Ettore Messina, the head coach of Milano, is currently experiencing a performance crisis with his team in ‘city of fashion,’ but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be fired.
‘Le Scarpette Rosse‘ certainly didn’t plan for such a poor start to the season. Of course, nobody marks a bad season as one of their goals, but after the previous season, which was marred by injuries while attempting to secure a spot among the top eight in the EuroLeague, it was too late.
Perhaps the biggest reason for their high ambitions was the signing of Nikola Mirotic, at that time the most wanted player on the Old Continent. Shavon Shields, as a significant option on both ends of the court, finally recovered from injuries and entered the season fully prepared. Even though Shabazz Napier and Brandon Davies left the club, there wasn’t much cause for concern. Maodo Lo and Alex Poythress arrived as replacements, with high expectations once again.
Then, one setback after another. Kevin Pangos, the starting point guard, suffered an injury again. Maodo Lo also missed a significant number of the games. Billy Baron, the best three-point shooter had to undergo surgery, and his recovery is ongoing. The results are merely a reflection of Milano’s current situation.
In the Serie A, after playing six games, they have two losses. It’s not surprising if any of these mentioned games were against Virtus Bologna, a fierce rival. However, they were defeated by Napoli and Pesaro.
Perhaps these alarms aren’t that loud because there is still plenty of time in the domestic Italian league to make improvements, and the playoffs offer the opportunity to rely on quality and the number of games in the series, where quality simply must shine through.
EuroLeague?!
However, if the alarms in Milano aren’t ringing so loudly in the Serie A, the reason for such concern in the EuroLeague is a signal heard all the way to Syracuse, the southernmost city in Italy.
It started promisingly with a great win against Olympiacos in the Round 3. Defeating the current runner-up in the competition is no small feat, but then came a steep decline. Four games and four identical outcomes. Milano’s basketball players left the court as the losing side every time.
And now, at the moment you’re reading this, the Italian club is sitting at the bottom of the table in the role of the last-placed team out of the 18 competing clubs. Alba Berlin, Asvel and Milano, all with a 1-5 record. While this may not be surprising for the first two teams mentioned, it certainly is for Mirotic and his team.
Ettore Messina
While roses aren’t blooming in Milano, the question mark and exclamation mark in the previous subtitle are there for a reason. Why?
Well, simply because the head coach Ettore Messina is currently, and for quite some time, leading the entire basketball operations of the club he works for. In the hierarchy above him, there are only two names. The first is owner Giorgio Armani, who, with each orbit around the Sun, gets another year older, just like the rings of an oak tree.
The second is the club president Pantaleo Dell’Orco. The fact is that he doesn’t have much connection to the basketball side and all that happens on the court in some way. It’s worth noting that he is a good friend of Mr. Armani, so it doesn’t take much thinking to draw some conclusions.
“Omerta”
A well-known Italian term that reflects honor and word, something with great weight “on the boot.” It’s no wonder then that Mario Puzo vividly illustrated what “omerta” means in his timeless cinematic achievement.
According to information from Italy, Ettore Messina stated before the start of the current season that his engagement in Milano is his last coaching job in his career. Therefore, with the note that two individuals in the pyramid above him blindly trust him, his job is not in question, not even due to poor results.
The only way for the legendary Italian to hand over the coaching board to someone else is to offer his resignation. Even if that were to happen, he would probably remain in the city of fashion as general manager. As we’ve already mentioned, his role in Milano is much more complex.
Testament
This is certainly not a word that delights anyone, or maybe it does. It depends on how you take it. Rings, years, wealth, inheritance. Even before the last sentence, you understand the use of the term and the context of the whole story, without invoking any evil, but time is simply here to take everything from us.
There is an anecdote that sounds quite realistic when it comes to Milano. This is the reason why there’s no winter in the city of fashion. And when it does come, it comes with style. For several years, the sports circles in Italy and beyond have circulated a story that the club’s owner has expressly stipulated in a certified document his inheritance.
Even five years after his final farewell, 20 million euros will be regularly deposited into Milano’s account every 365 days for the stable functioning of the club. In Italy, words indeed hold great significance. When such a cult is cultivated throughout the history of existence, it would be foolish to expect something different. At least in this case.