A'hypothesis pops up in A2 for Massimo Cancellieri

Trento seems to have chosen Alessandro Rossi but first an agreement will have to be found that satisfies both the bianconero club and current coach Massimo Cancellieri, who still has one year left on his contract. In Italy, the Abruzzese has seen his name mentioned by some media to Brindisi, should the Pugliese fail to achieve promotion to A with Piero Bucchi, and some opportunities could come from Turkey or Greece. The goal of the bianconeri is clear: to reach a consensual termination of the contract signed in June 2025. In order to avoid paying another year’s salary, it will be crucial that the class of 1972 receives a concrete proposal from another club, otherwise the situation is likely to get complicated. Relations between the management and the former Limoges, Strasbourg, and Paok Thessaloniki player remain all in all good, and it is a good viaticum to go together.

In fact, according to what Dolomiti Energia CEO Andrea Nardelli revealed, the situation would be less complicated than expected: “In February Massimo informed us of his decision to leave the club at the end of the season. This has absolutely never affected his daily commitment, as evidenced by the path he took, coming just one shot away from an extraordinary EuroCup semifinal.” Words that suggest how the separation was actually initiated at the initiative of Cancellieri himself, making the road to a consensual resolution easier. The coach, for his part, bid farewell to the club with affectionate words: “Aquila Basket and the city of Trento will always have a special place in my heart. Whatever path life holds for me in the future, I will always remember that it was Trento that first trusted me, entrusting me with the role of head coach in the EuroCup.” And the Turkish club that awaits him now seems to be a concrete destination, which would naturally untie the contract knot.

On the successor front, Alessandro Rossi represents a profile that is in some ways unprecedented for an ambitious square like Trento. The coach, who recently turned 43, has had a troubled year: he had started the season on the bench of Treviso, only to be relieved in December and replaced by Marcelo Nicola. He had previously led Real Sebastiani Rieti. A resume as a builder of young teams, rather than as a top coach, which nevertheless was enriched by an extraordinary chapter last summer.

Rossi, in fact, is the man who led the National Under 20 team to the conquest of gold at the European Championship in what was a historic triumph for Italian basketball. The success came last July 20 in Crete, where the Azzurrini beat Lithuania 83-66 in the final, bringing back the European category gold to Italy twelve years after the last one, in 2013. Decisive in the final Francesco Ferrari, named MVP of the entire tournament with 26 points, supported by Elisee Assui (17 points and 9 rebounds) and David Torresani (13 points). “A great joy for these guys,” Rossi himself had commented in the heat. “I wish the cover is all for them. I am also happy for the Federation, which has started a project of a certain kind, and I think this is a good response for the whole movement and the clubs that train these boys all year round. It is everyone’s victory.”

Among the alternative profiles being considered by the Trentino leadership are Luca Vitali, Petteri Koponen, and Riccardo Fois. The most credited among them is Vitali, a former point guard of great physical structure (201 cm) with 149 appearances in the national team, retired in 2024 and currently on the technical staff of Vanoli Basket Cremona under the orders of Pierluigi Brotto. Born in 1986 in San Giorgio di Piano, in the plains of Bologna, and sportingly raised in the environment of Virtus Bologna – where he shared his youth experience with peer Marco Belinelli – a call from Trento would represent his absolute debut as head coach. Koponen, a 1988-born Finnish guard with a high-profile European resume – including a EuroCup win with Khimki Moscow in 2015 and more than 150 Euroleague appearances – does not seem the hottest track right now, however. Fois, for his part, boasts experience on the staff of the senior national team, having joined Gianmarco Pozzecco as an assistant in the 2023 World Cup qualifying cycle.

In the background, it’s worth mentioning that Trento’s season, while not brilliant in the league, provided European emotions that are hard to forget. The elimination from the EuroCup came in the quarterfinals, on the court of Beşiktaş in Istanbul, with a 77-76 defeat at the end of a memorable game: the Bianconeri had even found the lead with just over a minute to go before the buzzer, before surrendering to the free throws of the Turks in the final. Absolute protagonist DJ Steward, author of 29 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. A European journey of the highest level, which represented one of the best achievements in the club’s history, and which Cancellieri leaves as a legacy to the club before moving on.