| Pallacanestro Varese | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Leagues | LBA | ||
| Founded | 1945; 79 years ago (1945) | ||
| History | Pallacanestro Varese (1946–present) | ||
| Arena | Palasport Lino Oldrini | ||
| Capacity | 5,107 | ||
| Location | Varese, Italy | ||
| Team colors | White, Red | ||
| CEO | Luis Scola | ||
| President | Antonio Bulgheroni | ||
| Head coach | Tom Bialaszewski | ||
| Ownership | Luis Scola, Varese nel cuore s.c. a r.l., Il Basket Siamo Noi | ||
| Championships | 10 Italian Leagues 4 Italian Cups 1 Italian Supercup 3 Intercontinental Cups 5 EuroLeagues 2 Saporta Cups | ||
| Website | pallacanestrovarese.it | ||
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Pallacanestro Varese, also called by its current sponsor's name, the Openjobmetis Varese, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Varese, Lombardy. Founded in 1945, the team plays in the Italian first division LBA.
For past club sponsorship names, see sponsorship names.
Basketball was introduced in Varese in 1945, with the creation of the historical club, Pallacanestro Varese. The first sponsors were introduced 8 years later in 1954, including Storm and Ignis, followed by Emerson, Turisanda, Cagiva, Star, Ciaocrem, Divarese, Ranger, Metis, Whirlpool, and the most recent, Cimberio. Varese is also famous due to the lack of its having a main sponsor in the mid-1990s (something unusual in the Italian basketball league), and the choice of its franchise name, the Varese Roosters.
Since their creation, Pallancanestro Varese has won 10 Italian first-tier level LBA titles, in the years 1961, 1964, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, and their last Italian League title, won 21 years after the previous title, in 1999. With 10 titles, Pallacanestro Varese is the third most winning team ever in the Italian League, after Olimpia Milano and Virtus Bologna.
As it is shown by its roll of honors, Varese was extremely competitive in the 1970s, when the club played in the European-wide first-tier level FIBA European Champions Cup (now called EuroLeague), and played in ten finals in a row, winning 5 of them, in the years 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, and 1976. Between 1970 and 1975, the club was named Ignis Varese. What was the club's golden age had begun some years before, as Varese conquered the FIBA Intercontinental Cupin1966, and repeated the same title 4 and 7 years later, in the middle of the club's greatest decade in 1970 and 1973. Varese accomplished the great feat of winning the Triple Crown, winning all the trophies available in 1973, with the legendary Professor Aca Nikolić as the team's head coach. Varese also won two championships of the European-wide first-tier level FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup, in 1967 and 1980, and four Italian Cups, in 1969, 1970, 1971, and 1973.
Varese's great age ended in the early nineties, when the team dropped down to the Italian second division. Soon, the club took its revenge, coming up once again to the Italian top-tier level league, and after 5 years time became the real team to watch in the Italian League's playoffs, as it succeeded in winning its historical 10th Italian League title in 1999, with Carlo Recalcati (who later coached the Italian national team), leading the way as the club's head coach. Varese has never repeated that triumph so far, but that success is still remembered to this day. Varese has been trying to return to the top of the Italian League and European-wide competitions in the years since.
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
| Openjobmetis Varese roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Updated: June 28, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | |||||
| PF | |||||
| SF | |||||
| SG | |||||
| PG |
(colours: Italian or homegrown players; foreign players; young players)
| Season | Tier | League | Pos. | Italian Cup | European competitions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–05 | 1 | Serie A | 14th | |||
| 2005–06 | 1 | Serie A | 10th | |||
| 2006–07 | 1 | Serie A | 7th | |||
| 2007–08 | 1 | Serie A | 18th | |||
| 2008–09 | 2 | Serie A2 | 1st | |||
| 2009–10 | 1 | Serie A | 11th | |||
| 2010–11 | 1 | Serie A | 8th | |||
| 2011–12 | 1 | Serie A | 8th | |||
| 2012–13 | 1 | Serie A | 3rd | |||
| 2013–14 | 1 | Serie A | 10th | 1 Euroleague |
QR1
| |
| 2 Eurocup |
RS
| |||||
| 2014–15 | 1 | Serie A | 11th | |||
| 2015–16 | 1 | LBA | 9th | 3 FIBA Europe Cup |
RU
| |
| 2016–17 | 1 | LBA | 12th | 3 Champions League |
RS
| |
| 2017–18 | 1 | LBA | 6th | |||
| 2018–19 | 1 | LBA | 9th | |||
| 2019–20 | 1 | LBA | 10th | |||
| 2020–21 | 1 | LBA | 14th | |||
| 2021–22 | 1 | LBA | 12th | |||
Total titles: 25
| Season | Achievement | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| EuroLeague | |||
| 1964–65 | Semi-finals | eliminated by CSKA Moscow, 57–58 (L) in Varese and 67–69 (L) in Moscow | |
| 1969–70 | Champions | defeated CSKA Moscow, 79–74 in the final of European Champions Cup in Sarajevo | |
| 1970–71 | Final | lost to CSKA Moscow, 53–67 in the final (Antwerp) | |
| 1971–72 | Champions | defeated Jugoplastika, 70–69 in the final of European Champions Cup in Tel Aviv | |
| 1972–73 | Champions | defeated CSKA Moscow, 71–66 in the final of European Champions Cup in Liège | |
| 1973–74 | Final | lost to Real Madrid, 82–84 in the final (Nantes) | |
| 1974–75 | Champions | defeated Real Madrid, 79–66 in the final of European Champions Cup in Antwerp | |
| 1975–76 | Champions | defeated Real Madrid, 81–74 in the final of European Champions Cup in Geneva | |
| 1976–77 | Final | lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv, 77–78 in the final (Belgrade) | |
| 1977–78 | Final | lost to Real Madrid, 67–75 in the final (Munich) | |
| 1978–79 | Final | lost to Bosna, 93–96 in the final (Grenoble) | |
| FIBA Saporta Cup | |||
| 1966–67 | Champions | defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv, 77–67 (W) in Varese and 67–68 (L) in Tel Aviv in the double final of European Cup Winners' Cup | |
| 1967–68 | Semi-finals | eliminated by AEK, 78–60 (W) in Varese and 52–72 (L) in Athens | |
| 1979–80 | Champions | defeated Gabetti Cantù, 90–88 in the final of European Cup Winners' CupinMilan | |
| 1980–81 | Semi-finals | eliminated by Squibb Cantù, 84–94 (L) in Varese and 65–78 (L) in Cantù | |
| FIBA Korać Cup | |||
| 1984–85 | Final | lost to Simac Milano, 78–91 in the final (Brussels) | |
| 1985–86 | Semi-finals | eliminated by Mobilgirgi Caserta, 84–71 (W) in Varese and 75–91 (L) in Caserta | |
| 1995–96 | Quarter-finals | eliminated by Stefanel Milano, 72–81 (L) in Varese and 89–90 (L) in Milan | |
| EuroCup | |||
| 2002–03 | Quarter-finals | eliminated by Adecco Estudiantes, 59–77 (L) in Madrid and 88–101 (L) in Varese | |
| 2003–04 | Quarter-finals | eliminated by Real Madrid, 67–68 (L) in Madrid and 57–62 (L) in Varese | |
| FIBA Europe Cup | |||
| 2015–16 | Final | lost to Fraport Skyliners, 62–66 in the final (Chalon-sur-Saône) | |
| Intercontinental Cup | |||
| 1966 | Champions | defeated Corinthians 66-59 in the final of Intercontinental CupinMadrid | |
| 1967 | Final | lost to Akron Goodyear Wingfoots, 72–78 in the final (Rome) | |
| 1970 | Champions | Intercontinental Cup Champions with a 4-0 record in a league tournament in Varese | |
| 1973 | Champions | Intercontinental Cup Champions with a 3–1 record in a league tournament in São Paulo | |
| 1974 | Runners-up | Runners-up with a 4–1 record in a league tournament in Mexico City | |
| 1975 | 5th place | 5th place with a 2–3 record in a league tournament in Varese | |
| 1976 | Runners-up | Runners-up with a 4–1 record in a league tournament in Buenos Aires | |
| 1977 | Runners-up | Runners-up with a 3–2 record in a league tournament in Madrid | |
| 1978 | 4th place | 4th place with a 1–3 record in a league tournament in Buenos Aires | |
| 1979 | 3rd place | 3rd place with a 2–2 record in a league tournament in São Paulo | |
| McDonald's Championship | |||
| 1999 | 4th place | 4th place in Milan, lost to San Antonio Spurs 86–96 in the semi-final, lost to Žalgiris 78–97 in the 3rd place game | |
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
| Criteria |
|---|
|
To appear in this section a player must have either:
|
Paolo Conti Marcelo Damiao Fabrizio Della Fiori Giacomo Galanda Andrea Meneghin Dino Meneghin Aldo Ossola Gianmarco Pozzecco Stefano Rusconi Romeo Sacchetti Paolo Vittori Marino Zanatta
Anthony Bowie Frank Brickowski Bill Campion Geno Carlisle Tim Bassett Toney Douglas Derek Hamilton Delonte Holland Frank Johnson Jalen Jones Anthony Gennari Kevin Magee Stan McKenzie Billy Keys Rusty LaRue Pat Cummings Bill Edwards Wes Matthews Jerry McCullough Larry Micheaux Miles Simon Corny Thompson Eddie Lee Wilkins Leon Wood Charlie Yelverton Reggie Theus Tyrone Nesby Charles Pittman Bob Morse DeJuan Collins
Daniel Farabello Gabriel Fernández Luis Scola
Arijan Komazec Mate Skelin Veljko Mršić
Boris Gorenc Sani Bečirović Aleksandar Ćapin
Alain Digbeu
Kristjan Kangur Janar Talts Siim-Sander Vene
Daniel Santiago
Richard Petruška
Pavel Podkolzin
Manuel Raga
Nikola Lončar
Fedon Matheou
D. J. Mbenga Vittorio Tracuzzi (1948–54) Valerio Giobbi (1954–55) Yogi Bough (1955–56) Enrico Garbosi (1956–62) Vittorio Tracuzzi (1954–55 & 1966–68) Nico Messina (1968–69 & 1977–78)
Aleksandar Nikolić (1969–73) Sandro Gamba (1973–77) Edoardo Rusconi (1978–80, 1993–97 & 2003–04) Joe Isaac (1986–89 & 1992–93) Carlo Recalcati (1997–99 & 2010–12) Valerio Bianchini (1999 & 2007–08) Gianfranco Lombardi (2000–01) Grégor Beugnot (2001–03) Ruben Magnano (2004–07) Veljko Mršić (2007–08) Stefano Pillastrini (2008–10) Francesco Vitucci (2012–13) Fabrizio Frates (2013–14) Stefano Bizzozi (2014) Gianmarco Pozzecco (2014–15) Attilio Caja (2015 & 2016–20) Paolo Moretti (2015–16) Massimo Bulleri (2020–21) Adriano Vertemati (2021–22)
Johan Roijakkers (2022) Alberto Seravalli (2022) Matt Brase (2022–2023) Tom Bialaszewski (2023–present)Through the years, due to sponsorship deals, it has been also known as:[1]
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| Period | Kit manufacturer |
|---|---|
| 1997–1999 | Kappa |
| 1999–2001 | Reebok |
| 2002–2003 | (unspecified) |
| 2003–2006 | Macron[2] |
| 2006-2008 | Nike |
| 2008–2010 | Aries |
| 2010–2014 | Macron[2] |
| 2014–2015 | Adidas |
| 2015–2018 | Spalding |
| 2018–present | Macron[2] |
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Openjobmetis Varese current roster
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