Virtus immediately chose the post-Scariolo player: Luca Banchi

“Luca Banchi is our new coach”: after the dismissal of Sergio Scariolo in the morning, Zanetti’s club solved the problem of replacing him on the bench in a very short time. And Banchi was immediately the most popular name, especially in light of his extraordinary recent performances leading Latvia (called up in 2021) at the World Cup, with the reward of fifth place in the final team (without being able to have his best player Kristaps Porzingis). and the nomination as best coach of the world championship tournament.

Curriculum

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Born in 1965, Banchi coached in Trieste, Trapani and Jesi before starting his adventure in Siena in 2006, first as assistant and then as head coach. An experience that culminated in 2013 with the victory of the scudetto against Virtus Roma and the Italian Cup. Then the move to Olimpia Milano where he won the tricolor in his first season, signing a record, since before him, no one in his first year on the Milanese bench had managed to bring home the title of Italian champion. In 2018 he began working abroad, first coaching Bamberg and then Aek Athens, with whom he won an Intercontinental Cup. In January 2021 he became assistant coach of the Long Island Nets, the Brooklyn Nets franchise playing in the American D-League. Last stops in Pesaro and Strasbourg, in France called by the Italian GM Nicola Alberani, where he leads both clubs to the playoffs. With the French, he came close to reaching the Champions League Final Four, eliminated by the future champions of Bonn.