Simone Pianigiani replaces Miro Alilović at the Cedevita Olimpija bench

Italian tactician Simone Pianigiani is the new head coach of the senior team of Cedevita Olimpija. Pianigiani will take over the team the team from Stožice in the 2023/24 season, and the former head coach of the Italian national team signed a three-year contract with the Ljubljana side. On the bench of Cedevita Olimpija, Pianigiani will replace Miro Alilović, who led the Slovenian champions after they have parted ways with Jurica Golemac in March 2023. 

The club from the Stožice Arena will thus enter a new era, as Pianigiani will be the first head coach on the Dragons bench who does not come from the countries of the former Yugoslavia. Together with him, Andrea Turchetto will also come to the bench of the Ljubljana team, and he will work in Ljubljana as an assistant to the head coach. 

In Pianigiani's showcase we can find six Italian National Championship titles, seven Italian Super Cup titles, four Italian National Cup titles, the title of Turkish National Cup champion and the title of Israeli National and Cup champion. During his career he led Montepaschi Siena, Fenerbahce, Hapoel Jerusalem, Olimpia Milano and Beijing Ducks. He also worked for the latter in the period before moving to Ljubljana. 

He remained on the bench of Siena for the longest time, with whom he won the third place in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague in the 2007/08 and 2010/11 seasons. Between 2009 and 2015, Pianigiani was the head coach of the Italian men's national team, with which he participated in the 2011, 2013 and 2015 EuroBaskets. 

"I am pleased to have joined Cedevita Olimpija. I know Ljubljana from the times when I was a visitor here in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague and was present at EuroBasket 2013. The Stožice Arena is beautiful. I met all the members of the organization at Cedevita Olimpija and I am looking forward to working in the upcoming season. The first impressions are exceptional, because there are many people in the club who have been associated with basketball for many years, and I have already heard good things about Cedevita Olimpija. The feelings are very good," said the new head coach of Ljubljana’s squad, upon his arrival in Ljubljana.

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Simone Pianigiani menja Mira Alilovića na klopi Cedevita Olimpije

Člansko moštvo Košarkarskega kluba Cedevita Olimpija ima novega glavnega trenerja. S klopi bo Zmaje vodil italijanski strateg Simone Pianigiani, ki ima izkušnje z vodenjem moštev v elitni Evroligi, nekaj časa pa je bil tudi selektor italijanske članske reprezentance. Pianigiani bo v Ljubljani zamenjal Mira Alilovića, ki je bil trener Zmajev ob koncu tekmovalne sezone 2022/23.

Italijanski strateg Simone Pianigiani je novi glavni trener članske ekipe Cedevite Olimpije. Z vodenjem kolektiva iz Stožic bo Pianigiani začel v tekmovalni sezoni 2023/24, z ljubljanskim klubom pa je nekdanji selektor italijanske članske reprezentance podpisal triletno pogodbo. Na klopi Cedevite Olimpije bo Pianigiani zamenjal Mira Alilovića, ki je slovenske prvake vodil po prekinitvi pogodbe z Jurico Golemcem v marcu 2023. 

Klub iz stoženske velikanke bo tako vstopil v novo obdobje, saj bo Pianigiani prvi glavni trener na klopi Zmajev, ki ne prihaja iz držav nekdanje Jugoslavije. Skupaj z njim bo na klop ljubljanskega kolektiva prišel tudi Andrea Turchetto, ki bo deloval kot pomočnik glavnega trenerja. 

Trofejni italijanski strateg, v vitrini Pianigianija namreč lahko najdemo šest naslovov italijanskega državnega, sedem naslovov italijanskega superpokalnega, štiri naslove italijanskega pokalnega prvaka, naslov turškega pokalnega prvaka ter naslov izraelskega državnega in pokalnega prvaka, je v svoji karieri vodil Montepaschi Sieno, Fenerbahče, Hapoel Jeruzalem, Olimpio Milano ter Beijing Ducks. Pri slednjih je tudi deloval v obdobju pred selitvijo v Ljubljano. 

Najdlje časa se je zadržal na klopi Siene, s katero je v sezonah 2007/08 in 2010/11 tudi osvojil končno tretje mesto v elitni Evroligi. Med letoma 2009 in 2015 je bil Pianigiani selektor italijanske moške članske reprezentance, s katero je nastopil na EuroBasketih 2011, 2013 in 2015.

"Zadovoljen sem, da sem se pridružil Cedeviti Olimpiji. Ljubljano poznam še iz časov, ko sem tu gostoval v Evroligi in bil prisoten na EuroBasketu 2013. Dvorana Stožice je prelepa. Spoznal sem vse člane organizacije v Cedeviti Olimpiji in veselim se dela v prihajajoči sezoni. Prvi vtisi so izjemni, saj je v klubu veliko ljudi, ki so že vrsto let povezani s košarko, in že prej sem o Cedeviti Olimpiji slišal lepe stvari. Občutki so zelo dobri," je pri prihodu v Ljubljano povedal novi glavni strateg ljubljanski Zmajev, Pianigiani.