Cantù, here’s Frank Vitucci: straight talk right away
Frank Vitucci is the new coach of Acqua S.Bernardo Pallacanestro Cantù: the coach from Veneto succeeds Walter De Raffaele: the Brianza club itself made his arrival official in a statement. “Acqua S.Bernardo Pallacanestro Cantù announces that it has entrusted the position of head coach of the first team to coach Francesco “Frank” Vitucci for the next two sports seasons.”
“Born in Venice on April 5, 1963, Vitucci boasts a long career at the top of the LBA, of which he has twice won the title of Coach of the Year in 2013 and 2021. In the last season he guided Scafati to promotion to Serie A, being awarded also on this occasion as best coach of the league.”
These are the first words of coach Vitucci: “I am happy and proud of the call of Cantù, a square of great tradition and prestige in Italian and international basketball. I will start this new adventure with enormous motivation, with the goal of giving the best possible satisfaction to such an important reality.”
Cantù has also published the considerations of general manager Simone Giofré: “We are very happy to have closed this negotiation quickly, so that we can immediately focus on next season’s sports programming together with the new coach, to whom our warmest wishes for a good job go.”
Vitucci began his career in Reyer Venezia where, from 1986 to 1993, he divided his time between the youth sector and first team assistant. He later took over the technical leadership of the lagoon formation and brought it back to the top division in 1996. After Reyer’s bankruptcy, he moved to Imola, with which he achieved another promotion and, during his five years in Emilia, he also participated in several European competitions. From 2002 to 2004 he sits on the bench of Scafati, before joining the technical staff of Benetton Treviso, flanking coaches of the caliber of Messina, Blatt, Ramagli and Mahmuti, whom he succeeded as head coach in 2009.
The following year he left Veneto after seven seasons to marry the Scandone Avellino project. In 2012, called by Simone Giofré, he signed with Varese: at the helm of the “biancorossi” he lived an incredible year, winning first place in the regular season, surrendering only in Game 7 of the playoff semifinals against Siena, and winning his first Coach of the Year title.
In 2013 he returned to Avellino, while from 2015 to 2017 he coached in Turin. In December 2017 he took over the bench of Brindisi. In Apulia he writes another triumphant page in the club’s history: after the salvation of the first season, he reforms the pair with Simone Giofré and four qualification to the playoffs scudetto, two Italian Cup finals and European participations in the Champions League and Europe Cup arrive, in addition to the second award as best coach of the league in 2021.
When the Apulian experience is over, he signs with Treviso in 2023, centering the salvation goal in both seasons. In his last season he is in Scafati, where he takes over the team in November at 13th place in the standings, leading it in a sensational comeback that ends with the championship victory and direct promotion to Serie A, crowned with the title of Best Coach of the A2 Series.
