MADRID, 20 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Real Madrid basketball team celebrated this Monday in the Community of Madrid and at the City Council the achievement of the 2021-2022 Endesa League, the thirty-sixth of its record, won “with special emotion”, supported by “an indestructible faith” and ” with an absolutely exemplary human behaviour”.
The Madrid team took advantage of the afternoon to visit the city’s regional and municipal headquarters, where they received congratulations from both the president Isabel Díaz Ayuso and the mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida, as well as the affection of the fans who came to follow them.
The first stop was in the Community of Madrid where Isabel Díaz Ayuso congratulated him for continuing with “the harvest of triumphs”. “They tell us that if we position ourselves for one or the other and I belong to all the teams in the region, but the fact is that those of Real Madrid do nothing but bring joy,” she pointed out.
“This League has been one of the most exciting of the last ones that he has won and it is not just the 36th, it is the sixth for Pablo Laso, to whom I give the love of the fans and of all the people who love sport”, indicated about the coach from Vitoria, who highlighted his “attitude with his recovery” after the heart attack. “That shows the strength of this team,” he said.
Díaz Ayuso recalled that Real Madrid “has not stopped rowing” despite all the adversity and that it has shown “an indestructible faith and dedication that spread to the fans of the WiZink Center”. “He had a bad run, he knew how to overcome it and as heroes you have entered through the Puerta del Sol, but this is the DNA of Real Madrid,” he said.
For the regional president, it is “difficult to stand up” after losing the final of the Copa del Rey and the Euroleague, but the Madrid team “rebelled against their destiny” and finally demonstrated “their superiority over their rivals.”
“Let the children know that champions are forged based on effort. None of you was predestined to be a basketball star, but while some left after training, they followed and are now part of a legendary club. You are the Real Madrid and Madrid and responsible for the fact that basketball does not stop growing in our community. There is no Real Madrid of football or basketball, there is Real Madrid”, he concluded.
MARTÍNEZ-ALMEIDA: “YOU ARE REAL HEROES THIS SEASON”
Later, the team went to the City Hall where they were received by Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida, who described the players as “genuine heroes this season.” “We convey to you the sense of pride of the entire city for this sporting achievement,” he said.
“What has happened throughout all these months is not only an extraordinary sporting feat, but from a human point of view it has been absolutely exemplary behavior. So many calamities have happened to you and it is not that you have responded in sporting terms, it is that humanly you are an example for the city,” he declared.
For this reason, he believes that “when people ask themselves what Real Madrid is, they have to look at the basketball team this season”. “What I know how to do best is win, but the values on this occasion make this feat go beyond sports,” he remarked.
“Any team whose coach has to be out just before the final is surely not capable of doing it like you, but Pablo’s example has guided you, although he is just as important as his technical team because without that communion it would have been impossible for Chus and his assistants could have guided them,” said the alderman.
FLORENTINO PÉREZ: “WE ALL KNOW IT’S NOT ANOTHER LEAGUE”
The president of Real Madrid stressed that this Endesa League is “a new title and a victory with special emotion”. “We all know that it is not just another league and it symbolizes what this group of players really is, who have fought against adversity, who have had perseverance, talent and an unstoppable hunger for victory and courage,” he said.
The leader warned that “all titles are achieved with much sacrifice and effort.” “This League has an attitude and strength only reserved for very special players, who have been able to get up again and again in the face of a host of adversities. It is a very special group that never tires of winning,” he asserted.
The leader recalled that the team drew “strength from where it seemed impossible.” “When all the difficulties came together, he believed in that way of facing adversity that Real Madrid has and that is etched in its DNA and in a shield that represents a determination that you never have to give up,” he stressed.
For the president, this Endesa League represents “the triumph of work, camaraderie and humility” and is an “important reflection” of the values of Real Madrid, which he summed up in “Real Madrid above all else”.
“This has been one of the roughest seasons that we have had to live through,” he stressed, emphasizing Sergio Llull’s “wonderful and exciting gesture” towards Pablo Laso at the time of lifting the trophy. “You have to be proud of these players who have kept you in mind”, he admitted, making it clear that “all Madridistas are proud” of him and that they hope to see him “fully recovered”
“The spirit that you have shown is a dream for me as president. Dear Pablo, thank you for leading this cycle of triumphs that makes our legend great”, continued Pérez, who did not forget Chus Mateo, who has been “brilliant”, and who was affectionate with Rudy Fernández, who lost his father last May with “words full of feeling for your families and those who are not here and they helped you to be here and to be better”.
The madridista president believes that the season “has been exceptional” and that this team can “meet any challenge”, while he praised “the magical alliance” with the fans and that makes them “invincible”. In addition, he congratulated Juan Carlos Sánchez, head of the section, for his “capacity and dedication” together with Alberto Herreros, and also FC Barcelona, ”a great rival who gives even more merit to this title”. “We have to continue building this wonderful legacy because the legend must continue,” he said.
For his part, captain Sergio Llull “congratulated the players and the coaching staff” after a new success after “a very tough year with many setbacks”. “Everything has happened to us, even the coach has had a heart attack,” he said with a smile.
The base, who had a nod towards Florentino Pérez for what a “gift in the form of a bonus”, thanked Juan Carlos Sánchez and Alberto Herreros because they always help them “improve” and “those who do not appear on the cameras” because without them they would not be celebrating “a new title” and because “they are an essential part of this team and the club”.