The Italian tactician is loving his time at Zalgirio Arena.
Andrea Trinchieri, Zalgiris: 'These unbelievable fans can push you'
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2 Minute de lecture
When Andrea Trinchieri landed in Lithuania to become the new head coach for Zalgiris Kaunas at the tail end of 2023, he knew he was in for a wild ride.
Zalgiris is a basketball institution, both at a national and continental level, and that in itself brings with it a certain amount of pressure. As if that was not enough, the gruesome schedule the team had ahead was another hurdle he would have to overcome early in his tenure.
"Five road games in 12 days," Trinchieri remembers. "It's like putting your head in a washing machine and have the cotton program."
Since Trinchieri's arrival, Zalgiris has played eight games in the EuroLeague and has managed to win five of them, including the last two against powerhouse clubs like Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens and Anadolu Efes Istanbul. Trinchieri's reputation of being able to turn teams around quickly proved, again, to be true and it's also no coincidence that these last two victories were at Zalgirio Arena.
"You cannot imagine what kind of responsibility it is to have this kind of fan base," Trinchieri admits. "These unbelievable fans can push you. It's insane. Instead of having one block, you are going to have three blocks. Instead of having three offensive rebounds, you will get nine... and change the game."
Trinchieri's career in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague has brought him to coach teams like FC Bayern Munich, Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade and Brose Bamberg. His style, methods and demeanor are one-of-a-kind, but there's no doubt that he functions based on his passion for the game, and his main objective is always to make his team perform at its maximum possible level.
"It's a process. You try, you succeed, then you fail, then you try again," Trinchieri explains. "You just need to know what you are doing and to not lose confidence if something is not working the first time."
Zalgiris is currently 14th in the standings, but if the Trinchieri effect does not stop here, expect the Lithuanian champs to be in the fight for, at least, the play-in positions.