Armani Milano coach Ettore Messina
Messina is not only the coach of Milan, he is also the president of the club.
More precisely, his job description is: President of all basketball activities of the club.
The only man above him is the owner Giorgio Armani.
If anyone thinks that Maccabi Tel Aviv is in crisis, let them look at Milan.
The rich and invested club that aims exclusively for the Final Four is in last place in the Euroleague with a streak of eight losses.
The gathering of stars of the great Messina recently shows the ability of a team that is unable to win, when in addition the streak of losses includes some embarrassing ones, for example in five of them Milan did not pass the 62 points barrier.
The Italian is threatening to break the club's record of consecutive losses from the 2016/2017 season, which stands at 10. The point is that back then the team was not on the scale of the budget and the quality of the players as it is today.
That is why this time it is Milan's biggest crisis in years.
Davis from Milan against Basconi.
The depth is not enough, photo: IPA
The biggest crisis
This is also the biggest crisis of the coach - a Euroleague legend who won the factory four times.
This is a bigger chamber than he experienced when he was coach of Real Madrid and was fired in 2011.
It was the only time in his career that he did not finish a season.
Can it happen this season too?
A few weeks ago, after the home defeat to Anadolu Efes, in which Milan scored 51 points, it seemed that it was on its way.
Messina has given a thick hint that this is a possibility.
It didn't happen, but if the crisis continues, even the status and title of president may not be enough.
In the meantime, he survives in a situation that probably no coach would have survived.
If no change comes and yet it happens, it will probably be his sole decision.
Mitro-Long from Milan against Panathinaikos.
Helplessness, photo: IPA
A question of security
We should go ahead and say that Milan is the most injured team in the Euroleague.
She has been missing her main executor, Shavon Shields, for some time.
It lost for a few weeks at least the starting point guard Kevin Pangos.
Gigi Datuma is also absent due to injury.
Bill Barron and Stefano Tonot have already returned from injuries.
With all the shortcomings - the group's performances are unacceptable.
It still has enough quality and depth in the squad not to look that way.
From a professional point of view, it conspicuously lacks blocking ability in the paint and the quality of passing in the team dropped significantly with the departure of Sergio Rodríguez in the summer.
But above all, the story of Milan is the low confidence of the players, and this is the main claim against Messina.
He is still considered a basketball genius in his homeland, but the main criticism in the media against him is the fact that players look "scared" on the court, much because of the coach's strict attitude and his inability to accept mistakes and accommodate players in crisis.
There are situations where his rigidity and perfectionism work against him.
How insecure this team is could be seen in the loss in the last round in Athens to Panathinaikos.
An 11 advantage at the end of the third quarter was not enough, and in the moments of pressure the players looked helpless.
Another claim is Messina's lack of influence and fixation on the team's offensive.
catch
Ready to meet a wounded lion?, Photo: Danny Maron
It was precisely in this loss that the buds of improvement in the team were seen, especially on the side of the approach.
It is believed that with such an approach and with the return of the injured, the team will return to itself.
The question is whether it will not be too late.
Into all this commotion comes Maccabi Tel Aviv tonight.
On the one hand, there is no better situation to meet the Italian champion who is at a professional low.
On the other hand, this is a team that needs a win and sees the home game as an opportunity to return to the winning ways and will give everything.
It's called an encounter with a wounded lion.
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