What is happening with Fortitudo Bologna?
Fortitudo Bologna is one of the important brands in European basketball with a huge fan base. And of course, their expectations are high. The club came back in the first league after years and last season they occupied a playoff spot when Coronavirus interrupted basketball activities.
This season, the expectations were even higher, while hiring Italian National team coach Meo Sachetti and participating in the Champions League. But the things didn’t work so well. Fortitudo lost already the majority of the games, being last in rankings in Legabasket. The pressure is in the air and there are voices claiming changes if the results don’t come urgently. I am not a fan of coach Sachetti, but at the same time, I am not against him. The situation is not his fault. Who could do more with the roster decimated by injuries and coronavirus?
The injury of Ethan Happ was crucial for the last games, then Fletcher had covid, Fantinelli out as well with injury, Aradori playing 70% recovered, Mancinelli as well out (the last game against Treviso). This is bad luck, it could happen to any team, there is nobody’s fault. Who could win games without half of the roster, when the bench is composed by young inexperienced guys? They were there to help and learn, not to score 50 points per game!
I think the results will come after Happ will be back. The new big man Marco Cusin can come from the bench for a couple of minutes, helping in the paint as well. Signing Wesley Saunders was also a necessary move, but he needs time to accommodate with his new team. The process cannot be finished in 3 days. It takes time to build chemistry. It is actually only the beginning of the league, there are many games in front and Fortitudo still can reach playoffs without a doubt.
The good news for Fortitudo Bologna is that they won’t have games next week because both Pinar Karsiyaka and Reggio Emilia have many covid cases. So they have time to recover the injured guys and to prepare the next games. I strongly believe that in 3 weeks the value of the team will be very high.
Image: Basketball Champions League
Gratian Cormos is a life coach, book writer and mentor living in the city of Barcelona, Spain.
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