A young and hungry team. The new Basketball Forlì 2.015 by Antimo Martino starts from a blank sheet of paper. Palazzo Hercolani, headquarters of Unieuro, hosted the presentation of the new red and white coach, the basis of what the president, Giancarlo Nicosanti, defined an authentic “revolution”, which opens a new chapter of Pieffe 2.015 after the three-year period by Sandro Of the Lamb. An authentic watershed opens, with a young coach – born in 1978 – who has already had the opportunity to take away a lot of satisfaction, bringing Fortitudo Bologna to A1 in the 2018-2019 season, winning the Lnp Super Cup, being named “Best Manager of Serie A2” and win the “Reverberi Prize” in 2020, as the best Italian coach.
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“I felt great trust from the company – are Martino’s words -, immediately taking an interest in my profile, a detail that increases my responsibility and the desire to reciprocate this trust with the best possible work. It is a challenge which I accept with great enthusiasm and with a great desire to do well “. If Monday afternoon was the official presentation, the new coach of Pieffe 2.015 has already been involved in the construction of the new project for several weeks: “We are working in the staff structure and obviously on the team that will be, with negotiations started. A new path and we shared with the club the idea of giving life to a new team, trying to create a context in which I can put my ideas into play. The field will be the judge of everything, but I believe that the quality of the ideas, the ‘organization, the seriousness and the passion that we will put in will create the conditions to have a good season “.
VIDEO – Coach Martino introduces himself
Martino has decided to restart from A2 after his experience in A1 and to start a new cycle also from a personal point of view: “I am coming from a very difficult and troubled season from many points of view, which ended in a sporting way as I hadn’t hoped for. my desire to live a positive season. Forlì immediately gave me the impression and the feeling that it could be the right choice at the right time and in the right context “. Martino will try to convey his energy: “Basically I have a calm approach, but then in the game I transform as it should be. And thank goodness, the opposite would be serious.”
The coach, formerly of Ravenna, will start from a practically white sheet. The only certainty is Lorenzo Benvenuti. “It is no mystery that we intended to continue our relationship with Davide Bruttini, but he made a different choice and one that we respect – Martino’s words -. What we shared is that the new team must have a young component, but with valuable players, who want to grow and do so in a square where there is tradition, and who have that enthusiasm necessary to face a new path. Obviously we will look for some more experienced profiles, which allow young people to grow. balance in terms of age, of experience at a technical-tactical level is fundamental “.
The priority, also with regard to the unders, “is to define the backbone and understand how to insert the players. An evaluation will be needed first, and for this reason I have directly followed the training sessions or the friendlies organized in recent days to get a clear idea. . The goal is to try to set up the best possible team. ” American chapter: “Our priority is to include a foreigner in the external department and one in the long department. We are still evaluating the characteristics they will have and a lot will also depend on the Italian market. We will try to remain faithful to our ideas, trying to carry out the ideas that we have set for ourselves “.
As for the imprint that Martino will give, “I believe in the defensive aspect, but I think I have always had the quality of enhancing the offensive characteristics of the players. From this point of view it will be important to first define the roster to have a clear idea of which it will be my basketball “. Surely Martino will ask him for “enthusiasm and courage” about him. Forlì is a passionate and demanding place, but coach Martino preaches calm and makes no proclamations: “Pressure is part of our work and I also see it as a positive aspect, because it means having the ambition to improve and do the best every day. It must be a “healthy” and objective passion. It is clear that everyone’s dream is to perform immediately, but at the beginning it will take a little patience and give this group time to get to know each other from a human and technical point of view. We want a team in which our fans can recognize each other and have the pleasure of coming to the stadium to see a team fight. First this growth happens and it is better for everyone, but you don’t have to be beautiful in September, but be happy in June. to have many things that work since the beginning of the year “.
As for the preparation, it will roughly begin around August 15th (probably August 16): “We will work in Forlì, then there will be the Super Cup immediately, which is considered an integral part of the pre-season course, which enables us to play real and a certain value. But we must not forget that it represents the beginning of a long season. It will therefore take the right balance “. A championship that will put six derbies on the plate: “It will make it quite fascinating, for me it is an exciting championship and I hope that we can return to play in front of the public on a regular basis”.
