Scariolo: “It's a source of pride and an honour to be back at this great club”
“At Real Madrid, your focus must be on excellence,” he told Realmadrid TV.
Sergio Scariolo gave his first interview as our basketball team’s new coach on Realmadrid TV. The coach was clearly thrilled: "It's a source of pride and an honour to be back at this great club. I can't thank the president enough. At the same time, I think expectations are high, and that's also a responsibility to live up to. For my part, I can only give my best, as I have done throughout my career, improved and enriched by the structure around me. I already have a good feeling from my first interactions, which will help me a lot in my work."
The demands of a club with 100 basketball titles
“Challenges motivate you, and difficult challenges simply require a higher level of performance from everyone. My job is not to wave a magic wand or do everything on my own; this is a team sport. And when I say team, I don't just mean the players and the coaches, but the entire department and even the whole club.”
The squad
“There are players with experience, physical and technical quality and a winning mentality. In the end, it's the result of the chemistry of how we work together, of our cohesion as a team. Between what we already have in the team and what we can add, we'll have enough talent to be competitive. The question will be how to bring it all together and make it work as a single, highly cohesive unit.”
What kind of Real Madrid do you want?
"We have to be practical and adapt to the characteristics of the players available. We have to be clear about the dominant trend in European basketball. At the moment, the athletic and physical level and the quality of the outside players, the playmakers, has risen considerably, and the big men need to be mobile.
We have certain characteristics in some players that we love and it will be our job to exploit them to the fullest. But we also have to be clear that sometimes we have to step out of our comfort zone. We have to try to set ourselves new challenges and learn new things".
Objectives
“Everyone is aware that this club has to try to get as high as it can, as high as it deserves and as high as it is capable of getting. You have to be ambitious, humble and keep growing. You have to sweat for everything, nobody gives you anything for the name on the front or back of your jersey, but your focus at this club must be on excellence."
Competing in Europe
“We're talking about two more double shifts, 38 games added to the ACB League, which is 34, and in many cases, these are very demanding games that come just a few hours after a trip or a big effort in the Euroleague. There's a need to plan really well and know when it's time to step on the gas. It's a challenge for all teams and the most important factor.”
How is Real Madrid viewed around the world?
“There’s respect and admiration that you can feel anywhere in the world. When I was in Toronto, the Champions League matches were shown on the screen where we ate. Real Madrid was one of the teams the players most wanted to see. It's the feeling of being part of an organisation that has earned a privileged place in the world of sport.”
Your first spell at the club
"What won't change is my enthusiasm. I arrived at that time, a few years younger, but very enthusiastic. Now I'm back, a few years older and with a little more experience, but my enthusiasm and energy are absolutely intact. That incredible League title we won in five games, the fifth at the Palau, is a memory that I know is very much alive in the minds of many Madridistas. Of course, the differences are enormous in terms of structure and what has been built over the years, which has raised the club's international standing".
Message to Madrid fans
"Madridistas, I'm really excited, happy to be back at the club and eager to do everything in my power and help those around me to bring you joy and, above all, to make you proud of the behaviour, performance, quality of play and, of course, competitiveness of our team. I look forward to seeing you all in the new season so we can enjoy many wonderful evenings together."