Divisive, a little braggadocious, but for now too winning. Because everything can be said, except Valerio Antonini did not always and only draw the right cards from the deck. So much so that in the space of just a handful of months he put Trapani back on the national basketball map: promotion in LBA on the first try, arrived thanks to a play-off ride made of pure substance, col 3-1 in the final series against Fortitudo Bologna which sealed a season always lived on the front line. Where it wasn’t always just the field that did the talking, but where in the end (and this is the thing that matters most) the boss made the accounts work.
The wheat and cereal broker who wants to rewrite history
That Antonini could hit the scene of A2 championship like a hurricane it was a rather widespread opinion. Because since the day he decided to revive the fortunes of the Sharks (and at the same time of the football team, which dominated its group in Serie D championship finding the professionals at the first try) immediately preferred to use a rather high profile, without making too many compromises.
To bring it in Sicily, a year ago, it was the mate, originally from this land: love at first sight (in every sense) and the clear desire to give back Trapani the new Sicilian sports hub. This explains the choice to focus heavily on disciplines best known to the general public (precisely football basketball), as well as that of acquiring Telesud, who in fact became the narrator of his exploits.
Grain and raw materials broker professionhas done business in many South American countries and since 2020, with the launch of Quanton Commodities Ldt, specialized in the international trade of cereals, has definitely taken off. Particular signs? A long-standing friendship with Diego Armando Maradona. However, something not common to everyone.
The Sharks season, however with a happy ending
After letting the world of football know that by 2027 Trapani is ready to attack the top flight (with a brand new stadium: for now he has dipped into his wallet to modernize the “Provincial” of Erice, but for the Serie A he said that something more profitable will be needed…), now he is ready to relaunch the challenge also in the world of basketball.
Where he hit his first goal winning the play-offs and mitigating the disappointment for the failure to win the Italian Cup, thanks to the (net) defeat against the Fortitude in the semi-final of the final four in Rome which effectively led to the coach’s dismissal Daniele Parente, despite the 24 victories in 26 championship matches. Andrea Diana so he sat on the bench anymore “boiling” of Italian basketball, managing however to find a way to lead the Granata to conquer the top national championship: 3-1 on Piacenza in the quarterfinals, 3-0 up Verona in the semifinals, 3-1 over Fortitude in the final.
The market to come: how many big names in the sights
Regardless of the results obtained, the feeling of being faced with remains a truly unique case in the Italian basketball scene. Why Antonini he is not the classic patron who stands aside and observes what is happening, called to intervene only if strictly necessary: he always says his ownbetter if it serves raise dust.
He objected to everything and everyone, argued with journalists and opponents (not least, those of the Fortitudo house), fueled controversy even where perhaps there was no need for it. Above all, however, he brought people to the roster who had nothing to do with A2: Amir Alibegovic, Stefano Gentile and JD Notae in LBA it would have been convenient for many, but in the end they chose to join the Sharks to start writing the story.
And who knows, there may be room for some other illustrious names in the future: Nicolò Melli, Nico Mannion and Stefano Tonut these are just some of the names linked to the Trapani cause, and there are those who swear that too Milos Teodosic was contacted last winter to accept a trip that would have been incredible. And perhaps in the future it will see the light.
The accusations against Fortitudo: “They treated us like animals”
Antonini he is a courageous and unscrupulous entrepreneur, and to Trapani he has passed on all the power he has. And now it aims at a double objective: quickly conquer the B in football (the market, according to the owner, has already been set up and only the usual announcements are missing, postponed to the end of the month for bureaucratic and organizational reasons) and compete immediately with the big names in the LBA, perhaps trying to fit into the left side of the rankings. With a fixed nail in the head: become the first Sicilian club to sew the scudetto to its chest. “Nobody did it, I feel like we have to do it”, he reiterated after the triumph in game 4 which closed the promotion series.
Whether you love it or hate it, Antonini however, it is destined to shuffle the cards. And maybe even to make unpleasant a team that, in one way or another, is destined to rewrite (partly) the story. Proof of this are the poisonous words addressed to the environment Fortitude at the end of the game: “I came to win at these guys’ home incorrect, who insulted us before, during and after the match. They didn’t even allow us to celebrate in the middle of the field. They treated us like animals, making us find food as if we were at fast food”. Fasten your seatbelts: by Valerio Antonini you will hear about it many times.
