The last time Real Madrid faced Barcelona in a Euroleague semi-final, Pablo Laso was a player bringing the ball up court.
Now, 17 years later, Laso will be on the sidelines, looking for a different result to the one in 1996.
On that day, his Madrid side were defeated 76-66 in Paris, a result that Laso has long since put behind him. Of course the entire roster that were active that day have retired, but the rivalry between the two sides hasn’t changed one bit.
“Obviously, none of the players that were in that game are active,” Laso recalls. “The only one repeating from that game is me, who played that game and will coach the next Euroleague semi-final. Even the team delegates have changed. What remains is the sports rivalry, the fact that you play against a team from your same league and country. That rivalry between Madrid and Barcelona goes back many years and is present in football and basketball.
Indeed the thoughts of 1996 would not have entered this year’s Real Madrid side; who have gone about their road to the Final Four quietly, they became the first team to book their ticket to London by sweeping a surprisingly sub-par Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv side.
Laso has had solid production from his role players, most notably Sergio Rodriguez, Felipe Reyes and Nikola Mirotic – all of whom made their mark in the 3-0 quarter-final win – the road to the O2 Arena has been built on hard work and discipline, like the road to Paris was. The play-caller admits though that this year’s side compared to then has their own strengths, which they intend to play to.
“From that game in 1996, my memories are that it was a great game and we lost,” he says.
“In this kind of game, the score prevails over the great work the team did to get to the Final Four. I remember our path to the Final Four, how we managed to get there and the bitter taste of not playing the final. This time is a whole different story, we are different teams with our own strengths, and that game is way behind us.”
Laso is enjoying his second season in the Spanish capital, after a disappointing Euroleague campaign last season where his side was eliminated at the Top 16 stage; he has made a drastic improvement this term, leading the Whites to a 17-7 record overall, en route to the season finale.
“I think we learned a lot from last season,”Laso says. “If you see last year’s results in the Euroleague, a team that lost more games than us ended up winning the title. From the beginning of this season, we tried to leave no doubt about the importance of each game, but that there are also games marked in red on the calendar, such as playoffs, big games in the Top 16.
We knew it would be a different competition and, as coach, it is something that you have to give value. Last season, due to tie-break disadvantages, we won four out of six Top 16 games, but were out. This is something I tried to focus on this season. We believe in our playing style since last season, and from that moment, we have been able to grow and improve. I think I also had that growth as a coach, too.”
With the playoffs in the Spanish domestic league looming, both teams have won a game each in their regular season duels. Real Madrid are currently top of Liga Endesa with Barcelona in third spot.
Interview by Javier Gancedo – Euroleague.net
