Vitorian coach Pablo Laso leaves the Bayern Munich bench due to “personal reasons”, as announced by the German club in a statement. After a single campaign in the Bavarian team, in which he has won the Bundesliga and Cup double, the former Real Madrid coach, with whom he achieved 22 titles in his most fruitful period, concludes his time in Germany. “Pablo’s personal decision surprised us, but we respect him a lot as a coach and as a personality and now we have to thank him a lot for his work and his great commitment during the successful last season,” said the entity’s general basketball director, Marko Pesic. “We wish Pablo all the best for the future; “He will always be associated with us, and not only because of the double victory,” he stated. A few minutes after Bayern announced Laso’s departure, Baskonia published a video on its social networks in which it welcomed the coach to its home, who has never coached in the entity chaired by Josean Querejeta but in the that he was a player.
Laso played eleven seasons in Vitoria before making the jump to Real Madrid for two seasons when he was a player. With Baskonia he won the 1995 Copa del Rey, which was the first important title for the Basque club and the beginning of a path full of successes (the club has 4 Leagues, 6 Cups and 4 Super Cups, as well as a European Cup Winners’ Cup and two Euroleague runners-up) but which in recent years has suffered from them, with the exception of the ACB raised in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic with a strange final phase format that was played in Valencia.
𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐒, 𝐏𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐎 🤜🤛
Cheftrainer Pablo Laso verlässt den Deutschen Meister aus familiären Gründen bereits nach seiner ersten Saison in München. See more: https://t.co/PVTCJujB7K#FCBB @pablolaso
— 🏆 Deutscher Meister 🏆 (@FCBBasketball) June 28, 2024
Laso, 56, arrived at the Bavarian club last year now a year ago, which marked the coach’s return to the bench after his controversial departure from Real Madrid two years ago, when the white club dispensed with his services. after 11 years in office, after suffering a heart problem. Laso, who took the reins of Bayern after a very bad season – 15th in the Euroleague (11 wins and 23 losses) and defeated in the League semi-finals against Ratiopharm Ulm – could not improve the performance of the German entity in Eastern Europe. year, also 15th, but in domestic competitions, where they have won the League and Cup double.
Laso suffered a heart attack on June 5 last year, hours after coaching a match against Baskonia in the ACB semi-finals. The coach was admitted to the ICU of the Sanitas hospital in La Moraleja, underwent a catheterization and was discharged from hospital two days later. “I am fine. Life has given me a warning,” he said at the time. The coach did not sit on the Real Madrid bench again during the rest of the semi-finals against Baskonia or in the Liga final matches against Barcelona, although he did participate in some training sessions. His place was taken by his assistant until then, Chus Mateo, who won the league title and is today the head coach of the Whites and Euroleague champion.
Laso and Madrid then began a confrontation over the coach’s health. The Vitorian claimed that he was “in perfect condition” to train, and assured that he had the approval of the doctors he had consulted. Madrid, on the other hand, cited “medical reasons” to permanently remove him from the bench almost a month after the heart attack, on July 4. “After the heart attack he suffered a few weeks ago, Real Madrid has made several consultations with doctors and cardiology specialists and all of them have expressed the obvious risk to his health that continuing as the team’s coach at this time,” explained the club. it’s a statement; “Not adopting this measure would be absolutely irresponsible.” Laso responded: “The doctors who have treated me have told me that I am perfectly fine and I would have liked the club, if it had other information, to have communicated it to me. I don’t have Real Madrid’s medical reports, I have mine. I don’t know if it’s a betrayal, but I’m going to trust what the doctors tell me. All my medical reports are personal.”
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