After a long silence that had also raised some protests among the fans during the subscription campaign, Virtus Bologna has officially announced six new signings in one go: Clyburn, Grazulis, Morgan, Akele, Diouf, and Visconti. Coach Banchi still has Shengelia, Belinelli, Cordinier, Zizic, Hackett, Pajola, Polonara, and Cacok at his disposal. Among the new arrivals, especially noteworthy is Will Clyburn, the American forward who played for Efes Istanbul in the last two seasons and won a Euroleague in 2019 with Cska Moscow alongside Daniel Hackett. In Bologna, Clyburn also reunites with Shengelia, another teammate from the Russian capital. Latvian Grazulis comes from Trento and is well acquainted with Banchi, who had already coached him in the national team. American point guard Matt Morgan played last season in Eurocup with the London Lions and recently scored 36 points shooting 7/7 from three and 11/11 from the field while wearing the Charlotte jersey in the NBA Summer League game against Portland. Nicola Akele arrives from Brescia, Riccardo Visconti from relegated Pesaro, and former Reggio player Momo Diouf returns to Italy after a year in Spain with Breogàn. The roster still lacks a foreign guard, and it is likely to be Tucker, who had a good season in Venice. Thanking the fans for their patience and trust shown by subscribing to tickets almost sight unseen, in a statement, both the ownership and the confirmed executives Luca Baraldi and Paolo Ronci “wish to highlight to everyone the strength and consistency of Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna with the primary interest of the current ownership to ensure a sporting and corporate future of the highest level, placing first, with a great sense of responsibility, the future economic and financial solidity of the Club.”
Meanwhile, the Israeli consortium led by Ori Allon, former owner of Hapoel Jerusalem, has officially expressed interest in acquiring 55% of the shares from Massimo Zanetti. From via dell’Arcoveggio, they deny the existence of a negotiation, but confirmations do emerge. It even seemed that the deal was nearing completion, but that is not the case, and Carlo Gherardi, owner of CRIF which holds the remaining 45% of the black-and-white club, is reportedly looking for local partners.
Report by Nicola Zanarini, edited by Andrea Neri