By Stefan Djordjevic/ sdjordjevic@eurohoops.net
Romeo Sachetti is currently leading the Italian national team, however, his relationship with the Federation has been in decline and he is expected to leave the bench after the Pre-Olympic Tournament.
The Federation asked of Sachetti to change his assistants and, while reluctant, he had to oblige. According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the Federation wants Ettore Messina as the next coach and the sides have a verbal agreement with the coach being able to refuse the position if his obligations in Olimpia Milano end up being too much to balance with.
However, coach Messina denied the claims by Gazzetta via Instagram commentary on Eurohoops’s post. Initially, it was Ettore Messian’s son who denied the news and after a question on the matter by Greek legend – and his former player – Theodoros Papaloukas, coach Ettore himself replied: “Not true. At all”.
Messina had two stints with the national team in the past. During the first one (1993-1997), Italy won silver in EuroBasket and gold in the Mediterranean Games. The second time, however, the team failed to qualify for the Olympics in 2016 and was eliminated by Serbia in the quarterfinals of the 2017 EuroBasket.
Gazzetta also reported that in case Messina says no, the Italian national team head coaching job will go to Umana Reyer Venice’s Walter De Raffaele who’s been having much success with the club in the past four years, winning two Italian championships, one Italian Cup, and one FIBA Europe Cup.
Italy secured a spot in the EuroBasket 2022 as one of the hosts but they also ended up as the top-placed team in Group B with a 4-2 record, although they lost both games in the last window of qualifiers.