How Did Ezio Become Gamba? (2015)

septembre 30, 2024

[FRA – Cet article est une reprise de la version anglaise d’un papier publié en deux parties, en août et octobre 2014 dans le bimestriel français L’Esprit du judo. Cette version anglaise a été mise en ligne en février 2015 dans l’ancienne version du site Internet de l’EDJ, mais n’était plus visible depuis la mise à jour dudit site à l’automne 2020. La voici à nouveau, à l’heure où Ezio Gamba annonce quitter ses fonctions après seize saisons à la tête de l’équipe russe pour briguer la présidence de la Fédération italienne de judo.

ENG – This article is a reprint of the English version of a paper published in two parts, in August and October 2014 in the French bimonthly L’Esprit du judo. This English version was put online in February 2015 in the old version of the EDJ website, but was no longer visible since the said website was updated in autumn 2020. Here it is again, at a time when Ezio Gamba has announced that he is stepping down after sixteen seasons at the helm of the Russian team to run for the presidency of the Italian Judo Federation.]

JudoAKDReplay#004 – Born on December 02, 1958 in Brescia (Italy), the head coach of the Russian teams is eagerly anticipated in Chelyabinsk. However, if you listen to him closely, you’ll realize that focusing solely on these local World Championships might be a mistake. It would be akin to watching his finger while he’s pointing out the moon—specifically, the 2016 Olympic Games. Ezio Gamba, the Italian coach, is like one of those cycling strategists who knows that sometimes it’s wiser to hang back and let others take the lead. Will Japan or France emerge as the leading nation in August? Ezio Gamba would be pleased with either outcome. For him, this event is not the real D-Day.

“There is a great man who makes every man feel small. But the real great man is the one who makes every man feel great.” This quote by English writer Gilbert K. Chesterton seems to perfectly capture Ezio Gamba’s presence in 2014, as seen by many fighters and coaches who encountered him. With Chelyabinsk serving as a mere stepping stone towards his next challenge—leading the Russians to the top at the Rio Olympic Games, with both men and women’s teams—the time has come to take a closer look at his journey. Who is the man behind the achievements? What steps led the young boy from the clean streets of Lombardia to the marble reception rooms of the Kremlin? How did Ezio become Gamba? This is the question we explored during a 20-hour interview cycle that began in Rio de Janeiro in August 2013 and concluded in Italy, at Ezio’s birthplace, in the early summer of 2014. Here, amidst the heat of uchi-komi with his 14-year-old son Giacomo, already a national champion in his age group, we sought to answer: How did Ezio become Gamba? If the answer seems like a puzzle, here are some pieces to help understand the man behind the legend.

*June 2014 in Brescia, Italy. Time to explain. ©Anthony Diao/JudoAKD*

Part 1/2: From Brescia to Beijing

Forza e Costanza, established in 1886, is a multisport club in Brescia and an Italian institution. It represents both the beginning and the end of Ezio Gamba’s public life. This is where he started, where he revisits to clear his mind at career crossroads, and likely where he will retire once his Russian chapter concludes. The second of four children, Ezio was just seven when he first stepped into a dojo at Piazzetta Sant’Alessandro, “to follow [my] friends.” His mother was a bookkeeper, and his father an entrepreneur with a passion for hockey and karting. Before judo, Ezio practiced gymnastics for two years. His first coach was Mario Bernardini, followed by Franco Capelletti, who would remain influential later in his career.

At 14, Ezio decided to quit judo to focus on alpine skiing. He spent his Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays on the slopes of Adamello, near Madonna di Campiglio. Despite notable successes in Lombardia, he realized that his future lays elsewhere. At a critical juncture, he returned to his first love, and the next three months proved pivotal. On October 20, 1974, he won the National Cadets Championships in the U65kg category. Three weeks later, on November 14, he placed second at the European Cadets Championships. On December 8, at just 16 years and six days old, he became the vice-champion in the U70kg category at the Italian Senior Championships and earned his black belt simultaneously. He continued this rapid ascent, officially joining Rome’s Olympic Training Center on July 2, 1975.

Rome. The period was a pioneering era for Italian judo. From Rome, U60kg fighter Felice Mariani became a three-time European champion and placed third at the 1976 Olympic Games, as well as the 1975, 1979, and 1981 World Championships. The U65kg competitor Sandro Rosati finished third at the 1983 World Championships. The U86kg athlete Mario Vecchi earned European medals in 1982 and 1983. Alongside Daminelli, Pacitti, and Majorana, these athletes formed the core of a group trained by Masami Matsushita. Matsushita, a 100 kg Japanese judoka with an astounding ashi guruma, arrived from Tokyo’s Kodokan after an eight-day Trans-Siberian journey. His daily regimen was rigorous: 25% running, 25% strength training, and 50% judo, with a focus on various uchi komi drills. For Ezio, who was studying electrotechnics while practicing judo, this experience marked a significant turning point. Four decades later, Matsushita, now 71, remains a key figure in the project created by his former pupil in Kemerovo, Siberia, to prepare for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Career. Ezio Gamba’s career is often summed up with three words and one date: Olympic champion, Moscow 1980. However, this oversimplifies the reality he experienced. It involved twelve more years of high-level competition, including a European title in 1982, another Olympic final in 1984, two World finals (1979, 1983), and a prestigious victory—along with the Best Fighter of the Day Award—in Paris-Bercy during the Continental Teams World Cup in 1985. This also obscures two crucial factors that shaped his approach to coaching later on. The first is the age of his Olympic title. Winning such a significant competition at 21, despite the boycott of the Moscow Games by several countries, might have dampened his competitive appetite. Additionally, the Italian was only 23 when he became European champion, which led him to focus solely on winning the World title. Twice a runner-up, he withdrew in 1981, suffered an injury in 1985, and battled a severe fever from the 1987 Mediterranean Games in Syria, which contributed to his loss of motivation. He retired after the Seoul Olympic Games at age 29, similar to his idol, Swedish tennis player Björn Borg, who also lost his will to compete after his fourth US Open final loss.

Setback. The second key factor is detailed in two chapters of Nato per vincere (Born to Win), the 1990 biography by journalist Giorgio Sozzi. These chapters are titled “The Curse of Second Place.” Despite his Olympic title and two Military World Championship titles, Gamba had a series of notable losses in finals. He was second at the World Junior Championships in 1976, three times at the European Championships (cadet and junior) in 1974, 1977, and 1978, and lost three major finals in 1979. Post-Moscow, he lost three more significant finals: the European and World Championships in 1983, and the 1984 Olympic Games. Understanding how Ezio became Gamba involves recognizing these numerous near-misses and the internal battles he faced before finally defeating British judoka Neil Adams on July 30, 1980, in Moscow, and German judoka Karl-Heinz Lehmann on May 15, 1982, in Rostock.

Interim. On September 27, 1988, after being defeated by Spain’s Quino Ruíz in Seoul, Gamba bid farewell to competitive judo. His weariness from recent months had to be set aside, as real life demanded attention. “A few weeks after I retired, my father had a serious motorcycle accident. I had to take over his exhibition stands business for a couple of months. When he returned, he simply advised me, ‘Do what you want.’ And that’s what I did.” His father, who passed away in 2008, played a crucial role in this new chapter of Gamba’s life. “Organizing and planning was his strength, and he passed that on to me. Additionally, money was never his priority. He loved his job, just as I love mine now.”

Tour. Giorgio Majorana, a friend from Forza e Costanza, invited Ezio to become the club’s technical director. Ezio accepted and, in 1991, initiated the Italian Tour in Judogi. “It happened on Saturdays and Sundays, with training sessions, dinners, and the option to sleep on the dojo mats.” The initiative was well-received and free of charge. Starting in Brescia, the project expanded to Milan, Venice, and eventually Rome, where the Italian Federation showed interest. “I agreed, but with the condition that the Federation would help cover the costs since we were far from our base.” This philanthropic effort led to a federal proposal for Ezio to become the national coach of the Italian junior team. He accepted and spent an entire Olympic cycle in this role, gaining valuable experience.

Method. In 1996, the Italian Federation appointed a new sports director, Vittoriano Romanacci, who led Italian judo until Athens 2004. Romanacci, who had previously led the national wrestling team to three Olympic medals, became a pivotal figure for Ezio. “Working with him made me realize I had been completely wrong about physical preparation.” This revelation prompted Ezio to explore and implement new training methods, focusing on muscle building rather than traditional running, to ensure athletes were fresh and ready for performance.

Intuition. Beyond this training revolution, Ezio Gamba possessed a remarkable quality: intuition. During the winter of 2002, Italian athletes competed without coaches for two months, including at the Paris tournament. The following spring, they won seven medals at the European Championships in Maribor. “During those two months, they had to handle all aspects of the competition on their own, which taught them a lot about responsibility, and the results followed.” “Stick to the project” became a key motto for Coach Gamba. Giuseppe “Pino” Maddaloni, Olympic champion in Sydney and national coach, acknowledges Gamba’s influence: “I learned everything from Gamba. He was my coach as a junior, and simply training with him was an honor. Today, he continues to inspire my coaching approach.”

Start. The Athens Games in 2004 did not meet expectations, with the Italian team winning only a bronze medal. Vittoriano Romanacci decided to step down, and Matteo Pellicone, then president of the Federation (who passed away in December 2013), considered potential successors. Ezio Gamba was among them. He wished to lead the team independently, which was challenging given the strong presence of Carabinieri in the national team. “If that’s the case, I’m out,” were Gamba’s final words. His next move was to return to Forza e Costanza, his original club, where he resumed work with coordinator Fabio Mestriner, who shared his belief that “magic starts during childhood.” Ezio’s network and charisma significantly boosted the Mini Olimpiades concept, which offered sports and activities to 800 to 1,600 children aged 6 to 14 each summer.

Africa. In the autumn of 2007, judo entered a new era with Marius Vizer, former president of the European Judo Union, becoming president of the International Judo Federation. Vizer’s support and the timing were perfect for development projects. In January 2008, Ezio Gamba took on a role similar to Guus Hiddink’s: he had eight months to help the Casablanca African Training Center become effective for the Games. Over a few weeks, he visited Cameroon, Senegal, South Africa, Egypt, and Tunisia. Athletes from various African regions benefited from Ezio’s extensive network. One day, he called Richard Melillo, who had previously defeated him in the 1983 European Championships and now owned a restaurant in southern France. “Richard, it’s impossible for me not to come and eat at your restaurant!” This approach fostered cooperation between countries that usually did not work together. Through this experience, Ezio learned a lot about “fatalism and religious understanding.” In Beijing, Algerians Soraya Haddad (third in the U52kg category) and Amar Benikhlef (second in the U90kg category) contributed to the success, while Egyptian Mesbah won bronze in the U90kg too. Is Ezio simply lucky or a modern-day King Midas? Though he may not be a prophet in his own country, the Italian coach caught the attention of another: in October 2008, Russia became his new challenge. – End of part 1/2.

*June 2014 in Brescia, Italy. Time for a coffee. ©Mathieu Lupo/JudoAKD*

Part 2/2 – The Russian Years

On November 12, 2008, just three weeks shy of turning 50, Ezio Gamba was appointed head coach of the Russian men’s judo team. Why him? Why now? Three months earlier, at the Beijing Olympics, no Russian judoka—be it Kishmakhov, Gadanov, Mezhidov, Bashkaev, Pershin, Gasymov, or even Tamerlan Tmenov—managed to place higher than 5th. This failure was a significant blow for Russia, especially given two factors. First, it occurred in China, Russia’s historic neighbor and rival. Second, Vladimir Putin, Russia’s paramount leader, is not only passionate about judo but also ambitious. For Putin, judo represents the ideal platform to restore the cohesion, pride, and international credibility that Russia had lost during the Gorbachev and Yeltsin years. The heroic image of Dmitri “Rambo” Nosov—who earned bronze in Athens despite a broken arm and a bloody eyebrow—seemed a distant memory. Twelve years after their previous failure in Atlanta, Sergei Tabakov’s lackluster performance led to his suspension as national head coach.

Quest. The Games were not yet over when the Russian Federation began searching for a qualified, external candidate who was free from the internal political machinations that had long plagued this diverse mosaic of linguistic and cultural regions. The Italian, with his experience and charisma, was seen as a suitable choice. Gamba had competed in four Olympic Games as an athlete—winning gold in Moscow and silver in Los Angeles—and had coached in four others (three for Italy and one for African athletes). Sergey Soloveychik, the president of the European Judo Union, and Arkady Rotenberg, vice-president of the Russian Judo Federation, vouched for him to the President and Prime Minister. Putin, not eligible for re-election as President, would be Dmitri Medvedev’s Prime Minister from May 2008 to April 2012 before reclaiming the Kremlin. The goal was to become the leading judo nation in London—a bold ambition backed by strong arguments. Gamba, after completing a final promotional tour with Marius Vizer in South Africa, was ready to tackle this challenge.

Flair. “On the day of the first training session, we knew Gamba knew exactly what he was doing,” said Tagir Khaybulaev. The U100kg judoka from Dagestan would become the most prominent success story of the upcoming Olympiad and a testament to Gamba’s intuition. Despite finishing 5th at the Russian championships when the new staff began, Khaybulaev excelled at a training camp in Tokyo and was selected for international events. Weighing only 97 kilos, the athlete under Nikolai Petrov’s coaching seized his opportunity, becoming European champion in 2009, World champion in 2011, and Olympic champion in 2012. But was it only luck? Regarding methodology, the rigorous and certain approach of the “monk”—as some foreign athletes called him, impressed by his asceticism and work ethic—was striking. “When I started in Russia, I made two lists,” Gamba said pragmatically. “The first list included all the medalists at national, European, World, junior, U23 and senior levels. The second list was of all current coaches who had been Olympic or World medalists.” In the end, 150 athletes and 50 coaches were evaluated. Two options were considered: focusing on 15 athletes for the 2012 Games or 50 athletes for the 2016 Games, which would involve opening a training center in Siberia in 2010 to prepare for the 2020 Olympics. The latter, though more expensive and requiring five additional coaches, was the option the Federation approved, coming close to a blank check.

Lezginka. The immediate results? Gamba had already detailed them following the London triumph. The success he had been predicting for four years was symbolized by Tagir Khaybulaev’s win, celebrated in front of President Putin—who Gamba met a few times a year, unlike Italy where he had met his own president only once in sixteen years. One of the most satisfying aspects was that just months before, Gamba, seen as an outsider, had been criticized by former coaches nostalgic for the Soviet era. His confident prediction, “We are not going to the Games just to participate; we are going to win,” had been met with skepticism from many journalists and even Alexander Mikhaylin himself. This man, who had also made efforts to learn the local language, rightfully danced the lezginka with his athletes—a Caucasian dance seen once in Paris and later performed in Brazil to celebrate their world team title. The last Olympic gold for USSR judo was in 1980, and in 1992, the Community of Independent States won two. In London, within a week, Russian judo had officially opened its Olympic account with three gold medals.

Block. The cornerstone of what history might one day call the Gamba doctrine can be summed up in one word: team. In essence, high-level judo can be visualized as a pyramid, where the group forms the base, performance represents the pinnacle, and the flow of communication links everything together. Individual talents are part of a larger whole. A solo performance may be pleasant, but integrated into an orchestra, it can become something extraordinary, like Ravel’s Boléro. Many significant steps during this Olympiad helped transform this eclectic group into a cohesive unit. First, the sense of reciprocity was instilled, ensuring that “each teammate can be both Tori and Uke” and that club coaches could regularly attend national training sessions. Second, the “hit the minds” attitude was adopted, encouraging unconventional methods and spontaneous team solidarity, such as the support Arsen Gasltyan received in Azerbaijan in 2011 due to his Armenian name. Lastly, the language of success was emphasized: “a glass will always be ‘half full.’” Athletes and coaches repeatedly cited the number “300” or “350” to represent the days spent training together each year and the phrase “History doesn’t allow the subjunctive” as a reminder of the three main ingredients of success: work, work, work. Career objectives were secondary. As Vitaly Makarov, the former World champion and coach, explained, “If someone participates in a tournament, it’s to earn points not just for themselves but also to prevent foreign opponents from scoring them.” Protecting the team and eliminating the common enemy was crucial as the Games approached, where being in the Top 8 could significantly impact the draw and potentially one’s future.

Cost. After London, while Mansur Isaev pondered philosophical questions about being an Olympic champion—“Hey, one sheep isn’t enough for the mechoui. Bring me a bull!”—Gamba faced new challenges. The total commitment he demanded from his athletes and staff applied to himself as well, despite his responsibilities with the European Judo Union. “Wake up at 7 am, stretching, breakfast, staff meeting, judo or physical training, lunch, nap or personal business, training, dinner, staff meeting, preparation for the next day’s program, sleep. Three days off a month, no free passes, no exceptions.” This investment came at an emotional cost. His wife and two children lived far away, in Brescia and now in Venice for his daughter Sofia. Yet, Gamba remained clear on his priorities. “Some people live together for 50 years without truly knowing each other,” he once confided. “My family and I spend very little time together, but it’s always unforgettable. This experience will last only a few years.” This sacrifice was admired by people like Tagir Khaybulaev, who, like Mikhaylin and his five children, understood that “distance and time naturally select the people around you. Only a few will grasp the true meaning of it all. These are your real closest connections.”

Constants. While the men’s team thrived during the London Games, the women’s team returned from England empty-handed. Was this a new challenge for Gamba? Surprisingly, his answer was yes, and it was not solely about budget—amounting to tens of millions of euros. He had already grasped the country’s mental code and, regardless of triumph or failure, his eight Olympic Games provided him with three constants. First, it was beneficial for the London heroes to take a few months off to refresh their minds and bodies, making them more available for numerous future requests—and who knows, pleasing the influential might prove advantageous later. Second, “every new Olympic cycle is easier than the previous one. The trials of the previous Olympiad become lessons, helping to build and move forward.” Third, the success of the men’s team was a reward for the women’s team’s hard work. “The women appreciated the program from day one.”

Reconstruction. French coaches Patrick Roux and Jean-Pierre Gibert have witnessed this parallel yet distinct story. They joined the Russian women’s team in January 2013, a group recovering from the strict Rakhlin years, and experienced a significant shift after Elena Ivashchenko’s tragic suicide on June 15, 2013. “Initially, Ezio just asked us to observe,” recalls Roux. “Then the girls gradually approached us, requesting more involvement each day until they invited us to dinner, despite the language barrier.” For Gibert, Gamba’s influence is reminiscent of Pierre Hermann’s, the renowned French judo figure from the late seventies. “He knows how to structure chaos,” Roux affirms. The Rio 2016 team included two technical directors—Konstantin Filosofenko for women and Dmitry Morosov for men—along with 14 coaches, including Tea Donguzashvili and Kamil Magomedov, who provided strong human connections between generations, and three fitness trainers: Feliciano Marotto, Stefano Frassinelli, and Aurélien Broussal-Derval. Marotto and Frassinelli, both with ties to Italy, emphasized specific judo training rather than outdated running sequences. Frassinelli, who has been in a wheelchair since a motorcycle accident in 1991, worked mainly in Kemerovo with Matsushita sensei, Gamba’s former coach. The team comprised 40 girls and 60 boys, split between Sotchi and Saint Petersburg, often traveling between locations.

Chelyabinsk. Two years after the European Championships showcased a promising B-team and Mikhaylin’s rise from 48th to 6th in the world rankings, Chelyabinsk hosted the World Championships that summer. This event mirrored the organizational efforts seen with the G20 in Saint Petersburg in 2013, the Sochi Olympics in 2014, and the FIFA World Cup in 2018. While the Russian fighters’ attitudes were generally commendable—ranging from Musa Mogushkov’s deep bows to Alena Kachorovskaya’s dignified performance despite a dislocated elbow, and Tagir Khaybulaev’s dinner for Samara’s old club friends—the team’s focus on non-fights, which puzzled the audience, was notable. This included the bronze medal contest in the U90kg category and Khan-Magomedov’s four shidos against Pulyaev before seeing Pulyaev defeat the Japanese Ebinuma, a triple World champion.

Rio. What will Ezio Gamba do after Rio? Few expect him to return to Italy for work, despite the promising results of his 14-year-old national champion son, Giacomo, which suggest he will be involved in Italian judo’s future. On the Russian side, everyone knows he is already planning for 2020 with the Kuzbass Judo Club Project in Kemerovo, where Masami Matsushita teaches daily, emphasizing “one, discipline; two, judo.” For the rest, Gamba will continue his December 31 tradition—climbing alone in the early morning with his sealskins to think and breathe fresh air. “I’ll take three weeks with my wife and children to decide what comes next.” Regardless of the outcome of the Olympiad, he will face Nietzsche’s dilemma: “There are two tragedies in life: not reaching your goals and reaching them.” Rio will reveal where the balance will fall. At L’Esprit du Judo, we have an inkling of the answer. – Anthony Diao, August 2013-September 2014. Opening picture: ©Mathieu Lupo/JudoAKD.

Special thanks for their help and patience during this year dedicated to the “puzzle” Gamba: Tony Marrero, Doctor Claudio Pietroletti, René Nazaret, Emmanuele di Feliciantonio, Christophe Massina, Yakub Shamilov, Islam El Shehaby, Rizlein Zouak, Amar Benikhlef, Sofiane Abadla, Baye Diawara, Aurélien Broussal-Derval, Jean-Pierre Gibert, Christophe Gagliano, Marcel Pietri, Richard Melillo, Pino Maddaloni, Pierangelo Toniolo, Raffaele Toniolo, Alessandro Comi, Andrea Sozzi, Nikola Filipov, Vitalii Dubrova, Patrick Roux, Vitaly Makarov, Emanuela Pierantozzi, Lorenzo Bagnoli, Fabio Mestriner, Stefano Frassinelli, Feliciano Marotto, Masami Matsushita, Marlon August Acácio, Alina Khaydarova, Dmitry Morozov, Ivan Nifontov, Tagir Khaybulaev, Ibrahim Iznaourov, Mathieu Lupo and the Gamba’s family.