Anticipation, uncertainty, doubts, these are the feelings that animate the Pistoia square at the moment. The fans, after the technical revolution that was brought about by the new ownership, want to understand what path the club intends to take, above all they need certainties and this silence that has fallen for a month now, or rather since the last time the club made its voice heard on the occasion of the press conference to present the new president with Capecchi and Saracca, does not help. On the players front, the club having decided to opt for the 6 plus 6, three foreign players and as many Italians are still missing. It is true that as far as the department of the latter is concerned, two elements will arrive directly from the youth sector, but an Italian capable of giving important minutes still needs to be taken. As far as the foreign players are concerned, the external department needs to be formed, a guard and a wing and a player needs to be taken in the power forward spot. But the aspect that has the fans apprehensive is that of the coach.
It’s the end of June and it hasn’t been decided yet who will be the coach who will replace Nicola Brienza on the red and white bench, but in the meantime four new players have been signed, Brajkovic, Silins, Anumba and Forrest, in addition to the reconfirmation of Della Rosa and Saccaggi. An unusual situation to say the least, given that teams are usually structured through the collaborative work between the coach and the sports director, with the former giving indications on what type of players he wants to express his idea of basketball and the latter viewing and recommending the elements he deems most suitable. Pistoia has Marco Sambugaro as its sports director, an absolute certainty when it comes to choosing players as he has demonstrated in recent years. The void is therefore that of the coach and it is a significant lack in general, which becomes even more important during the team construction phase. The name of the possible new coach is always that of the American David Bobalik, a friend of Ron Rowan, with whom the agreement has been closed for weeks, but then nothing more was heard. There are probably some bureaucratic obstacles, as I have no previous experience in European basketball. But now it’s July and time is running out.
Maurice Innocent
