By Alex Madrid/amadrid@eurohoops.net
The sudden and controversial way in which his time with Real Madrid ended has perhaps clouded the undeniable mark left by Pablo Laso. His influence goes beyond the 22 titles won, and I’m not just referring to his impact on the “White” club, but on continental basketball.
I always felt that the figure of the man from Vitoria has received less recognition than he deserved in Spanish basketball. Not so in the rest of Europe, where most colleagues do not hesitate to classify him as the technician of the decade. Through a style of play that clearly had his seal and with a base of national players alongside established Americans, Pablo Laso made the cups return to Madrid’s trophy case and as a consequence, he filled the “Palacio De Los Deportes”. Although he knew how to reinvent himself during the last two years -and perhaps reach his zenith as a strategist-, the Sergios, Facu Campazzo, and Luka Doncic are the result of that colorful and cheerful basketball.
Madrid rarely won the Spanish league, it had been almost two decades without smelling a Copa del Rey success until the arrival of Laso and in Europe, the club was little more than a memory. The story has changed and the ULEB Cup of 2007 which was celebrated as a major success at the time, now it’s considered just trivia. In the last decade, Madrid has played five Euroleague finals out of a possible nine. The arrival of the coach from Vitoria was combined with a more significant investment in basketball. The return of Florentino Pérez to the presidency brought back the basketball section of the club to the status that corresponded to it by history. But for everyone, this era will be “the Madrid of Pablo Laso”.
Yo jugué en el Madrid de Pablo Laso, y fue increíble!
Gracias por ayudar a devolver a este gran equipo donde merecía estar!
22 x🏆 pic.twitter.com/vxyqdO2KTg— Sergio Llull (@23Llull) July 6, 2022
Six leagues, six Copas del Rey, seven Super Cups, one Intercontinental Cup, and two Euroleagues later, the Laso era comes to an end. A gray end for a legend of the “Whites”, which perhaps deserved a better goodbye. It all happened too fast and not at all appropriate, with information coming and going, until the final episode, a cold press release in which there were no thanks, a move that was partly rectified in the next press release about the hiring of Chus Mateo where Laso was ultimately thanked by the club. Why hasn’t he had a farewell to match him? Why does such a true love story end in such a harsh divorce?
It will be difficult to know first-hand if there are reasons beyond the doctors -such as the complicated relationship of Laso with Juan Carlos Sánchez, the director of the section- to dispense with one of the best coaches in the club’s history. Real Madrid will stick to the official version and the medical reports that advise against Laso’s return. Laso, on the other hand, remained firm: “ I have full and express confirmation from the doctors who have treated me that I can train any basketball club professionally ”.
Gracias por todo Pablo #leyenda pic.twitter.com/tArhmqqh0R
— Luka Doncic (@luka7doncic) July 6, 2022
The discharge of his cardiologist by the club, added to the fact that Pablo Laso would not knowingly put his life at risk, offers another version of his departure that asks for answers. And it seems that he will soon provide them. ” In a very short time I will assist you personally to respond to your interest,” published the former white coach minutes before Chus Mateo was announced as his replacement.
In any case, Real Madrid will start the season with a rarefied atmosphere, unthinkable a few weeks ago after having conquered the ACB, with Laso’s shadow looming and the fans waiting for answers.