MADRID (Spain) - The most dominant team in European basketball for the past quarter century, Spain, now have Chus Mateo as coach.
The Spanish Basketball Federation unveiled Mateo, a veteran play-caller that led Real Madrid to titles in both Spain and Europe, on Tuesday.
He has also coached Zaragoza, Fuenlabrada, Unicaja Malaga and Chinese side Shanxi Brave Dragons.
We have to face the future with excitement and courage
"We have to face the future with excitement and courage," said Chus Mateo in a Spanish Federation press conference today. "For me, this is an important day. The Spanish coach has the perfect qualities to take charge of the national team, and I believe that whoever had been chosen would have done well. Aware of the difficulty of the challenge, I’m going to face it with great courage and determination. I have a dialogue-oriented attitude, but I will also try to leave my own mark."
He takes over from Italian Sergio Scariolo, the coach who helped build Spain into one of the biggest powerhouses in international basketball history. Scariolo steered Spain to EuroBasket titles in 2009, 2011, 2015, and 2022, a FIBA Basketball World Cup crown in 2019, and two Olympic medals, including silver at the 2012 London Games.
"Sergio Scariolo has left an extraordinary legacy, but there is also a past in the national team and I would like to remember the people who stepped up in difficult times," he added. "They can place us anywhere in the rankings, but prestige is never lost, and Spain has it. We have the potential to experience happy moments again, and I want to send a message of optimism to the fans.
We must value what has been achieved, but also face the future with excitement and courage. Responsibility is nothing new, but I want to talk about work, honesty, closeness, dialogue… values that I will bring to my relationship with the players, the media, and the people at the Federation."
I don’t think there’s anyone better than him for this position
"I don’t think there’s anyone better than him for this position," stated Spanish Federation president Elisa Aguilar. "This is a very important day because we are beginning a new era in the men’s national team. After 15 years of success and commitment under Sergio Scariolo, this September 23 marks a new stage with Chus Mateo. I hope that with him we can regain the prominence we’ve lacked in recent tournaments. We’re starting this stage with great enthusiasm.
We are going to complete the generational transition with those players who have been U19 world champions, U17 runners-up, European champions on several occasions… We want this team to compete as it traditionally has. This is the talent and the demand we are placing in Chus’s hands."
Mateo, 56, grabs the helm at a delicate time for Spain, with the country starting to rely on a new generation of players since most from the golden generation have retired.
For the first time since the millennium, Spain did not advance from the Group Phase of the EuroBasket this year after coming in fifth in Limassol. The team has fallen to seventh in the FIBA World Ranking, Presented by Nike.
With Sergio Scariolo gone and legends like Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, and Rudy Fernández retired, a new chapter begins for La Familia — Spain’s national team.
Mateo's first task will be to pick the squad that is to take part in the European Qualifiers for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 in Qatar.
FIBA