Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. The defending champions led the standings in the Euroleague regular season and swept Baskonia in the playoffs. Now, Real Madrid seek back to back titles for the first time since 1968.
Absolutely everyone is gunning for them. Real Madrid entered this Euroleague season as the clear favourites to win it all. Now, Los Blancos have made it to the final weekend in Berlin. There are three teams waiting for them just desperate for them to slip once.
Proper history at stake
Despite their illustrious history in Euroleague, and its predecessor competitions, this Real Madrid side has a rare opportunity in Berlin. The record holders for total titles haven’t won back to back championships since winning the FIBA European Champions Cup in 1967 and 1968 respectively.
For some context, the competition when they won the second of those titles featured teams such as Boroughmuir, Vauxhall Motors, and Benfica Luanda. That last side being a branch of Benfica in Angola. These were very different times. Even the championship game was against Spartak Brno.
Even with a loaded roster and a dominant run to the Euroleague Final Four, nothing can be taken for granted here. This wouldn’t be the first time, or even close to it, that a clear favourite arrived with a powerful roster at the final weekend of the season only for it all to come undone. The pressure on Los Blancos is real.
Yet they were very good
The tough part for Chus Mateo this season was maintaining the necessary level of motivation amongst his players. Real Madrid went 27-7, finishing 4 games clear of everyone else in the regular season. Los Blancos began their Euroleague campaign 10-0. Once they lost, they rattled off another 6 wins in payback mode.
That 16-1 run essentially had them in the postseason and comfortably on course to host a home series before the end of December. The flip side is they went 11-6 down the stretch. That’s hardly bad, it’s comfortably home court advantage level on its own. Still, when you come out the gate like invincibles, it’s important to remember when titles are won.
Few teams benefited from the national cups and international break quite like Real. Winning the Copa del Rey was nice. More importantly, it was a chance to reset and refocus on the championship winning part of the season ahead. The merciless approach to the playoff series set a marker down before Berlin.
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This is the sixth appearance in the last seven Euroleague Final Fours for Real Madrid. A drop off for them is what most teams consider a miracle season. Still, it feels like there is a clock ticking on this particular version of the team.
Mario Hezonja and Vincent Poirier are both likely to be in serious demand this offseason. The rumours indicate that Walter ‘Edy’ Tavares will stay but that’s not written in stone yet. Then there’s the imminent retirement of Rudy Fernandez and the ageing nature of the roster. Sergio Rodriguez is 37, Sergio Llull is 36, and Fab Causeur is also 36. Change is coming to the Real Madrid roster in the near future.
That makes the opportunity in Berlin stand out for Real. ‘Win it for Rudy’ will surely be on the minds of all involved. It’s not like there aren’t younger guys featuring strongly. Dzanan Musa has only just turned 25 and is an obvious top tier player in Euroleague while Guerschon Yabusele is hitting his prime at 28. There’s a blend with this Real Madrid roster that is primed for one big run in Berlin.
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Use it as fuel
Olympiacos will be seeking payback of sorts in the semi final. Should Real overcome that they would face either a hyper confident Panathinaikos or a Fenerbahce side playing with house money in the championship game. No opponent, potential or guaranteed, fears Los Blancos at the Euroleague Final Four.
The other teams respect them, make no doubt of that, but they also know that the pressure is on Real Madrid like few others. With the crowd undoubtedly going to be heavily against them, Real’s players need to use that intensity to fuel themselves in Berlin. Let the pressure be a boon.
For Chus Mateo, who has enjoyed a high pressure but equally highly successful first couple of years at the helm, it’s a chance to prove himself amongst the greats in the game. This is already the third Final Four team he has helmed, and he’s only had the job full time for two seasons. He knows all about pressure and making it work for you. If anyone can do that with this roster in Berlin, it’s Mateo.
The post Real Madrid have a target on their back in the Euroleague Final Four appeared first on BallinEurope.
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