Franco Casalini (1 January 1952 – 28 July 2022) was an Italian

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach. He was mainly known from his successful passage through the legendary team of

Olimpia Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

in the late 1980s.

Career

Casalini, after practicing as a basketball player, he passes to coach, in 1971, in the ranks of the ''Social Osa'', the historic Milan team which refers to the oratory of the ''Salesians'' of Milan. In 1972, after obtaining excellent results with the students team, winning the tournament City of Sesto, he is called by

Simmenthal The Simmental (; ) is an alpine valley in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland. It expands from Lenk to Boltigen, in a more or less south-north direction ( Obersimmental), and from there to the valley exit at Wimmis near Spiez it takes a west-east ...

to work with the youth department of the club. Casalini begins so a period of 18 years that will continuously be part of Olimpia Milano. As a youth coach he will lead Olimpia to win four league titles, including Cadet and Junior. Having joined Pippo Faina, and after spending nine years to serve as assistant to

Dan Peterson Daniel Lowell Peterson (born January 9, 1936) is an American former professional basketball head coach. He resigned from his most recent position as the head coach of Olimpia Milano in the Italian LBA after the team was eliminated in the semi- ...

, first in cohabitation with William Roggiani and later as a single voice, he began as a coach just with the Milanese team in 1987–88, winning immediately two international titles, the FIBA Club World Cup in September 1987 and the

FIBA European Champions Cup The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

in April 1988 to obtain the repeat for Tracer. In the 1988–89 season he led Philips in the winning of the Italian League although in the European competitions his team was excluded in the semifinals by Wiwa Vismara Cantù. After this promising beginning, Casalini is no longer able to give continuity to his team. The following season the team went out in the final four of the Champions Cup and the second round of the italian league playoffs, against

Viola Reggio Calabria Viola Reggio Calabria is an Italian professional basketball club based in Reggio Calabria, Calabria. At its heyday the club was renowned for discovering talented players who would go on to play at the highest level, for example five former player ...

. Olimpia replaces him then, the following season with

Mike D'Antoni Michael Andrew D'Antoni (born May 8, 1951) is an American-Italian professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as a coaching advisor for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). While h ...

. In 1991–92 he switches to Filanto Forli, but he goes after only eleven days. Then he takes over

Virtus Roma Virtus Roma 1960, commonly known as Virtus Roma, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Rome, Lazio. The club, named Pallacanestro Virtus Roma competed in the first division of Italian basketball, the LBA, for decades until 2020, whe ...

from Paolo Di Fonzo: out of the playoffs in 1992–93, despite having reached the 1993 FIBA Korać Cup final (lost just against D'Antoni's Philips Milano) he is replaced by Nevio Ciaralli in 1993–94. In 1994 he started his career as a commentator in collaboration with Tele +. In 1996 he became scout for Teamsystem Bologna, task that the next season will play in Milan. His last Italian experience as a coach is the conclusion of the 1997–98 season to Stefanel Milano: after having taken over from Franco Marcelletti, reached the FIBA EuroCup final, by losing it (against Žalgiris), and still went out of the first round of the playoffs. Casalini has also coached SAV Vacallo, in the Swiss league. In 1999, he won the Swiss Cup after a heated final against FV Lugano Virginio Bernardi, and repeating the success in the same event the following year. Simultaneously it brings Vacallo in the final, but both times was defeated. In 2003, he was a commentator for Sky Sports. In 2011, he became director of site content for Euroleague.tv.

Career achievements and awards

: 1 (with

: 1987–88) * Italian League: 1 (with

: 1988–89) *

Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup competition that has been organised annually since 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association. The Swiss Cup final is usually the most important game of the year with a high attendance. The co ...

: 2 (with SAV Vacallo: 1998–99, 1999–00)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casalini, Franco 1952 births 2022 deaths Italian basketball coaches EuroLeague–winning coaches Olimpia Milano coaches Pallacanestro Virtus Roma coaches Sportspeople from Milan

Career

Career achievements and awards

See also

References