Carlo Recalcati

Biggest EuroBasket Success

EuroBasket 1983 and 1999 both took place in France and both featured gold medal games pitting archrivals Spain and Italy against each other. It's really hard to say which one represented a milestone for Italian basketball. With the Silver Medal at the 1980 Olympic Games, in Moscow, Italy earned a spot amongst the top teams in the world, even if the flavour was a little bitter because of the absence of the U.S. and other Western countries that boycotted the tournament. But the medal made the team stronger, and in 1983, Italy started EuroBasket with a 4-0 record. The last game of the first round, against Yugoslavia, was the key as the winner would advance to the semifinals, while the loser would be relegated to third place in the group and eliminated from the medal round. European basketball fans will never forget that night as a hard elbow was thrown by Marco Bonamico on Dragan Kicanovic that was not called with five minutes to go and Italy leading by 11 points. From there, everything exploded. An unbelievable fight broke out involving players, coaches and even team managers. One Yugoslavian player had scissors in his hand and was stopped just in time by a policeman! The final versus Spain was a clear success for the team coached by Sandro Gamba with the Italians coming out on top 105-96. That team was made of so many great players of the eighties like Dino Meneghin, Pierluigi Marzorati, Renato Villalta and the top-scorer Antonello Riva. Sixteen years later, on the same foreign ground (France), an Italian team coached by Bogdan Tanjevic showed everybody how important chemistry and hard work are.  After a tough loss to Croatia in the opening game, the Azzurri improved their quality while the tournament went on with a different player stepping up every day. Carlton Myers, Andrea Meneghin, Giacomo Galanda and finally Gregor Fucka, who was voted tournament MVP in Paris, all had their time of glory to lead Italy to the win. In the final round, Italy defeated Russia, long-time rival Yugoslavia and Spain. And on the podium, Andrea Meneghin put the trophy over his head, exactly as his father had done 16 years before in Nantes. The meaning of the triumph in Paris was two-fold. With the gold medal, Italy earned a spot for the Olympic Games in Sydney, ending their 16-year absence from Olympic play.

Biggest EuroBasket Disaster

After winning a silver medal at EuroBasket 1991 in Rome, many things changed as Ettore Messina was hired as the head coach. But his first experience in Germany at EuroBasket 1993 was a colossal failure. In the first round the Italians defeated Israel, but then were beaten by Latvia and Greece and in the second round, Spain and Russia did the same to the Azzurri who finished fourth in the group and were eliminated from the tournament.

Best Individual Performance/Best Player of All-Time

Dino Meneghin, currently Italy's team director, is still the most legendary figure in Italian basketball. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003, Meneghin was,the symbol of the National Team for two decades. His domination typically did not show on the stats sheet, but in other important ways he was indispensable and came to embody the sport of basketball in Italy. Apart from being a great rebounder and patenting his legendary hook shot, Dino Meneghin will always be remembered for his "charisma" and leadership.

Scouting Report

Under coach Carlo Recalcati, Italy is now experiencing a big change in their style of play. The arrival of young talent Marco Belinelli, who starred at the last World Championship, forced the coach to change some things. Recalcati gave Belinelli the freedom to create his own shots outside of the offensive scheme more than he has with other players in the past. The veterans of the team accepted this without any problem, a tribute to Belinelli’s talent. Now, Italy is looking forward to EuroBasket 2007 with two more young stars on their roster in NBA Rookie of the Year candidate Andrea Bargnani, and 19-year-old Danilo Gallinari, a 2.08 m sensation that can play both forward positions.  Recalcati can change the offense all he wants but one thing is never going to change, which is his focus on the defensive end of the floor.

Prediction

Like nine or 10 other teams, Italy is looking to secure a spot for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Everybody knows that EuroBasket is the most competitive tournament in the world and that the difference between going to China in 2008 and staying home will be slim. Considering the last two seasons, it is fair to give a maximum amount of respect to Spain and Greece as the deserved favourites. Behind them, there will be a dog fight and Italy hopes to come out on top. A great result would be a trip to the podium. A good finish would be to earn a spot for the Pre-Olympic tournament in July 2008. Anything else would be a failure.

Likely Squad

Coach Recalcati will rely on two new national team players in Gallinari and Bargnani. Massimo Bulleri probably will be back after the rest he took last summer as will team captain Giacomo Galanda to help smooth the transition of a new kind of big man. The veteran – and only true center – Denis Marconato is questionable after so-so seasons in 2005 and 2006, with the idea to use power forwards like Galanda and Gigli as centers, replacing him. So it looks like Massimo Bulleri, Gianluca Basile, Marco Belinelli, Marco Mordente and Matteo Soragna will be the teams guards. Danilo Gallinari and Andrea Bargnani are forwards and Mason Rocca, Giacomo Galanda and Angelo Gigli will play down low. That leaves two shirts, and the trip to Spain that goes with them, still up for grabs.

Last 10 FIBA Events

2006 - World Championship Saitama, Tied for 9th
2005 - EuroBasket  Belgrade, Tied for 9th
2004 - Olympics Athens, Silver Medal
2003 - EuroBasket Stockholm, Bronze Medal
2002 - World Championship Indianapolis, Did not qualify
2001 - EuroBasket Istanbul, 11th
2000 - Olympics Sydney, 5th
1999 - EuroBasket Paris, Gold Medal
1998 - World Championship Athens, 6th
1997 - EuroBasket Barcelona, Silver Medal