Messina and Djordjevic: two options in common but there's a third possibility
What a crossroads between Ettore Messina and Sasha Djordjevic: two options in common for the two former Olimpia Milano coaches. Among the coaches on the loose, the Sicilian (who at the end of June will end his experience with the meneghini biancorossi) and the Serbian, who hasn’t led a team for a couple of years after his experience with the Chinese national team, have seen their names approached both by Rome and Venice.
The Capitolini, who on May 28 will have officially picked up the title sold by Vanoli Cremona, are also considering the figure of Jurica Golemac, Slovenian coach formerly of Dubai and with a playing background also at Virtus Roma. Instead, Francesco Tabellini, who led Paris FC until March, could land in Laguna. Messina and Djordjevic thus risk staying in the square… or going elsewhere.
As for Reyer, the picture of the succession to Neven Spahija – by now close to saying goodbye after guiding the team to the playoff semifinals, with Venice ahead 2-0 over Bertram Derthona Tortona – has been gradually defined over the last few weeks. The first name on the Venetian list was that of Luca Banchi, coach of the Italian national team, who, however, declined the offer to focus exclusively on the Azzurri project, not intending to burden himself with the double duty. Among the candidates remaining in the running is also Frank Vitucci, a navigated Venetian coach who brought Scafati back to Serie A by winning the A2 championship: it is up to him to decide whether to continue with the Campani or return to Laguna, a square that saw him as a protagonist both as a deputy and as head coach between 1986 and 1996.
In the Roma household, on the other hand, the project is taking shape in parallel with the question of the bench. Having defined the technical leadership, the capital club will begin to build the group of Italians from which to start again: at the top of the wish list is the name of Nico Mannion, a goal, however, also shared by Napoli. Matt Rizzetta’s Napoli Basketball is ambitiously building a high-level roster, and the Olimpia Milano point-guard – son of former Cantù Pace Mannion – is explicitly in the sights of the Campania club, led by Jasmin Repesa. On the other hand, it will be the future Roman coach who will evaluate a possible assault on Davide Alviti, a wing with a past between Eurobasket, Virtus, Treviso, Trieste, Trento and in the last season in Varese.
On the Golemac front, it is worth noting that his experience in Dubai has left concrete traces on the European scene: on the bench of Dubai Basketball in the Euroleague, the Slovenian has shown his ability to compete at high levels, beating among others Olimpia Milano in the regular season. An international resume that could make the difference in the final evaluation of the new Roman ownership. Different is the profile of Djordjevic, an option that fascinates for the weight of the name but presents some unknowns related to the long period of inactivity: in Italy the Serbian has already coached Olimpia Milano, Benetton Treviso and Virtus Bologna, and contacts with his agents by Reyer would have already started weeks ago.
