Paul Lassoformer Real Madrid manager, has broken his silence to explain his version of leaving the white club after 11 seasons. The club announced the dismissal of the coach two weeks ago based on medical reports which discouraged him from continuing to lead the team, but Laso insisted on that all the doctors who treated him did not object to his continuing his training. “The doctors who treated me told me that I am perfectly fine and I would have liked the club, if they had any other information, to give it to me. I do not have the medical reports from Real Madrid , 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,” the coach said on Monday during the presentation. of the fourth edition of its summer camp, the Paul Laso training camp.
Laso insisted he was in perfect health and was only thinking about training again, although at the moment he had nothing planned for next season. “I want to train, it’s my life, but I’m going to look for a project that I’m passionate about and at the moment I don’t have it. The desire to train cannot outweigh the illusion. I’m not going to train to train, what is clear is that almost every team now has a coach, but I hope someone thinks of me and that I am passionate about the project. the same illusion that I had at Real Madrid. I don’t know if it will be in the Euroleague, in the regional league or in the NBA, even as an assistant, “said the Vitorian, who however rules out the possibility of taking charge the national team “At the moment they have a magnificent coach (Sergio Scariolo) and the Federation is doing an extraordinary job.”
For the technician, his fracture with the real Madrid It’s almost final. “They told me that they had medical reports which said it was very dangerous to continue training and that we would see, but the possibility of continuing at the club in another position has not been assessed. Right now they tell me I’m not going to be the coach anymore, I’m not painting anything there,” the coach said, though he leaves a door open. “As the ad says, you can go home for Christmas When you consider a place your home you won’t want to come back and Madrid is my home it’s my life and that won’t change no matter how much I coach another club “.
In no case does the coach think that there could be sporting reasons for his departure. “We won the league and reached the Euroleague final. I think the team had a great season, but Madrid are the ones who decide,” he stressed, acknowledging that he could have taken charged the team when he was released after the heart attack, but it was his decision to step down. “I decided not to captain the last games because I thought it was the best for the team, and it also went well. But I don’t see any consistency only if I was fit to training, the reason for my departure was that I shouldn’t have done it. I don’t understand that, but I understand that Real Madrid do without me, they are in the situation”.
Laso also pointed out that there were problems with Real Madrid which hurt him a lot. “If something happens to a family member, you want to find out directly from them, but part of my family found out through the media. My mum had to call my wife to tell her what happened. passed away after seeing him on TV,” said Laso, who says he has no hard feelings against the club and that what he leaves behind “are friends, not enemies”. , focusing on the farewell given to him by several of the players he had under his command. “I’m very proud of the reaction of the players because whether they like me or not as a coach, they like me as a person. Just like the people who stop me in the street, they give me the same pride as Luka Doncic or Edy Tavares. That people appreciate you like that excites me”, he thanked, without going into the balance sheet of the appointment of his replacement on the bench, Chus Mateo, for whom he has great affection. “If I don’t coach Real Madrid, it doesn’t matter who does,” he said.
Laso insisted that he takes care of his health first and would never put himself in danger. “The first one who wouldn’t let me train if it was dangerous would be my wife, who would give me a capon for all the reasons in the world,” he joked. Although he doesn’t have a medical report that explicitly states he can train without risk, Laso points out that there is no specific prescription for trainers. “There is a protocol for the players, but the coaches undergo medical examinations and then the clubs assess them,” explained the Vitorian. Laso rules out the option Madrid had decided on his departure, no matter what the doctors say. “I don’t think so and it’s all conjecture. If we stick to the wording, they specify that their reasons are exclusively medical. I don’t think it’s a personal situation that they doubt me, I never had that feeling,” he said.
Looking to the future, Laso points out that he continues to feel the “bug” and doesn’t think his medical situation is an obstacle to finding a new team. “What hurts more, that (his heart problems) or losing 30 games in a row? But if they win 30 games in a row, the club can think about doing a medical, but they will be determined to sign the coach because he is very good,” concluded Laso. In this way, his career guarantees his future: 22 titles, the second coach with the most trophies in the club’s history (tied with Lolo Sainz and five from Pedro Ferrandizwho has lifted 27), in addition to being the coach with the most games led (860) and the most victories won (659) in Madrid.
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