Ante el ASVEL Villeurbane, el Real Madrid basketball closed 2023 in the Euroleague with an unprecedented record. The whites had an almost flawless first round, with 16 wins in 17 games and achieved the record of victories for the entity in a calendar year (74). Only one defeat against Fenerbahce, in the last second of extra time, It deprived Chus Mateo’s team of full triumphs.
Likewise, just a stain on the League record, against the great sensation of it: Unicaja, second classified after beating the Barça by Roger Grimauplunged into a serious crisis in a transition towards nothingness after the end of the ‘Jasikevičius era’.
Three ‘classics’ for Mateo against Grimau
Today both projects are measured in the context of the Euroleague. They do it at opposite times and with the particular record of both technicians favorable to Chus Mateo, who has surpassed Grimau in the Super Cup (88-81), the League (86-79) and in the first round of the Euroleague (65-64). Two secondary players, with a low profile, who agreed to their position as internal bets, but with an opposite development.
The assistant of Pablo Laso It’s much more than that. In addition to managing to beat him on his return to the WiZink Center, he has been able to put together an overwhelming machine with his own style that he has worked on from his methodical obsession. A perfectionist habit that dates back to his school days. His is a story of recidivism at work, not of improvement.
In this way he silenced the initial criticism that accompanied him in his stormy replacement with Pablo Laso. The now coach of Bayern Munich, that changed the history of Real Madrid with 22 titles in 11 seasons, he ignored Chus Mateo and still maintains a palpable distance from him. It was reflected in the Euroleague match played in the Spanish capital.
From the Cup crisis to the pitched battle won against Partizan
While Laso limited himself to saying that the conversation with his former assistant had been “the normal one between two coaches”, the Madrid native offered sincere praise: “Obviously, I am neither nor do I consider myself to be at his level. He is a legend of this club. Real Madrid has been and continues to be his home”.
It was Chus Mateo himself who had to earn the right to assert his local status, despite the fact that in the 90s he was already training players in the white team until 2004. He was recruited by Sergio Scariolo to be his assistant at Unicaja.
These two names, that of his former teammate (he was also at Real Madrid) and that of his former team (which he would manage between 2010 and 2012) were protagonists in his first major crisis a little less than a year ago. The Malaga team eliminated the Madridistas in the Copa del Rey semi-finals last season.
April didn’t seem to be going any better. In the Euroleague playoffs, their series against Partizan went 0-2 after a pitched battle at the Palacio de los Deportes that embarrassed the world. However, from the exchanges of blows carried out by Yabusele and company, Real Madrid recovered its essence. He came back in a series like no one had done before and Chus Mateo signed the eleventh European conquest of the basketball section. There, finally, part of the enormous merit that belonged to him was recognized.
The development of Musa, the return of ‘Facu’, the emergence of Diagné…
“Chus (Mateo) deserves it. You should apologize to him, because there has been a lot of criticism and a lot of doubts around him. Everyone names coaches from other teams, but never him, but Real Madrid. Well, he’s the boss, so you always have to name him and this club.“, said Walter Tavares after the conquest in a speech that made the Madrid coach emotional. There was no luck or coincidences. Far from settling, Chus Mateo has continued to perfect Real Madrid to what it is now.
Under his leadership, players like Dzanan Musa have taken a step forward to demonstrate the leadership that any Real Madrid player must assume. Like in his MVP season at Breogán. ANDThe Bosnian is averaging 13.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game this season. He does so with records of 66.7% in field goals, 36.9% in triples and 82.1% in free throws for an average rating of 15.
The return of ‘Facu’ Campazzo is being imperial. After wandering in his last days in the NBA he has regained his sense of the game. He averages 14.3 points, 37% on triples, 48% on field goals, 90% on free throws, in addition to 6.7 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals, with a PIR of 19.
They are two practical cases in a Real Madrid where Tavares continues to be a leader in valuation despite the continuous comings and goings with his future. The Cape Verdean center, one of the most dominant in the paint of European basketball, ends his contract in the summer. “We’ll see” sounds like a common response when asked about his future. However, dependence on him has been lightened with the greater performance of men like Vincent Poirier. All this without counting the positive news of the return of Carlos Alocén or the relentless growth of young people, especially in the case of Ismaila Diagne.
Chus Mateo: “The objectives are not for an entire year”
Arrows up in a locker room balanced by heavyweights like Sergio Llull, who will experience the 110th ‘classic’ of his career this Wednesday. There will not be another veteran like Rudy Fernándezgoes down due to back problems, or Gaby Deck (discomfort in one foot), essential in the step forward that Real Madrid took last year. Yes, return to the call It was left over -after 16 games of absence-, the one who, although unsportsmanlike, lit the fuse of resurrection. But behind all these names is Chus Mateo’s own name.
The player from Madrid has tweaked the rules of his mixer to amplify defensive solidity (only Unicaja has a better defensive balance) without harming offensive explosiveness, where Real Madrid has developed multiple records. After saying goodbye to 2023 with the white team’s record of victories in a calendar year (74)What can you ask of 2024?
“The objectives are not for a whole year, such a long term, but rather something more measurable and close with a certain immediacy. Because it is the best way to make our way. If I look at the horizon I can see something very beautiful, but maybe not I arrive because I stumble before. You have to go step by step, in stages, and that’s how I convey it to the players.. I don’t want anyone to suffocate with such a broad and tough calendar.” It’s difficult to disagree.
2024-01-03 06:36:07
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