Ettore Messina reveals season goals and his biggest coaching weakness / News - Basketnews.com

Ettore Messina praised Gianmarco Pozzecco in Trento Sports Festival. He also said that going to the EuroLeague Final Four is the current goal of the season. His biggest coaching weakness, according to the coach himself - inability to deal with losses.

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After coming back from the NBA in 2019, Ettore Messina will begin his fourth season as the head coach of EA7 Emporio Armani Milan.

Last year, the Italian club suffered from injuries mightily and was subsequently eliminated in the EuroLeague Playoffs by the eventual champions Anadolu Efes Istanbul.

The legendary specialist visited the Trento Sports Festival yesterday where he talked about the upcoming season in the EuroLeague.

"This year, I have a deeper team but the EuroLeague is a really tough competition. The dream is that of the Final Four. In the meantime, it would be important to hit the playoffs," the coach shared the team's goals for the international season.

Further on, Messina talked about his coaching style and even revealed his biggest weakness as a basketball coach.

"I suffer from defeats too much and I make these emotions fall on my players. Before every game, I have a terrible fear of losing. Even if the game has been prepared for very well, there is always the imponderable around the corner," Messina told. "But then when I see the very strong players who are by my side, I sometimes get reassured."

The European basketball legend has coached the Italian national team several times throughout his long career, most recently from 2015 until 2017. Watching EuroBasket 2022 made the coach sure that the future of Italian basketball is bright.

"Even if we didn't win, our national team was still a winner because they gave their all and continued growing," Messina told. "We often abuse the concept of winning a lot in Italy. The winners are the teams and the players that have the ability to play at their best even if it's not enough to win sometimes."

Head coach Gianmarco Pozzecco became the star of the tournament due to his emotional coaching style and special relations with his players on and off the court.

"It's not created with the desire to eat pizza together," Messina said about team chemistry, complimenting his colleague.

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