"I think the only thing I can say is to congratulate this man right here with me because I think he suffered more than us to try to put everything together for us to play together, to fight for this club. I think all the credit goes to him because it is always hard for every coach and every player in his first year to manage," Tavares said. "I think you guys should apologize to him because there was a lot of criticism, a lot of doubts on him. I always see everybody name a lot of coaches of different teams, but nobody mentioned him. He is the boss, so you have to mention Madrid and him every time.
"He deserves it more than everybody because he is one of the best people I ever met in my life. All the credit to him, and you guys should give him that credit. It is super hard to win because you have too many alphas on the team, you have to manage everybody. He deserves everything."
One of his key decisions in the championship game against Olympiacos was choosing Sergio Llull to take the last shot. Llull had been scoreless until then but Coach Mateo had no doubts about who needed to take that do-or-die shot. All it took was a question at the start of the timeout.
"Sergi, do you want it?" Mateo asked, and the rest is history.
"No one else hits those shots like him. It had to be him, there was no doubt," Mateo said after the game. "He doesn't mind taking that responsibility. I am especially happy for him, with a serious injury, playing less with a different role."
Fans and media alike criticized Real and Mateo when the team fell behind 0-2 in its playoff series against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade. No team had ever rallied from a 0-2 playoff deficit in EuroLeague history, and Real trailed 41-26 early in Game 3 at Stark Arena. Real rallied to win that game, 80-82, behind a monster performance from Tavares: 26 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks and a PIR of 41. Real trailed at some point in the second half in each playoff or Final Four game, but survived five consecutive do-or-die games (a first in competition history) to lift the trophy.
"This is also a special title for our coach, Chus Mateo, one of us, that is aware of the immense responsibility that it brings to wear our logo," Real president Florentino Perez said. "He had to go through unfair, hasty criticism. I thank you and congratulate you for the good work done. You have been able to face these moments according to the club's values."