End of applause for Ettore Messina?

It could be the end of an era for basketball italy. The legend of transalpine training, Ettore Messina he decided to prematurely end his adventure on the bench of Olimpia from Milan, while his contract lasted until the end of the season. His assistant Giuseppe “Pepe” Poeta will take over the team.

One would think that a run of four consecutive defeats (three in the league, one in the Euroleague) hastened this decision, with the Milanese club only 8th in Serie A behind Trieste, their tormentor of the weekend, and 11th in the Euroleague. But the evil was actually deeper.

A latent conflict with the locker room

Ettore Messina explained the reasons for his resignation in a long letter, admitting that there had been no communication with his group for several weeks. After careful consideration, the decision was imposed on him to retire while remaining within the club’s organizational chart.

“You may be wondering why I am leaving the bench (but not the club)? The reason is very simple: I realized that I had become, and not only today, a factor of division, and therefore a source of distraction. Although I committed myself to doing my job to the best of my ability, every circumstance turned into an opportunity to open a referendum for or against me.” it says like this. “For this reason (and only this) I have decided to put an end to a situation that has become a great source of tension for me and harmful to the team and the club. By removing the cause of these tensions, I believe that I will fulfill in the best way the responsibility entrusted to me by Mr. Giorgio Armani and the club from my first day in Olympia. In this year I have sometimes had a very difficult atmosphere. even hesitating to climb the last steps that lead to the field.

Ettore Messina continues his activities within management, with the role of director of basketball operations. Giuseppe Poeta, who was originally set to succeed him at the end of the season, therefore feels his takeover has progressed.

And now?

President Leo Del Orco paid tribute to the man who has led the team since its return from the NBA in 2019.

“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Ettore Messina for the successes we have achieved together: from the Italian championship titles to the Italian Cups and Super Cups, to our qualification for the Final Four of the Euroleague in 2021. With the same conviction, I wish good luck to Pepe Poeta, convinced that he will decisively lead the team” announced the manager of the Milan club.

Whether we will see the Italian technician on the bench again remains to be seen. Ettore Messina also had two experiences in the NBA: first as a consultant for the Lakers in 2011/12, then as assistant de Gregg Popovich with the Spurs from 2014 to 2019. There he won the title of NBA champion together with Marco Belinelli, the first Italian player to be crowned.

Returning to Europe, he then achieved a triple trophy with Milan by winning the Italian championship in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Ettore Messina was also the coach of Italy twice, from 1993 to 1997 and from 2015 to 2017. The Italian national team is now led by Luca Banci, who is preparing to experience his first official match at the head of Nacional this Thursday, against Iceland, in order to start qualifying for the 2027 World Cup.