There is the electrocution for basketball, of course, which came before his heart disease suffered a very blessed block, there are one-on-one with D’Antoni (who never made it to the winds), the passage from Milan to Treviso (which in 1993 looked like “Wyoming”), the death of his mother, the extraordinary victories in basketball and the heavy defeats as an entrepreneur. And the revelation, on the deepest purpose of Riccardo Pittis’ life: to excite people. “Forget me lose”, the autobiography of the one who was once Acciughino and who is now firmly in the elite of the Italic wedge ball, tells of a life (or more lives) lived whirlwindly, getting naked telling about born and finished loves, failures from real estate developer “in the mud of Morocco”, debts and injunctions, up to the “rebirth” as a mental coach. With a pen that is rough at times like his defense, at times as quick as a shot from distance, and as unmarked as an assist. For the record, there is no shortage of digs to the Treviso journalists, who did not notice the green jeans and white shirt on the day of his presentation with great fanfare Ghirada, and also made his shots from afar with the left hand pass into the cavalry. No discount. He writes in the first chapters: “As I often repeat, I was lucky enough to be rewarded handsomely for doing something I would have paid to do, so I didn’t want to disrespect my good luck in any way. And then there was the work ethic I had absorbed from Dad. Offering performance below my potential was simply unacceptable for the son of a worker like him. ”
Pittis, does it all start from ethics, from study, from preparation?
«I didn’t have to account for my dad, who was happy to have a son who was making his way into the world of basketball, but it was I who demanded the most from myself. Of course, his example was decisive, he worked like a mule, he never pulled back ».
Then it turns out that before the final race-4 with Caserta – it was 1987, he was 18 – he returned at 4.30 in the morning, with his father waiting for her at the gate …
«Never led a monastic life, of course, and neither did he, eh. He loved life and having fun with the mode of time. But on that occasion I had simply fallen asleep with a friend. ‘
Writing the story of his life – which laymen could cut with a hatchet in “basketball, entrepreneurship and mental coaching” – what effect did it have?
«From my childhood with my parents, the holidays in San Giorgio di Livenza, then the long and important period of basketball, with memories of victories and even defeats. It was beautiful and difficult to talk about the post-career, which created the problems that still grip me. Perhaps that was the most important part, it had a therapeutic effect, it took away that sense of shame that you don’t have to carry around ».
Was the withdrawal the watershed?
“I quit in 2004, but the real trouble started 4 years later.”
There have been some goodbyes recently that have made noise. Federer’s tears, Totti’s depression, while Federica Pellegrini travels with smiles.
«These are examples that I too often bring with the companies I follow regarding the immediate post-career, which for sportsmen is a sort of mourning. I stop what I’ve been doing for 30 years, it’s a lifetime and there’s nothing to replace it. You live it as a bereavement, and you have to process it. Understand that there is more, and that your will is to go beyond ».
Does it apply to athletes, but also to all workers?
“Of course, especially to those who are retiring. It is the same theme, it is clear that the age is different from an athlete, but in that moment something must be found that can replace the joy or even the routine that came from the workplace ».
At the beginning of the book he tells about his panic attack.
“It can happen to anyone, it is unsuspected and unpredictable, but exceptional. You can react, take the positive ».
Paola Egonu also admitted to having lived a similar experience. And only a few hours ago she gave in emotionally, thinking of leaving the national team.
«Paola is incredible, formidable, because everyone expects the best from her, and the best for her is to be the best player in the world. It is an indescribable pressure, which she has endured for years with an amazing maturity. But that weight if you are not ready or strong enough to bear it, crushes you, risks breaking through everything, and it is difficult to do it alone. I understand her and she has my total support, she is even too good at putting up with those who say “you are not Italian” ».
So how do we manage haters on social media? In the end, some more, some less, we have to deal with it.
«It would be too easy to say“ quit social networks ”, and we know that it is impossible, especially for characters of that level, who have grown up with virtual squares anyway. What you can do is put some filters – the best is to have someone delete the stupid comments for you – or put on armor, knowing that there are many people in the world who love you and then there are the haters, if you understand. you can let them slip on you ».
Trouble, on the other hand, can you take it head on?
“I talk about it in the book. I can say that I find it useful to all those people who are in difficulty, who live in problematic situations. As I recall in the opening words, “no matter how big a problem is, always remember that it will never be greater than your ability to deal with it” ».
“Let me lose”, published by Roi Edizioni, is the autobiography of Riccardo Pittis, who has lived in Treviso for thirty years now, and presented it on Saturday 15 October during the CartaCarbone literary festival in the frame of the cloister of the church of San Francesco. He made his own a beautiful definition of success: success is the past participle of the verb to happen. “When in life you can make whatever you want to happen, then you are a successful person. Apart from the limelight. But we can let ours defeats teach us to change for the better ».
In his thanks he also dedicates a thought “to all the people who have buried me further in difficult moments. You made me stronger ”. Today the 53-year-old basketball legend is in fact an appreciated motivational speaker, coach and consultant who collaborates with some of the largest and most prestigious companies, to which he puts his experience as a man and as a sportsman at the service of others. He decided to donate the copyright of the book to the City of Hope in Padua.