Olimpia Milano, Ettore Messina exposes himself on duopoly with Virtus Bologna
Olimpia Milano, Ettore Messina exposes himself on duopoly with Virtus Bologna
During an interview given to the microphones of "Eurosport", Olimpia Milano head coach Ettore Messina, among the various topics discussed, dwelt on the duopoly with Virtus Bologna that has characterized the last few seasons of Italian basketball. In addition, the former Italy coach shed light on the effects that this rivalry has brought in terms of visibility and competitiveness.
"I honestly believe that the final series last year, regardless of the fact that we won it, were seven games that all fans in Italy I think enjoyed. For quality of players, commitment, pathos. A series decided all'last game, with arenas always sold out: I think it was a beautiful spot for our basketball" began the head coach of Olimpia Milano.
"In these years of theoretical duopoly, è it is true that we and Virtus Bologna always made it to the finals, but today we can see a lot of important realities. Napoli won the Coppa Italia, Brescia è leading the league, Venezia and Sassari are always there è and I am surely forgetting someone. Tortona è another team that is growing in terms of ambition. Over the seasons it has è created an increasingly balanced league, where if you go away on the court of a team at the bottom of the standings you can risk losing if you have some injuries or an off day. In Italy there are clubs that are very well prepared, well-coached and take the field knowing what they have to do" added the former Italy coach.
"I think it is inappropriate to compare our rivalry with Virtus to that between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. They made the fortunes of the NBA and David Stern took advantage of this great rivalry to negotiate a new television contract that made the NBA’s first fortune. We talk about things like Larry Bird versus Magic Johnson or Paul Pierce versus Kobe Bryant, all very interesting games and very close series" concluded Ettore Messina.
