Il basket the 'paron' cries Tonino Zorzi: the former coach of the of Reyer Venezia and of a dozen Italian teams, a master for a generation of coaches, died at the age of 88 in his GoriziaHe had been ill for some time and was hospitalized in a protected facility. “A man of great humanity, culture and profound knowledge of sport and people”, the Basketball Federation celebrated him, remembering the many roles he covered.
Zorzi had been a good basketball player: from Goriziana, in 1954 he had landed in Varese where in 1961 he was the captain of the first historic championship. He played two European Championships with the national team. His name in basketball is however linked above all to the many successes obtained on the bench: Gorizia, Padova, Napoli (with the conquest of the Cup Winners' Cup in 1970). And then Venice, the Reyer of the Carraros, Dalipagic and Radovanovic trained for 12 years in four different moments, and led to three promotions to A-1 and to a Korac Cup final.
The coach from Gorizia also obtained promotions with Reggio Calabria and Pavia, but also led Siena, Montecatini, Pesaro, Sassari, Rieti and, lastly, Virtus Bologna and Avellino. He was a role model for Italian coaches and in blue he was Sandro Gamba's assistant at the European Championship in Rome in 1991 where Italy won silver. In 2010 Zorzi was inducted into the Italian Basketball Hall of Fame, in the coaches category.
Article published on 19 August 2023 - 15:25
