It was an abundant month that Alessandro Pedone, president of the Apu Old Wild West did not speak. Much too much for someone like him. And so yesterday here he was back on track to take stock of the situation on his “creature”. Things have happened in the last thirty days: the change of coach and the replacement of two players (via Mussini and Mian, inside Monaldi and Gentile, not exactly any one). Sunday came the victory over Rimini, a success from heart, heart pounding and slightly tense nerves, as witnessed by the squabble between coach Finetti and Palumbo. Ball in hand to the “pres” and off with the thought pawn at the beginning of 2023.
introduction
Number 1 of the Old Wild West takes it away a bit, rewinding the tape to the summer of 2020 «when, due to the well-known facts about which I no longer want to go back to society, the caretaker of the Carnera and I were left. We gave ourselves a new structure, a new board of directors, a new staff and we managed to win two finals. We have set up a new youth sector, investing in a competent person like Antonio Pampani: it is a fundamental choice for a club that wants to grow. And then we also took the Delser women’s team under our wing: I still remember the phone call from president Petrucci who complimented me since only three other clubs, namely Milan, Venice and Bologna, have a women’s team. In two years we have won four finals by winning a historic Coppa Italia».
VOTES and choices
Then came the burning defeat in the promotion final against Verona. Pedone and his team didn’t give up and went to build a new team, different from the previous ones whose fruits have not been seen. To those who ask him for a first quarter vote at the APU and if going back he would make the same choices, the president replies as follows: «We don’t deserve a very high vote, but neither do we deserve an insufficiency. So I lean towards a 7 minus minus». An all too good teacher, one might say, then Pedone continues: «Let’s say that we are a good student, but that if he applied himself more he could do much better. We have the means, there is a lot of horsepower in our engine that hasn’t been fully used yet. I’m not interested in champagne basketball, today the goal is to score points. What would I not do again? I imagine that the reference is to Boniciolli’s confirmation that I will always thank him because he was one of the basic components for the reconstruction. He had stayed because he had shown that he had the keys to unlocking the door to success. We had built a team with a new chemistry, it didn’t work. Matteo didn’t believe in the players any more than he did, that’s all. I wish him the best, in the summer he will surely find an important bench ».
FINETTI
Boniciolli’s successor has been identified in his deputy, Carlo Finetti. And here Pedone seems to want to remove a few pebbles by rattling off names and figures that he has carefully prepared for himself: «Sergio Scariolo, now at Virtus Bologna and coach of Spain, won the scudetto at the age of 28 in Pesaro in the ’89-’90 season, Ettore Messina, made his debut at the age of 30 on the Virtus Bologna bench, Demis Cavina, now in Cremona, was the youngest coach to lead a team in Serie A, Roseto, where there was a caliph like Mario Boni. Claudio Bardini at the age of 28 achieved promotion to A1 with Fantoni. This is to say that Finetti at 27 is now a complete man, partly due to his personal events – he lost his father when he was young – and partly because he started coaching very early. He is a Toscanaccio and is not afraid of anything. In Italy we think badly, we are a country for old men ».
THE PALUMBO CASE
The coach, in spite of himself, was the protagonist of an unpleasant disagreement with Palumbo on Sunday against Rimini. Certain episodes, as long as they happen within the four walls of the locker room, are acceptable, a little less so in public. «The place makes the difference – explains Pedone -. As far as I’m concerned, this is unacceptable behavior and Palumbo will pay the maximum fine. The two have known each other for a long time, but this cannot be a justification. I would like to underline the choice of the coach who then put him back on the field by focusing on the boy’s pride and I’ve paid off. Last year, for a similar episode, Walters remained in the locker room after the first two quarters. The coach was fine, smart».
PRESSURE
Pedone says he is tired of being told that the APU is a battleship, that it is the big favorite, that it is obliged to win the championship: «In sport, victory is never taken for granted. Well, right now I would like us to take some pressure off ourselves and play a little lighter. The favorites are the top three at the top of the standings, not us. And in any case, matches don’t have to be won by twenty points, one is enough. A team close to us has won many in the sprint and it is clear that it is a quality, not a defect. We lost six games, two of which came at the last second. Had we won, we would be first. The market? We can make a graft, we have to wait for March ».
“ALEGENT” AND THE PUBLIC
The attempt to take pressure off the team is understandable, but when an A2 club buys Raphael Gaspardo in the summer and Alessandro Gentile, whom the president defines as “a gift for our fans”, moves into the house in January, it becomes difficult to think of a year of transition . The same “AleGent”, last week, playing with the numbers, said that «the Apu will play the final promotion 100%». «You will never take this percentage away from me – replies Pedone – if anything, you will hear me say that we will give 100% to try to get to the end». Then on Gentile he adds: «I met a splendid boy, amiable, a great professional. He is the emblem of the uncategorized player and it showed on Sunday. We strengthened ourselves with him, but the others aren’t just watching either and this is a much more competitive championship than last year’s». The last reflection is dedicated to the public: «An invaluable heritage, we have the highest average attendance in the championship. I can only thank our fans.” Not only that, given that in the end he lets slip a “sooner or later we’ll go to Serie A”.