Rome, 31 May 2022 – Twist on the saddle of the men’s national basketball team: Meo Sacchetti he is no longer the coach of the Italian national team. For the succession, the candidacy of Gianmarco Pozzecco, current assistant coach of Ettore Messina at Olimpia Milano. “The relationship with Sacchetti was exhausted,” Gianni Petrucci told Ansa. The termination of the contract comes less than three months before the start of the final phase of the European Championship, in which the Azzurri will have a new coach. Is the right name that of Pozzecco? “I do not mention names – added Petrucci -, we will make the announcement in a week”.
To communicate the decision reached at the end of a meeting between Sacchetti himself and the federal leaders was the FIP through an official note: “The Italian Basketball Federation announces that, at the end of a meeting held today in Rome between the president of the FIP Giovanni Petrucci and coach Meo Sacchetti, the contractual agreement between the parties has been resolved. Sacchetti – reads the press release – in office since September 2017 for a total of 50 matches on the Azzurra bench, we sincerely thank him for the professionalism and commitment shown in recent years and best wishes for the continuation of his career “.
Gianmarco Pozzecco the successor
Sacchetti’s farewell comes as a decided surprise because, not later than last September, the FIP number one had confirmed the coach of Novara origins until the end of the next European Championships, scheduled for September. Thus ends Sacchetti’s parenthesis on the blue bench, which lasted almost five years in which the coach brought Italbasket back to play – in 2019 – a World which was missing since 2006, but above all that led her toOlympics in Tokyo 2020 – closed by the Azzurri in fifth place – after the historic success at the pre-Olympic in Belgrade. The most credited name to pick up Sacchetti’s baton is that of Gianmarco Pozzecco, who has always been very close to the same Piedmontese coach and who is currently engaged in the semi-finals as assistant to coach Messina at Olimpia Milano.