Olimpia Milano, double temptation for the bench
Adriano Vertemati, is still under contract with Apu Udine for another season: in fact, he renewed until 2027 right after the promotion to Serie A. He is doing well in Udine, the salvation has been achieved, but for a few weeks there has been persistent talk of a possible interest from Milan, as suggested by Messaggero Veneto, a daily newspaper of the provincial capital of Friuli. It seems that Peppe Poeta would like him as a deputy at Olimpia Milano, while an alternative could be Marco Ramondino, who is also on the Azzurri staff along with Vertemati. The Campania native, former coach of Tortona, is currently on the square after ending his experience in Germany with Mitteldeutscher.
The link between Vertemati and the national team is nothing new: the Milanese coach has been part of the staff of head coach Luca Banchi since his inauguration in October 2025, when he was announced as one of the assistant coaches together with Iacopo Squarcina. It was a role that put him in direct contact with the environment of Olimpia Milano, a club with which Banchi has had relations throughout his career and which today is led by Poeta himself. It is no coincidence, then, that Vertemati’s name is circulating insistently in the EA7 household: the bridges between the two environments have been built over time and mutual esteem is well-established.
Ramondino, the other option on Poeta’s table, also boasts a respectable resume. The former Bertram Tortona coach, with whom he had achieved notable results in Serie A, had then attempted an adventure in Germany with Mitteldeutscher, an experience that ended, however, without any particular highlights. Before coming to the Friuli bench as an assistant in the national team, Ramondino had also led Givova Scafati in the 2024-25 season, where he had to deal with a complicated corporate situation and a series of heavy departures over the course of the season itself.
On the Udine front, meanwhile, the season is heading toward its conclusion with salvation already in the bag. APU has shown that it can compete in Serie A thanks to a balanced roster, with Anthony Hickey and Semaj Christon leading the way at the point guard position and Lithuanian Eimantas Bendzius as the most talented element in the pitturato. Among the happiest notes of the Friulian season is undoubtedly the growth of Andrea Calzavara, a 2001-class point guard who has already attracted the interest of Olimpia Milano, which would have even considered putting him under contract, leaving him on loan in Friuli. The Udine club, however, has sent back all market rumors, reiterating that the player is fully part of its technical programs.
It was Udine’s victory against Olimpia Milano last March 29, 86-83 at PalaCarnera, that represented one of the symbolic moments of the HCL season. On that occasion Vertemati had managed to overturn a result that seemed compromised, with his team coming back from a six-point disadvantage at halftime. It was a show of character that had further fueled the esteem for him, even from those who, like Poeta, had had to cash in on the defeat by publicly admitting their team’s limitations in managing the endgame.
