playing in our second home. We knew the French a lot for sharing team with them, for playing against them every weekend, we knew their ideology, their temperament, The things that could get nervous And we knew of the pressure with which they were going to be local. There were a lot of psychological factors that we try to take advantage of our favor “he added.
As for his relationship with current rugby, the former 44 -year -old player is distanced from day to day, beyond some participation as an analyst in national media. His Full Time dedication is with his family and personal ventures. However, he gave a panorama of the present of the Argentine teams, Like the phenomenon of Pumas 7who come from being champions in the World Series.
-“The Seven is something particular, that the truth is doing a great job many years ago. For me what has changed, and that is fundamental, It is that today Seven players are specialists. They are practically dedicated to playing all year to rugby of seven and that obviously made them progress a lot. I think it was the step that was missing to the Pumas to hit the jump. They are having very forceful performances, such as the 15. They have had a great year and there are young players with great potential still to continue growing. It is a good omen for the future, “he said Albacetewho after hanging his booties tested as a club technician from his origins, Manuel Belgrano, for four years.
According to your vision, Los Pumaswhich currently commands Felipe ContepomiThey could dream of being world champions, as the Australian coach said Michael Cheika Before the 2023 World Cup in France, where Argentina reached the semifinals. “It depends a lot on the current form of each team. I think the Pumas have been growing, maybe some year they had a setback, but then they quickly put themselves at the level,” he said. And gave examples of other powers: “New Zealand suffered a very important replacement. Australia is very complicated, both economically and at the level of general interest in sport in the country. There are many players who emigrate every time being younger and as an example is the case of some Australian players who went to play France and nationalize French. There are a lot of things to analyze and see. What I think is that South Africa is very strong several years ago and remains at a constant level, which in fact has won the last two World Cups. Wales has also suffered a very important replacement for players And today he does not have the level he knew how to have in the past. It is very difficult to analyze, do futurology … but if the Pumas manage to maintain a stable level and a structure that accompanies them, I think they can reach championships and successes, ”he explained.
As for your personal life, Albacete prioritizes his time to enjoy his wife and family, in addition to working on Your ventureslike the wine production With your wine brand 2456 Wineswho carries out with his friends and former players of Rugby Manuel Carizza, Eusebio Guiñazú and Julio Farías. “It was a project that started perhaps as Hobby, only with the excuse of having something to get together and be in permanent contact. The first year I remember that we made a production only of 7,000 bottles. We made a very good product, the labels caught attention, we deal with the design and also our story is told by themselves. All those things influenced and realized that he liked it. We decided to face new challenges and today we are producing about 60,000 bottles per year. We export 40% of production to countries such as France, Italy, Spain, Brazil and the United Kingdom. It is a very interesting project that does not stop growing and to which we are now adding receptive spaces in Mendoza. We have projected the construction of a hotel, spa and exhibition warehouse with Restaurant, ”he said.
Albacete It contributes its knowledge in the commercial part, since once withdrawn from the professional rugby, it was received in France from Bachelor of Business Administration and made a master’s degree in marketing, International Business Development y Financial markets. In addition, it was received from Ontological coach To get more tools.
His main motivation to study and train himself after finishing his sports career because “I saw lost” on the course of their lives to some former companions. Pato He chose to prepare for the post rugby because, as he acknowledges, “by stopping winning interesting salaries, it is impossible to keep the lifestyle.” First, the business administration career ended, which he had left halfway. “I stayed a year and a half to receive me and my old man told me: ‘Well, go calm, play, diverse, make your life, your career and do it thoroughly. The only thing I ask, please, is that you receive when you stop playing.’ And I gave him my word”he told this medium.
Once with the diploma in hand, the graduate followed his professional path, created societies and continued with the studies. “I knew what I wanted to point. I thought it was going to be useful for my future and to have tools ”completed the former player who is also building premium homes in Pilar and has a company that develops payment and management softwares, Like virtual wallets. It currently has customers in Chile, where they installed a system in public transport similar to that of the SUBE. “I am very happy with these projects that I do with friends and people of experience, if it would not be impossible to carry out all this alone,” Puma closed.
