While he has just thanked Pozzecco, Tony Parker had strong words for the Italian coach to talk about his time on the Asvel bench. “I am very, very disappointed with his performance, with his management of the team.” declared the former leader of the France team. After a nightmarish start to the season, the president of the Villeurbanais club decided to dismiss his brother, TJ Parker, from his position as coach of the first team. By appointing the Italian Gianmarco Pozzecco to this position, the former NBA champion hoped to inflict an electric shock on his players. But the flow did not flow between the two parties and the Italian was also pushed towards the exit.
One of the major problems was the Italian’s playing philosophy which did not rely on the entire Villeurbanne squad. “No club in the Euroleague plays like that. It is unrealistic and simply impossible to play three matches per week with nine players. In addition, he had decided not to have our young people play, I no longer want coaches who do that, it is not our philosophy” added the president of Asvel. “His attitude was more and more negative, he had difficulty remotivating the players and little by little, they were the ones who no longer believed in him. Above all, I think he gave up. As a competitor, it’s something I can’t understand, to give up like that after a month and a half.” concluded Tony Parker. For the end of the season, Pierric Poupet, present on the staff since 2021, will take the reins of the team.