Marcelo Nicola: "I am not a saint: it is not a miracle but a masterpiece"

Marcelo Nicola does not forget anyone after the salvation feat. “I want to thank the fans, because they were always there, even when the environment was depressed and there was a lot of negativity,” he said in the press room in Desio after the success over Cantù. They were pushing us and following us, we had to give a signal and that’s what we did. I have played and coached in Treviso before and I know that if you bang on the court they come after you.”

“I am not St. Nicholas, because this is not a miracle. Don’t talk to me about miracles. Miracles are done by God and some saints.

“This was a great masterpiece and I was sure that the fans would help us a lot in painting it. I’m overjoyed for them, because they deserve Serie A as does the square,” added the coach of the Veneti.

A salvation that smacks of a feat, considering where this adventure had started. When Nicola had accepted the Veneto bench, the situation was, as he himself admitted, “complicated, very complicated.” Yet he had not hesitated for a moment: “My heart made the decision, so I could never have said no. I accepted the challenge to make this club and this city stay in Serie A: the place it deserves,” the Argentinean naturalized Spanish coach had declared in the toughest weeks of the season.

The masterpiece was consummated at PalaDesio, where Treviso won the game on the court but where in the end two celebrated. Cantù, although defeated by the Venetians, was able to rejoice thanks to Sassari’s simultaneous defeat against top-ranked Virtus Bologna: a double celebration that made Sunday afternoon particularly emotional. The final standings tell it all: Cantù at 18 points, Treviso at 18 (but ahead of the Brianzoli, beaten twice), Sassari stopped at 14 and condemned to relegation.

The day at PalaDesio was not without tense moments even outside the playing rectangle. During the second quarter, a Canturino fan had fallen ill and was rescued by medical personnel present at the arena. During those long minutes, both fans had stopped their chants in a silence full of participation, putting aside rivalry and sporting passion. Only when the situation had appeared to be under control did the audience gradually resume supporting their respective teams: an episode that reminded everyone how, even in the midst of a high-tension match, the person always comes first.