OFFICIAL: Chus Mateo replaces Sergio Scariolo at the helm of the Spanish Basketball Team

The Spanish Basketball Federation has officially announced that the replacement for Sergio Scariolo at the helm of the National Team will be Chus Mateo. All rumors pointed to him or Pablo Laso as the new coach for Spain, and ultimately the coach who was recently fired from Real Madrid just a few weeks ago, despite winning the Endesa ACB League, has come out on top.

Elisa Aguilar, the president of the FEB, will introduce the new Spanish coach today. Interestingly, there has been a transfer of coaches between Spain and Real Madrid. The former national team coach up to the last European Championship, Scariolo, has moved to the white club, while the previous season's coach of Florentino Pérez's team, Mateo, is joining the National Team.

He signs for four seasons until 2029 with the tough task of leading a change of cycle at a time when Spanish basketball is experiencing a talent shortage for the first time in decades, following the poor results at the Tokyo Olympics and the last EuroBasket, where the National Team failed to advance beyond the first round.

The Figure of Mateo, Linked to Scariolo

Chus Mateo, born in Madrid 56 years ago, after coaching in the youth categories of Real Madrid, made his debut in the ACB as an assistant to Scariolo at the white team in 1999. Then, after also assisting Javier Imbroda and Julio Lamas, he worked again with the Italian at Unicaja de Málaga between 2004 and 2006.

The following year, he had his first experience as head coach, lasting six months at CAI Zaragoza. His second stint was at Unicaja de Málaga, which also did not end well. After a spell in China and Fuenlabrada, he returned to Real Madrid in 2014 to be part of Pablo Laso's coaching staff for 8 years until Florentino decided to replace the Basque coach with him.

Between 2022 and 2025, he always managed to win a major title despite continuous criticism: EuroLeague in 2023, ACB and Copa del Rey, and EuroLeague Final Four in 2024, ACB in 2025. Missing out on the Final Four this past season led to his downfall. He was replaced by Scariolo, and now, interestingly, he replaces the Italian at the helm of Spain.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, OFICIAL: Chus Mateo reemplaza a Sergio Scariolo al frente de la Selección Española de Baloncesto