By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The general manager of AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan, Christos Stavropoulos, gave a long interview to “Gazzetta dello Sport” giving answers to some of the main issues concerning the club but also next season’s Legabasket and the EuroLeague.
According to Stavropoulos, the next season in Italy should start as soon as possible for a variety of reasons and he is not at all optimistic about resuming in the summer the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season, due to the complicated nature of the league which needs to coordinate clubs from ten different countries.
He also spoke about the recent transfer rumors and reports about the club, including the cases of Kaleb Tarczewski and Malcolm Delaney.
We’ve been talking about September or October as the new season starting date, but some clubs would like to postpone the start. What does Milan think about that?
“We need to come back, we are standing still for too much time, the fans want to see Rodriguez, Teodosic, Daye, the great players that we have in Italy. If they’re not going to be able to see them in arenas, we can offer a high-quality tv product, with a lot of creativity. But it’s important to play as soon as possible, to respect the clubs’ efforts, especially the ones taking part in the European competitions, the National Team and its commitments in November and with the Pre-Olympic Tournament. We need to offer to the televisions, to sponsors and fans a credible season, as regular as possible. Honestly, I don’t understand those clubs – full of champions, fans, with international competitions to play – which don’t want to play as soon as possible. We need to understand what’s important for everybody, no matter where the proposals are coming from, Milan, Bologna or other clubs”.
It looks like the season will start behind closed doors…
“We still have four months before starting a new season, there’s no reason to be negative at all costs. Gradually, activities will re-open, I’m positive that we will have arenas with reduced capacity, not closed doors. We will keep social distancing, like it’s going to happen on trains, airplanes, everywhere. I don’t think being pessimistic is the way to go”.
The Italian league will probably have a season with no relegation and will move to 20 teams. What’s Milan take?
“The schedule is very complicated, every year a little more, but this is a unique, never-happened before situation. Blocking relegation for one year is going to help the weaker clubs, and we want to help the ones struggling because of the new economy. At the same time, 20 teams are not sustainable, we have too many games impacting players’ health, and that’s why the number of teams will be reduced all across the European leagues. In Italy, it’s going to be the same. In fact, before the health emergency, the league had already decided to work to create a 16-team league”.
What about the Euroleague immediate future?
“To complete the season, we need to go on the court right now, and the conditions are not favorable, in terms of practices, travels, safety. The Euroleague is doing all it can to resume the season, but every country has a different situation, its laws, and ten different countries are involved. This is why I’m not optimistic about resuming the season”.
The Italian championship was not awarded to anybody. Virtus Bologna led the league. What do you think?
“Virtus was the best team, up until February, but you win the championship in May and June. The Federation decision was the only possible one. Regarding Olimpia, we were improving, we had the deepest team and the most used to play every two days, which is the rule in the playoffs. I was very positive about our chances. I’m sad we didn’t have the chance to show it on the court”.
What about the market? Did you resign Kaleb Tarczewski?
“It’s a different kind of market, with different timing, many evolving situations, and we have more time to think and evaluate, we can analyze every single move, with are in no rush to do anything. Kaleb is a player who represents very well our values, but at this time we have no news regarding him or anybody else”.
Including Malcolm Delaney who just left Barcelona?
“During the last month, we have been associated with a lot of players, enough to fill three different rosters. We cannot chase all the rumors. The truth, like I said, is that we are still in an evaluation mode”.