Coach Pansa's presentation: "Passion and ambition: I present to you my Derthona"
This morning the presentation of coach Lorenzo Pansa took place at the Sala Romita of the Municipality of Tortona. These are the words of the sports councilor of the Municipality of Tortona, Vittoria Colacino, of the general manager Marco Picchi and of the new Juventus coach.
Vittoria Colacino: “I represent the municipal administration in welcoming everyone present and in offering the team and the club my best compliments for the past year and for the emotions you have given us. It is necessary to remember that the company is the flagship of this city, to which it gives prestige and visibility; Derthona is an example of a healthy company, seriousness, commitment, consistency and professionalism, fundamental elements for building a lasting path and growing on solid foundations. I would like to recognize the merit of the entire club and of the previous coach Demis Cavina, who delivers an excellent team to the new coach Lorenzo Pansa; I extend my best wishes to him so that further steps of growth can be achieved through his contribution."
Marco Picchi: “On behalf of Derthona I thank the Municipality for the hospitality and for the support that the Mayor and his councilors never fail to give us at the matches and in all our activities. We meet again for three years where we introduced Demis Cavina, starting a three-year cycle which has been incredible for Derthona from the point of view of results, following and enthusiasm. I must give credit to Demis, to whom I am linked by a solid friendship, for having left so much to Tortona, beyond the individual team results, as demonstrated by the numerous greeting messages that the Tortona supporters left him.
Today we turn the page and I am happy to hand this legacy into the right hands. I want to say that Lorenzo Pansa is here for a specific choice: we met several coaches, some of whom could boast a high-level CV, but we chose Lorenzo to lead a project that aims to be long-term. We are convinced that he can become an integral part of Derthona and he can accompany us for a new cycle that we want to be full of satisfaction. We reached very high levels, reaching the playoff quarter-finals twice. We know that it will be difficult to repeat ourselves on the pitch, but today there are the foundations for thinking of Derthona as a reality in this championship. The next step will be to find even greater continuity.”
Lorenzo Pansa: “I thank Marco and all of Derthona because little time passed from the first contact to the moment we said we would move forward together, demonstrating great mutual respect. In Tortona I ended my career as a player with an injury suffered right here and I began the life of a coach, an activity I carried out with enormous passion. The concept of passion has linked me to Tortona since the C2 days, because this is what was perceived when arriving at PalaCamagna. The second concept that I link to this company is that of ambition. Personally, three years ago I left a very comfortable situation in Casale Monferrato, where I was assistant of the first team and responsible for the youth sector in my city, to dive into coaching a newly promoted team in Serie B, the expression of a center of thirteen thousand inhabitants; many expressed their skepticism to me, but I cultivated within myself the ambition of being able to grow together. Today that square has become a solid reality in Serie B; at the same time, Derthona has grown and occupies a position that was unimaginable three years ago, at the end of a journey in which the role of Demis Cavina, alongside the entire management, was pre-eminent. I especially extend a special thank you to Demis: no later than Monday we had a long meeting in which he passed me important messages, a gesture that was anything but obvious and which I particularly appreciated. One last aspect that I like about Derthona is the link between club and territory: as an outsider, in these three years I have seen a city become passionate about its favorites and become a true sixth man in the arena. One of the main objectives of our experience will be to bring the team ever closer to the city of Tortona and the city of Voghera, which hosts us to play the matches, and from this support it can draw great energy. I'll quote a short episode: this morning I was with Garri having a coffee in the centre, and we were stopped several times by some supporters, who made us feel their support: I hope that, once my journey here is finished, this passion is even greater. That will be the signal that we will have done something very good together.”
Coach Pansa and general manager Picchi then answered the journalists' questions.
Thus Pansa on the difference between Serie B and Serie A2: "The technical/tactical aspects change, linked to the physicality of the players, to their talent, but there are some constants that make our role quite similar at all levels: the first aspect is that at the basis of basketball there is a relationship between a coach and his players based on the hunger and ambition that each must bring to the pitch. The second aspect concerns the project that we have carried out in recent years: we will choose players who - using a phrase from DG Picchi - explicitly demonstrate that they want to play for Derthona Basket. We want elements who have the ambition to rise to the next level, to relaunch themselves and who see Derthona as the means to realize their ambition.”
Thus Picchi on the construction of the team: “Luca Garri has chosen to embrace the cause of Derthona and will be the captain next season. Giampaolo Ricci should instead exercise the option to exit his contract to play for another team. There is almost official news: Cucci will play in Mantua, Greene in Verona, in these hours Davide Alviti will settle in Imola with Demis Cavina. This means that there will be many new faces. The transfer session will be difficult, because we only signed Lorenzo a week ago and because we are being looked at by the transfer market with the curiosity of understanding what Derthona wants to do after Cavina's transfer and after a season that is difficult to replicate in terms of results. This gives us great motivation: we are looking for men, before players, because the personal aspect must be at the forefront, and we plan to build a team of people motivated to wear our shirt. I would like to say that, for a team that will be very renewed, all the staff with whom Demis Cavina worked and who achieved excellent results, from Miro De Giuli to Edoardo Casalone, who is not here as he is busy as an assistant in the national team Under, Lorenzo Benedetti, Andrea Sisi, Marco Amato, Emanuele Scarabelli and Pia Camagna will make up the Derthona staff again next year. This is a great confirmation, which will allow Lorenzo Pansa to join quickly and effectively.”
Lorenzo Pansa on his basketball model: "The priority is to put the players in a position to do their best: I believe that all ten athletes on the roster must be involved from an emotional point of view, but also competitively, an aspect that pays off especially in difficult moments. Being able to count on athletes who are used to going into battle helps more in case of injuries or problems. I like to share responsibilities, even offensive ones, by playing immediate basketball that goes straight to the goal; defensively I look for solidity, with very specific rules and a certain rigidity required of the players, to be at the top in this respect.”
Lorenzo Pansa on the knowledge of the staff: “Edoardo Casalone is a serious and prepared professional like few others. He started coaching in the Casale Monferrato youth sector when I was technical manager, so the relationship and mutual respect between us were born a long time ago. The same thing applies to Andrea Sisi. I still have to meet some of the staff, but I am sure that two schools like the one in Casale and the one that Demis Cavina set up here in Tortona have created professionals of the highest value. It will be easy to integrate.”
Roberto Tava: “I would like to take this opportunity to take stock of this company. The choice of Lorenzo Pansa was considered by the board of directors to identify the man and professional who had similar characteristics to coach Cavina, i.e. absolute dedication to work, a fundamental aspect for reaping rewards on the pitch on Sunday. Over the years we have gotten to know Pansa, closely following his career; for this reason we considered him the most suitable person to allow us to best build our future. Alongside him there are two people who guarantee technical continuity, namely the assistant coach Edoardo Casalone and the sporting director Miro De Giuli, who I thank for continuing with us: these are important aspects because Lorenzo will have proven references alongside him. Alongside the technical aspect, the real difficulty of these championships is that of recovering the financial resources to be able to have a multi-year vision and plan our future. We realized the need to get help from professionals: for this reason we have established a two-year relationship with Maurizio Distefano Advisory, who will take care of finding new sponsorships for this Club. We will have the advantage of playing immediately in a renovated PalaOltrePo', an aspect that it will help us in the search for new resources to link to a club that has been able to build a positive image not only for the positive results obtained, but also for the work carried out off the pitch."
Maurizio Distefano: “My work and that of my team of collaborators will be aimed at valorising both those who have always supported the team in recent years, and at territorially broadening the scope of the supporters of this company to give economic tranquility to have operational tranquility . We aim to increase the base of supporters of this project and to use the communication platform represented by PalaOltrePo' in an even stronger way.”
The conclusion was for Marco Picchi: “In closing I would like to share some big news: tomorrow we will open the pre-emption season ticket campaign for those who subscribe to the 2016/17 card. On this occasion, on the initiative of the fans themselves, the Lions Club will be born. A few weeks ago we were contacted by a group of fans who asked to participate more actively in the world of Derthona Basket; in the season ticket campaign that will start tomorrow we have designed a package that will allow them to live the experience as fans truly in the front row. This is a gesture that particularly touched us. The idea with which we will move this year is to increase the intensity of the bond with those who believe in us and increase the number of our supporters."
