After the decision to fire head coach Gianmarco Pozzecco, Tony Parker heavily criticized the Italian head coach, saying that he had given up on the team. But this is not the first time that the former San Antonio Spurs legend put all the blame on the coach and shied away from his responsibilities as president and majority shareholder of ASVEL.

Credit: IMAGO/PanoramiC - Scanpix
Credit IMAGO/PanoramiC - Scanpix

If one constant has characterized LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne since its return to the EuroLeague, it has been mediocrity. There is no other way to describe the French club's recent years in Europe's top competition.

The team owned by Tony Parker has returned to the spotlight in recent weeks after the decision to fire Gianmarco Pozzecco, who had replaced Tony's brother, T.J. Parker.

The Italian coach was in charge for just over two months, and during his time, he won three games in the EuroLeague, two more than T.J. Parker had won in all of 2023.

Of course, those three wins came against Zalgiris Kaunas and ALBA Berlin. Not exactly the two strongest teams in the competition.

But it is also true that during Pozzecco's stint, ASVEL lost by three or fewer points to teams like Virtus Bologna, Real Madrid, Maccabi Tel Aviv, and Bayern Munich, proving that it could play against even higher-level teams. However, it was not enough for Pozzecco to keep his job.

For weeks now, Tony Parker had been losing confidence in the Italian coach, questioning his ability to be the right man for the team.

The most debatable point about Pozzecco's firing is probably

Orazio Cauchi
Orazio Cauchi
Staff Writer
Orazio Cauchi started his career in basketball at 21, having worked for several years at Sportando as the lead writer of the website. He also covered several live events, including the Euroleague Final Four, Italian Cups, Serie A league finals, and EuroBasket. He also contributed to American media, such as LibertyBallers and Def Pen Hoops. Cauchi joined BasketNews in 2021 as a Staff Writer. Holds a degree in Politics & International Relations.
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