By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Five months after parting ways with Real Madrid and the attached controversy surrounding his medical status, Pablo Laso is determined to find the right spot for the next step in his coaching career.
“I am perfectly fine. That is the most important,” he told the Spanish outlet Diario AS. He is set to receive the Premios AS del deporte on December 20, an annual award recognizing of his career, as voted by readers of the newspaper.
“Naturally, it is complicated to narrow down one single suitable team. Taking everything into consideration all the way to the financial part, if one team offers ten and another nine, then you take the ten, but that is not my way of thinking. For me, it is about feeling comfortable and being valued,” he added and opened up on exploring opportunities outside the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, “It motivates me that a certain team will believe I can help in taking a step forward. And it is not absolutely necessary that the team plays in EuroLeague.”
Laso, 55, restored Los Blancos as a contender in the top-tier club continental competition of Europe and lifted them to two EuroLeague championships in 2015 and 2018. On both occasions, he was named EuroLeague Coach of the Year. In charge of the Madrid giant since 2011, additional success stretched to the domestic level, specifically to six ACB, five Copa del Rey, and six Supercopa titles. “It was clear to me that I was not going to stay at Real Madrid all my life,” he confessed in the interview with AS.