Interview with the PB commentator who talked about the Euroleague, referees, gaming, Italy and issued a disturbing warning for the short-term future
Carlo Fabbricatore finally, it’s been a while since we read it on Pianetabasket, listen but…
“But let’s not act like those who don’t know each other and call themselves “lei” in front of others…”
But it’s for the readers, so as not to make them feel excluded from an interview as happens when we speak on personal terms. We were saying, have you liked the Euroleague up until now?
“Respect for the readers first of all, right. So the Euroleague, I’m fascinated and disappointed by it. Disappointed because in my opinion there is a huge refereeing problem and it is not economically sustainable. We have seen some whistles that defining humorous is the best way to avoid turning to insults – and I’m not just talking about those with the Italians – but in all matches. And then there’s a problem. Am I wrong or is our referee manager also an observer of the Euroleague referees? Something is wrong. From a sustainability point of view, the reasoning is this: if there are clubs with very heavy budgets in the red, it means that the system does not go beyond the individual responsibilities of the clubs. They asked me if I am in favor of Dubai. Of course yes. The movement needs new proposals and ideas. If Paris makes the Euroleague and then maybe London too it would be really beautiful. And sooner or later we will have to think about reinserting CSKA and another Russian team, beyond any political idea let’s be clear.”
So far the disappointment. And the charm?
“The beauty, quantity and quality of the Belgrade public. A magnificent show, unrepeatable in Europe at the moment.”
I was thinking something about the game…
“But if many, too many coaches try to imitate the game of NBA teams with different pitches and rules, what kind of game are we talking about? Of aid within the area that is impossible? Or the fact that attackers are extremely protected? Or those lobs to turn the field which are very slow and which were forbidden to us as if they were a mortal sin? Or the P&R that everyone thinks was discovered in the last twenty years but that I also played 40 years ago? I miss the high post and low post game that some great centers could play, like Cosic and Sabonis who also played from eight meters because this too is not a modern invention.”
It’s time for the Italians, Milan and Bologna…
“I start from Bologna which, after an extraordinary start, ended its European campaign in difficulty but reached the play ins. I wish you good luck even if you’re going to have a tough time with Efes. Milan…The project must be clear. Enough of this story that I hear that in sport there are atypical companies/clubs. We need a pyramid organization in which everyone knows who does what. If some roles are concentrated in the hands of one person, it’s not good because there is confusion, and the results – even with the Euroleague’s third largest budget behind Real and Panathinaikos – are there for all to see. But there is another thing that we all have to understand: we have to support our teams, we have to build a movement through them that is credible and respected, as happens to Spain or Turkey and Greece who bring 3 and two teams to the second phase, without this we are finished.”
Who reaches the bottom in our championship? Does Milan and Bologna or Brescia hold up?
“I don’t think Brescia has the physical strength to hold out until the end and when the going gets tough, the impact with the two toughest, most athletic, strongest and longest teams in the championship will be complicated. The only one that could physically match Milan and Bologna would be Venezia, but they lack quality in their guards to compete at that level. All this does not take anything away from Brescia’s splendid championship and from the strength of Venezia, let it be clear that among other things they play on a field that is an oven, where there is a strange light and it could be a factor”.
And our referee class?
“There is a problem of the referees with the players and vice versa. The latest stories of young referees insulted and beaten on the pitches of youth championships by parents are the mirror of the attitudes that everyone sees on the pitches of the major leagues. The good referee is the one who at the end of a match asks you what his name is because he did his job without being the protagonist. The referees are essential but not with the attitude they have these days. And then I don’t understand why they can’t talk about the match once it’s over. The explanations help to understand certain whistles: in American football they have been doing it for decades, in rugby the same. There are a thousand cameras, a thousand possibilities, in the world of communication do we want to continue with this absurd silence?”
I leave you to think about good morning and good night…
“Our basketball is in a phase of regression of ideas and programs. We are increasingly a niche movement because we have not worked well in schools, we have not done proselytism and recruitment. How many teams have a serious and well-organized recruiting program? Few. How many clubs are truly solid? There are interesting consortia like those of Brescia and Reggio Emilia where a great deal of work is being done and coincidentally, in Reggio, they have two youngsters from their youth sector in the first team. But how many have the courage to invest? Barcelona football manager, Xavi, said “Why do we have to wait for young players? If they are good they play” which is a concept very dear to the nations of the former Yugoslavia, but not us, we have the “young-elderly”. If the youth sectors are still considered a cost rather than an investment, we can stop watching basketball.”
2024-04-14 05:58:39
#stop #watching #basketball..
