Matteo Tambone made a sensational statement after the race: “Vuelle, it’s over between us: I no longer trust whoever’s in charge.”
After Vuelle Pesaro’s home loss to Mestre, Matteo Tambone appeared in the press room: it’s a complete break with the red-and-white club. “I didn’t expect my time with Vuelle to end this way—benched for the last two quarters to give playing time to the young players, who certainly gave it their all. A couple of days ago, after the loss to Avellino, I tried to address a team that isn’t cohesive right now, without pointing fingers at anyone: evidently, the club didn’t like that, and I was benched,” he said.
“You can’t tell me this was a technical decision—I don’t believe it, and I no longer trust those in charge: I’m getting on in years now, and I don’t want to pretend anything’s wrong anymore. I have nothing left to give to Vuelle, and I don’t see how I can continue here. Apparently, this is how it ends for those who stick their necks out. They also told me that since I arrived, things haven’t been going as well as before: the team is very strong on paper; it won’t take much to get back on track,” he added.
The loss to Mestre, in the eighth round of Serie A2, makes this a particularly bitter moment for the Marche-based team. Pesaro had started with five wins in as many games and, after five rounds, was tied for first place with ten points alongside Livorno and Avellino. In its late-October projection, the Artificial Intelligence model predicted the team would finish second at the end of the regular season, behind Livorno. Mestre, on the other hand, was projected to finish in the middle of the standings, in 15th place. At the end of September, it was even considered a candidate for direct relegation.
For Vuelle, this home loss comes on the heels of a setback against Avellino on Matchday 7. The Irpinia-based team was the other side that remained undefeated through its first five games. The Pesaro team will return to the court on Wednesday, November 11, on the road in Sassari for Matchday 9, and on Sunday, November 15, they will host Vigevano.
The story with Pesaro is a long one for Tambone, a point guard born in 1994. As captain of the red-and-whites, he was at the center of persistent transfer rumors in February 2024. The club categorically denied them in an official statement, noting that both the organization and the captain were “annoyed by such speculation” and “fully focused on their daily work.” As early as October 2022, under the guidance of Jasmin Repesa, he suffered a fracture of the radius in his right wrist during a home loss to Napoli.
Between his two stints with Pesaro, he also played for Sassari. In November 2024, playing for Dinamo under coach Nenad Marković, Tambone, alongside Giovanni Veronesi, played a key role in the decisive victory against Anwil in European competition. That victory secured first place—with a perfect record—in the first phase of the FIBA Europe Cup.
