Basketball: Gianmarco Pozzecco presented in Villeurbanne, the “right choice” for Tony Parker

Italian coach Gianmarco Pozzecco was officially presented Thursday in Villeurbanne during a press conference in the presence of President Tony Parker, who wants with this arrival to “create an electric shock”.

This rebound is expected from Friday with the reception of Virtus Bologna (8:00 p.m.) in the Euroleague before that, in the French championship, of Strasbourg, led by his compatriot Massimo Cancellieri.

Aged 51, Pozzecco took over on Wednesday from TJ Parker, brother of Tony, at the head of the Villeurbanne team which missed its start to the season, 7th in Elite and stuck in last place in the Euroleague with four defeats at the start. . These are in addition to the thirteen conceded since January to end the 2022-2023 financial year, again in the bottom position.

Asvel is due to enter its brand new 12,000-seat Arena in basketball configuration on November 23 with the reception of Bayern Munich in the Euroleague. “We had to have an electric shock. It was time for a change and for us to enter a new era. When I see this energy with the arrival of our new coach, we made the right choice and we will not be bored with him,” predicted Tony Parker to discuss “Il Poz” at a press conference.

However, this was not his first choice, which was rather to hire the Canadian-Finnish Gordon Herbert (64), coach of world champion Germany.

“I wanted someone who was human to find the right words to revive our team which was not playing at its level. He is known for this. Our training is much better than what we have seen,” said TP, referring to “a possible problem of confidence”.

“I hope he will get the best out of our players,” he said, confident “having already seen high-intensity training on Wednesday.”

For his part, Pozzecco wants to be serene and detached regarding his inexperience as head coach in the Euroleague, even if he was assistant to Ettore Messina in Milan, and just as much for not having been at the top of the list to succeed TJ Parker. “I was never the first choice,” he laughed.

“In basketball, there is the Euroleague and the rest. Asvel has a great experience and a good future. I remain convinced that this club is one of the best clubs in Europe. TJ was not lucky at the start of the season,” Pozzecco told the media.