Virtus Bologna, Luca Banchi signed

Luca Banchi at Virtus Bologna

A few hours after exonerating Sergio Scariolo, Virtus Bologna has already announced the name of the new coach: it is Luca Banchi: è an agreement has been reached until June 30, 2025 with the fresh winner of the Best Coach of the World 2023 award.

Banchi was born in Grosseto on August 1, 1965 and began his coaching career in his hometown in 1983: after various experiences in Tuscany, he sat on the bench first in Trieste, then Trapani and Jesi. In 2006 he began his adventure in Siena, first as an assistant and then as head coach. Experience that culminates in 2013 with the victory of the Scudetto and Coppa Italia.

Then the move to the’Olimpia Milan where he won the tricolor in his first season signing a record, since before him, no one in his first year on the Milan bench, è managed to bring home the title of champion of’Italy; in the 2013-2014 season he accesses the Quarterfinals of EuroLeague.

In 2018 he left Italy, coaching first Bamberg and then AEK Athens, with whom he won an Intercontinental Cup. In January 2021 he became Assistant Coach of the Long Island Nets, a Brooklyn Nets franchise playing in the NBA D-League. Last stops in Pesaro and Strasbourg where he leads both clubs to the playoffs. With the French club also an excellent European path ended at Game-3, which would have allowed the’access to the Final Four of the Champions League, eliminated by the future champions of Bonn.

Since 2021 coach Banchi has been coaching Latvia and leading it to its first historic qualification to a World Cup that ended a few days ago with an extraordinary fifth place, celebrated in Riga with a real state party.