Italian Gianmarco Pozzecco was fired from his post as coach of the Villeurbanne basketball club, less than three months after his appointment, Asvel, 3rd in the French championship but last in the Euroleague, announced on Saturday.
He will be replaced by one of his deputies, Pierric Poupet (39 years old). The former professional player, playmaker in ProA in Limoges, Bourg, Orléans, Roanne, Rouen, among others, has been part of the technical management of Asvel since 2021.
His mission as head coach is to “give new impetus to (the) professional team for this second part of the season,” the club explained in a press release.
To assist him, Poupet will be surrounded by the Italian Edoardo Casalone, who arrived as an assistant with Pozzecco, Joseph Gomis and Karim Atamna, in charge of the individual development of the players, Asvel further specified.
The new staff must begin their mission on Tuesday against Red Star Belgrade in the Euroleague.
Aged 51, Pozzecco was hired by Villeurbanne on October 27 with a three-year contract to replace TJ Parker, then dismissed. He was not the first choice, which at the time was the Canadian Gordon Herbert, coach of Germany, current world champion.
The record of the Italian technician, coach of Italy, was very disappointing with three victories for twelve defeats in the Euroleague, seven victories and two defeats in the championship. He also received eight technical fouls in fifteen Euroleague matches.
Asvel is tied for 3rd with Paris in the French championship. The French club, however, is tied for last with Alba Berlin in the Euroleague.
The dismissal of Gianmarco Pozzecco as part of an “amicable termination of contract, with immediate effect”, according to the Rhone club, comes the day after the announcement of the departure at the end of the season of Lyon-Asvel women’s coach David Gautier, club also chaired by Tony Parker.
Since the start of his presidency, after succeeding Gilles Moretton in 2014, Parker has already used seven coaches at Asvel: Pierre Vincent (2011-2014), JD Jackson (December 2014-January 2018), TJ Parker (2018) , Zvezdan Mitrovic (2018-2020), TJ Parker again (2020-October 2023) and Pozzecco before the arrival now of Pierric Poupet.
The latter could only serve as an interim until the end of the season. The names of Frédéric Fauthoux, current coach of JL Bourg, or Vincent Collet, coach of the France team, have been put forward to be hired this summer.
At Lyon-Asvel women’s, taken over by Parker in 2017, three coaches were at the head of the reigning French champion team. Valéry Demory was in office between 2017 and 2021 before Pierre Vincent (2021-2022). The Spaniard Miguel Mendez is tipped to be the future coach from this summer.
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