Sergio Scariolo returns to Real Madrid after 23 years

Real Madrid made official this Thursday the change that had been announced on the bench of its basketball team. Sergio Scariolo, the national team coach, replaces Chus Mateo, who leaves the position seven days after winning the league and uttering a statement that had no effect: "I don't contemplate anything other than continuing." Scariolo returns to Madrid 23 years after his first spell (1999 to 2002).

The 64-year-old coach from Brescia, Italy, has signed a three-year contract and will begin his new job after the Eurobasket, which will be held in four countries and run from August 27 to September 14. It will be his last service to the Spanish national team, which he has managed in two stages, from 2009 to 2012, and from 2015 to 2025. With the national team, he has won two Olympic medals (silver in London 2012, bronze in Rio 2016), a World Cup (2019) and four Eurobaskets (2009, 2011, 2015 and 2022), a tournament in which he also has a bronze (2017).

Real Madrid made the two decisions public just an hour apart. They announced Chus Mateo's dismissal with words of gratitude. "Chus Mateo has always represented the values ​​of our club in an exemplary manner. Real Madrid wishes him and his family all the best in this new stage of his life." Mateo has won six titles during his time with Real Madrid: one Euroleague title, two La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey title, and two Spanish Super Cups.

Real Madrid's poor performance throughout the year, their absence from the Final Four, and the Copa del Rey final loss to Unicaja were the reasons that had condemned Mateo, despite ultimately winning the league title against Valencia.

In a sequence of messages, Scariolo announced last Monday that he was leaving the national team, a step ahead of what was announced yesterday. Sergio Rodríguez, one of his former players, will be the director in charge of the section.