Basketball player Simone Fontecchio is new in Berlin: The big leap to Alba – Sport

For Simone Fontecchio, sport has always been part of it and so the basketball player from Alba Berlin couldn’t help himself while his team was in quarantine. “I tried to resist, but I just had to buy it,” says the 24-year-old Italian about a small basketball hoop that he ordered for his daughter. Or maybe more for yourself, because the eleven-month-old Bianca is not that interested in the ball and basket yet. Papa for it all the more.

Even the grandpa was a national player

It is no wonder that Alba’s new signing, who will meet Asvel Villeurbane with his team in the Euroleague this Wednesday (8 p.m., live on Magentasport), cannot do without sport. His grandfather Vittorio was a national basketball player, his mother Amalia too, his brother Luca also made it to the top division, and father Daniele took part in the 1984 Olympic Games as a hurdler. “When I was four or five years old, I was in the hall every day and grew up with the noise of the bouncing balls,” recalls Fontecchio.

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As a little boy in Pescara on the Adriatic coast, he divided his time between basketball and athletics, but a preference quickly became apparent. “I realized very early on that you need even more self-discipline for athletics,” says Fontecchio. “You are alone with your career and it is mentally difficult. I was also just better at basketball. ”The great shadow of successful parents is often a burden for young athletes. Expectations are higher, the pressure rises early on. This is not the case with Fontecchio. “My parents always gave me a lot of freedom, but were there when I needed help,” he says.

At 17 he made his professional debut

At the age of 15 he joined the youth department of Bologna, at that time one of the dominant clubs in the country. Professional debut at 17, national youth team, various awards. For years it only seems to be going up. But that is changing. At 20, Fontecchio moved to Milan, in a starting group in which he was only a marginal figure. “He wasn’t ready for such a team that had to win immediately and couldn’t wait for talent to develop,” says Emiliano Carchia, Italian sports journalist and founder of the basketball portal Sportando. “It is never a mistake to go to Milan, but at that moment it was not a good decision for him.”

With a loan to Cremona and last season in Reggio Emilia, Fontecchio found his self-confidence and rhythm that he had lost in the meantime and made a decision. “I wanted to have a new experience. Of course, I also thought of the crisis in Italy. But I would have gone abroad even without Corona, “says Fontecchio. When Alba makes him an offer, he doesn’t think twice. “I saw the opportunity and came without worrying about how much time I would get. I just knew that the club had a lot of confidence in me. “

However, the first few months at Alba are not particularly easy. Shortly after the start of the season, some of his teammates tested positive for the corona virus, and the whole team had to be quarantined. No basketball for more than two weeks, for someone like Fontecchio it’s a real burden.

On the other hand, he finally has time for his partner and little daughter. Because in everyday life, which for Alba consists of three to four games a week and numerous trips, the family often falls short. “It’s not easy for me and of course I miss them,” says Fontecchio. “But above all it is not easy for my partner because she is often alone with our daughter.” Despite all the difficulties in the still young season, Fontecchio’s first sporting interim conclusion is very positive. The small forward scores reliably in double digits and makes the game of the Berliners more variable: He is athletic, moves well, can throw from the outside or pull to the basket.

He is one of Alba’s top scorers

The fact that he immediately belongs to Alba’s top scorers is quite surprising, because the jump from a mediocre Italian league team to a Euroleague team is big, very big even. “He’s playing at a level that nobody expected. When he signed with Alba as the successor to Giedraitis in the summer, I had my doubts whether he was ready for it. But so far he has shown that he can replace him well, ”says Carchia. And Alba’s manager Marco Baldi is also very happy with the new addition. “He’s obviously very comfortable with the freedom he’s got here.”

Freedom is a key word. In childhood, his parents gave him the freedom to try things out and didn’t push him in one direction. The basketball philosophy of Alba’s coach Aito Garcia Reneses is similar. The Spaniard wants the players to make their own decisions and that suits Fontecchio very much. “Aito is a legend of European basketball and he makes it easy for everyone to get the most out of themselves,” says Fontecchio. And with the necessary space, little Bianca is sure to discover the mini basketball hoop for herself.