Pallacanestro Varese

Pallacanestro Varese, also called by its current sponsor's name, the Openjobmetis Varese, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Varese, Lombardy. Founded in 1945, the team plays in the Italian first division LBA.
For past club sponsorship names, see sponsorship names.
History
Basketball was introduced in Varese in 1945, with the creation of the historical club, Pallacanestro Varese. The first sponsors were introduced 8 years later in 1954, including Storm and Ignis, followed by Emerson, Turisanda, Cagiva, Star, Ciaocrem, Divarese, Ranger, Metis, Whirlpool, and the most recent, Cimberio. Varese is also famous due to the lack of its having a main sponsor in the mid-1990s (something unusual in the Italian basketball league), and the choice of its franchise name, the Varese Roosters.
Since their creation, Pallancanestro Varese has won 10 Italian first-tier level LBA titles, in the years 1961, 1964, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, and their last Italian League title, won 21 years after the previous title, in 1999. With 10 titles, Pallacanestro Varese is the third most winning team ever in the Italian League, after Olimpia Milano and Virtus Bologna.
As it is shown by its roll of honors, Varese was extremely competitive in the 1970s, when the club played in the European-wide first-tier level FIBA European Champions Cup (now called EuroLeague), and played in ten finals in a row, winning 5 of them, in the years 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, and 1976. Between 1970 and 1975, the club was named Ignis Varese. What was the club's golden age had begun some years before, as Varese conquered the FIBA Intercontinental Cup in 1966, and repeated the same title 4 and 7 years later, in the middle of the club's greatest decade in 1970 and 1973. Varese accomplished the great feat of winning the Triple Crown, winning all the trophies available in 1973, with the legendary Professor Aca Nikolić as the team's head coach. Varese also won two championships of the European-wide first-tier level FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup, in 1967 and 1980, and four Italian Cups, in 1969, 1970, 1971, and 1973.
Varese's great age ended in the early nineties, when the team dropped down to the Italian second division. Soon, the club took its revenge, coming up once again to the Italian top-tier level league, and after 5 years time became the real team to watch in the Italian League's playoffs, as it succeeded in winning its historical 10th Italian League title in 1999, with Carlo Recalcati (who later coached the Italian national team), leading the way as the club's head coach. Varese has never repeated that triumph so far, but that success is still remembered to this day. Varese has been trying to return to the top of the Italian League and European-wide competitions in the years since.
Players
Current roster
Depth chart
Season by season
Honours
Total titles: 25
Domestic competitions
Italian League
Winners (10): 1960–61, 1963–64, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1998–99
Runners-up (10): 1948–49, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1989–90
Italian Cup
Winners (4): 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1972–73
Runners-up (5): 1971–72, 1984–85, 1987–88, 1998–99, 2012–13
Italian Supercup
Winners (1): 1999
Runners-up (1): 2013
European competitions
EuroLeague
Winners (5): 1969–70, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1975–76
Runners-up (5): 1970–71, 1973–74, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79
Semifinalists (1): 1964–65
FIBA Saporta Cup (defunct)
Winners (2): 1966–67, 1979–80
Semifinalists (2): 1967–68, 1980–81
FIBA Korać Cup (defunct)
Runners-up (1): 1984–85
Semifinalists (1): 1985–86
FIBA Europe Cup
Runners-up (1): 2015–16
Worldwide competitions
FIBA Intercontinental Cup
Winners (3): 1966, 1970, 1973
Runners-up (4): 1967, 1974, 1976, 1977
3rd place (1): 1979
4th place (1): 1978
McDonald's Championship
4th place (1): 1999
Individual club awards
Triple Crown
Winners (2): 1969–70, 1972–73
International record
Notable players
Ivan Bisson
Paolo Conti
Marcelo Damiao
Fabrizio Della Fiori
Giacomo Galanda
Andrea Meneghin
Dino Meneghin
Aldo Ossola
Gianmarco Pozzecco
Stefano Rusconi
Romeo Sacchetti
Paolo Vittori
Marino Zanatta
Anthony Bowie
Frank Brickowski
Bill Campion
Geno Carlisle
Tim Bassett
Toney Douglas
Derek Hamilton
Delonte Holland
Frank Johnson
Jalen Jones
Anthony Gennari
Kevin Magee
Stan McKenzie
Billy Keys
Rusty LaRue
Pat Cummings
Bill Edwards
Wes Matthews
Jerry McCullough
Larry Micheaux
Miles Simon
Corny Thompson
Eddie Lee Wilkins
Leon Wood
Charlie Yelverton
Reggie Theus
Tyrone Nesby
Charles Pittman
Bob Morse
DeJuan Collins
Daniel Farabello
Gabriel Fernández
Luis Scola
Arijan Komazec
Mate Skelin
Veljko Mršić
Boris Gorenc
Sani Bečirović
Aleksandar Ćapin
Alain Digbeu
Kristjan Kangur
Janar Talts
Siim-Sander Vene
Daniel Santiago
Richard Petruška
Pavel Podkolzin
Manuel Raga
Nikola Lončar
Fedon Matheou
D. J. Mbenga
Head coaches
Vittorio Tracuzzi (1948–54)
Valerio Giobbi (1954–55)
Yogi Bough (1955–56)
Enrico Garbosi (1956–62)
Vittorio Tracuzzi (1954–55 & 1966–68)
Nico Messina (1968–69 & 1977–78)
Aleksandar Nikolić (1969–73)
Sandro Gamba (1973–77)
Edoardo Rusconi (1978–80, 1993–97 & 2003–04)
Joe Isaac (1986–89 & 1992–93)
Carlo Recalcati (1997–99 & 2010–12)
Valerio Bianchini (1999 & 2007–08)
Gianfranco Lombardi (2000–01)
Grégor Beugnot (2001–03)
Ruben Magnano (2004–07)
Veljko Mršić (2007–08)
Stefano Pillastrini (2008–10)
Francesco Vitucci (2012–13)
Fabrizio Frates (2013–14)
Stefano Bizzozi (2014)
Gianmarco Pozzecco (2014–15)
Attilio Caja (2015 & 2016–20)
Paolo Moretti (2015–16)
Massimo Bulleri (2020–21)
Adriano Vertemati (2021–22)
Johan Roijakkers (2022)
Alberto Seravalli (2022)
Matt Brase (2022-present)
Sponsorship names
Through the years, due to sponsorship deals, it has been also known as:
Storm (1954–56)
Ignis (1956–75)
Mobilgirgi (1975–78)
Emerson (1978–80)
Turisanda (1980–81)
Cagiva (1981–83)
Star (1983–84)
Ciao Crem (1984–85)
Divarese (1985–89)
Ranger (1989–92)
Cagiva (1992–97)
No name sponsorship (1997–99)
Varese Roosters (1999–01)
Metis (2001–04)
Casti Group (2004–05)
Whirlpool (2005–07)
Cimberio (2007–2014)
OpenjobMetis (2014–present)
Shirt sponsors and manufacturers
Colors and badge
References
External links
Official Website
Eurobasket.com Team Page
Varese Fans Basket
1946 establishments in Italy
Varese
Varese
EuroLeague-winning clubs
Sport in Varese