The president of Virtus Massimo Zanetti speaks to the team a few hours before the tap-off of match five against Tortona and the team wins by crushing their opponents, Toko Shengelia’s children tell their father that he and his teammates have to wake up and he produces a performance that borders on perfection.
No other examples are needed to demonstrate how Virtus’s first opponent is the head. Concentrated and unlikely to get lost in useless confusion when playing in front of her fans, distracted and much less solid when she goes away.
Theoretically in this semi-final the bar is raised so the team coached by Luca Banchi would do well to quickly eliminate this flaw too, practically in the series that starts tomorrow at the Segafredo Arena there is one less danger, given that on the head of the black V and the same pressure persists in Venice, given the ambitions with which the lagoon players had started the season.
Undoubtedly the strange story of the renewal of Segafredo’s sponsorship weighed heavily on the progress of the quarterfinals. First a statement denying the continuation of the agreement and then Zanetti’s correction for a new contract at reduced prices. Given the 2-0 defeat suffered in Casale Monferrato, the Juventus president wanted to speak to the team, reiterating that he will remain at the helm of the club, that the sports club has no economic problems and that to win we must remain united.
It was the first time that the Virtussino number one spoke to the team in these terms and with these timing and in closing the speech he asked the players to immediately attack their opponents by immediately taking the initiative and remembering how it is easier to win if you everyone stay together.
An attitude that the group had from the first ball and which in the long run took Tortona out of the match. The words that Shengelia’s children had with their father are also unique. Also given the discipline that the good Toko demands from his boys, one might say that the roles have been reversed. The young people of the house told the head of the family that he was not welcome if he did not win the match.
A nice shock for those who came from a couple of poor matches and who were promptly redeemed on Tuesday evening. We are approaching the semi-final in this context and in the hope that the flu virus causes other misfortunes. Iffe Lundberg will not be there for tomorrow’s match as he is still struggling with problems with his left knee. In the meantime, Venezia has reached an agreement with the British winger with Italian training Carl Wheatle who will wear the Reyer shirt from next season.
