By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
After going only one victory away from the EuroLeague Playoffs in 2023-24, Virtus Bologna had a disappointing season in the EuroLeague, with one coaching change from Luca Banchi to Dusko Ivanovic, while also the departure of CEO Luca Baraldi.
Interviewed by La Gazzetta dello Sport, however, the club’s president, Massimo Zanetti, assured everybody about Virtus Bologna staying in the EuroLeague.
“I believe we will be playing in the EuroLeague next year too. Virtus will stay there, I guarantee three years. We are an iconic club. I went to Barcelona to negotiate, and now we are waiting,” he said.
“I’m at my ninth season, and I’ve won a cup in every single year. In sports you need serenity within the club, a good coach, and chemistry within players. If there are envy, it’s something different. There wasn’t peace. Virtus needed a change,” he spoke about Luca Baraldi leaving the team.
“I knew the team was strong, we beat great teams even in the EuroLeague. We had downfalls due to club tensions, and I had to solve them. When calmness came back, the team reacted well.”
Asked about what Dusko Ivanovic brought to the team, ending on top of the standings in the Italian league, Massimo Zanetti shared clear ideas. “Experience and tranquillity. He’s precise and never loses his composure. We share every decision,” he said.
Moreover, the Italian 77-year-old businessman shared his view about next year’s Virtus Bologna and how they should operate on the transfer market. “We need to have a younger Virtus, with players fit and ready to handle clashes. [I want Alessandro] Pajola absolutely, [Daniel] Hackett too,” he said.
“I’d like [Isaia] Cordiniier and [Tornike] Shengelia to stay. But we can’t compete with offers coming from NBA franchises or top teams in Europe.”
However, as shared by Sportando and Mundo Deportivo in the previous weeks, Toko Shengelia reportedly has a deal with Barcelona for three years.
PHOTO CREDIT: Virtus Segafredo Bologna