THE PROFILE OF COACH PAOLO MORETTI
Jun 24, 2015
In the last six years, Moretti coached Pistoia, i.e. the team with which he gained a promotion to the top series and a historical qualification to the playoffs, to then exit the competition in the first round against the Milan team in game 5. Appointed as best coach of the Italian Serie A in the 2013/14 season, he is considered one of the best coaches in the Italian basketball scenario due to his outstanding technical and human qualities.
Profile:
Paolo Moretti
Born in Arezzo on 30th June 1970
Moretti started his career as a player with Basket Arezzo and then moved to Mens Sana Siena where he immediately proved his great talent. Once he finished his career in the youth sector, he played in Verona for four seasons. With this club, he entered the Serie A (1990/91) and won a historical Italian Basketball Cup, which was the first and only win of an A2 team in that championship. Thanks to his relentless commitment and his remarkable results (17 point and 4.1 rebounds on average), he made it to the National team when he was only 21 years old, participating in 80 games with three gold and two silver medals. In the summer of 1992 he made a big leap and started playing with Virtus Bologna at the time of great Danilovic, Binelli and Brunamonti. He wore the black V jersey for four seasons reaching the top of his career with 3 championships and an Italian Supercup.
However, in a bad turn of fate, during the final series of the 1994/95 championship he was forced to leave the competitions due to a rupture of Achilles tendon. This accident was fatal in that he could no longer play at his usual top level. After a period in Greece where he played with Peristeri, Moretti returned to Italy to play with Fortitudo (1997/98) but, apart from the Italian Basketball Cup and Supercup, he could no longer give a significant contribution to the championship. Also the following season, which he played with the Siena team, was not particularly successful. So, he decided to put himself on the line again with the A2 and signed up with Roseto. With an average of over 20 points, he was one of the protagonists of that championship, but, due to a bad cruciate ligament injury, he had to close the season early even if he obtained the promotion to the A series and was still appointed as the best player in the tournament. When he was ready to start playing with Roseto again (despite an offer from the Varese team that wanted him as the replacement of Wucherer), his bad luck hit again: in 2000, he was diagnosed with leukemia, which forced him to retire when he was only 30 years old.
Fortunately, he healed from that severe disease and in 2001 decided to start a career as a technician. Once again, he started off in Siena where for three years he trained the youth teams of Virtus. In mid season 2003/04, he had his first experience as head coach of Catanzaro (B2), saving the team from relegation. Then, he moved to the B1 league with Stamura Ancona and, despite the economic difficulties of this team, Moretti managed to create a masterpiece, bringing the team to the playoffs. In 2005/06, he was hired by the Livorno team in the Serie A league and, once again, despite a limited budget, the team was saved from relegation, even achieving impressive results against the top teams of the championship. After saving another team, namely Reggio Calabria in Legadue, from relegation, the 2007/08 season in Brindisi was a bitter one due to his termination in January.
Since 2009, Moretti has been coaching Pistoia and with this team he has opened a new cycle: safety from relegation in the first year in LegaDue, playoffs in the second and third years. After a short period with Jarvis “Tornado” Varnado, in the summer of 2011/12 players such as “Gek” Galanda, Bobby Jones and Dwight Hardy played with Pistoia. Winning 18 games out of 28, the ride of Moretti’s team ended only in that series with a promotion against an outstanding Brindisi team. At the end of the 2012/13 season, Pistoia confirmed his contract again, which led him to a great triumph: after 15 years, Pistoia was back in the Serie A league.
While his return to the top league did not start off too well (1 win in 7 games), the team then changed gears. Almost making it to the Final Eight in the Italian Basketball Cup, Moretti pushed his team to the playoffs which they lost against the Milan team in the first round only in game 5. In the last season, under the leadership of Moretti, Pistoia has brought yet another good surprise as, despite the bad forecasts, the team almost reached the playoffs.
Profile:
Paolo Moretti
Born in Arezzo on 30th June 1970
Moretti started his career as a player with Basket Arezzo and then moved to Mens Sana Siena where he immediately proved his great talent. Once he finished his career in the youth sector, he played in Verona for four seasons. With this club, he entered the Serie A (1990/91) and won a historical Italian Basketball Cup, which was the first and only win of an A2 team in that championship. Thanks to his relentless commitment and his remarkable results (17 point and 4.1 rebounds on average), he made it to the National team when he was only 21 years old, participating in 80 games with three gold and two silver medals. In the summer of 1992 he made a big leap and started playing with Virtus Bologna at the time of great Danilovic, Binelli and Brunamonti. He wore the black V jersey for four seasons reaching the top of his career with 3 championships and an Italian Supercup.
However, in a bad turn of fate, during the final series of the 1994/95 championship he was forced to leave the competitions due to a rupture of Achilles tendon. This accident was fatal in that he could no longer play at his usual top level. After a period in Greece where he played with Peristeri, Moretti returned to Italy to play with Fortitudo (1997/98) but, apart from the Italian Basketball Cup and Supercup, he could no longer give a significant contribution to the championship. Also the following season, which he played with the Siena team, was not particularly successful. So, he decided to put himself on the line again with the A2 and signed up with Roseto. With an average of over 20 points, he was one of the protagonists of that championship, but, due to a bad cruciate ligament injury, he had to close the season early even if he obtained the promotion to the A series and was still appointed as the best player in the tournament. When he was ready to start playing with Roseto again (despite an offer from the Varese team that wanted him as the replacement of Wucherer), his bad luck hit again: in 2000, he was diagnosed with leukemia, which forced him to retire when he was only 30 years old.
Fortunately, he healed from that severe disease and in 2001 decided to start a career as a technician. Once again, he started off in Siena where for three years he trained the youth teams of Virtus. In mid season 2003/04, he had his first experience as head coach of Catanzaro (B2), saving the team from relegation. Then, he moved to the B1 league with Stamura Ancona and, despite the economic difficulties of this team, Moretti managed to create a masterpiece, bringing the team to the playoffs. In 2005/06, he was hired by the Livorno team in the Serie A league and, once again, despite a limited budget, the team was saved from relegation, even achieving impressive results against the top teams of the championship. After saving another team, namely Reggio Calabria in Legadue, from relegation, the 2007/08 season in Brindisi was a bitter one due to his termination in January.
Since 2009, Moretti has been coaching Pistoia and with this team he has opened a new cycle: safety from relegation in the first year in LegaDue, playoffs in the second and third years. After a short period with Jarvis “Tornado” Varnado, in the summer of 2011/12 players such as “Gek” Galanda, Bobby Jones and Dwight Hardy played with Pistoia. Winning 18 games out of 28, the ride of Moretti’s team ended only in that series with a promotion against an outstanding Brindisi team. At the end of the 2012/13 season, Pistoia confirmed his contract again, which led him to a great triumph: after 15 years, Pistoia was back in the Serie A league.
While his return to the top league did not start off too well (1 win in 7 games), the team then changed gears. Almost making it to the Final Eight in the Italian Basketball Cup, Moretti pushed his team to the playoffs which they lost against the Milan team in the first round only in game 5. In the last season, under the leadership of Moretti, Pistoia has brought yet another good surprise as, despite the bad forecasts, the team almost reached the playoffs.