By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
It has been even a fans’ chant and finally it became reality. As it was announced on Sunday Simone Pianigiani resigned from Fenerbahce/ Ulker for personal reasons and he will be replaced by his assistant Ertuglur Erdogan.
According to the official press release, Pianigiani said: “I would like to thank Fenerbahce Ulker, one of the most prestigious clubs in Europe, for its support. I am proud to have been part of the family of Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul.” However the devil is on the details. As you may remember, there were recent rumors about Pianigiani resigning or even being fired. As Eurohoops reported, his big contract and the compensation he was asking made Fener reluctant to pull the trigger for his exit. Αccording to multiple sources in Italy and Turkey, he will finally get close to 2,5 millions US dollars as a compensation, much less than the 4 millions he was entitled to, so there is after all a meaning to the word “resign”.
As his lawyer Fiorenzo Storelli said among other interesting things in radiobasket.net, Pianigiani will be present in a press conference on Friday about the Italian national team and there he will also speak about his decision to leave Istanbul. Storelli also implied that Pianigiani felt it was really hard to win the Euroleague with Fener even in the next two seasons, which is the main ambition of Fener, and that played a big part on his decision.