Biggest Eurobasket Success
EuroBasket Women 1995 was the pinnacle in the career of the late Riccardo Sales, coach of the Italian National Team who was nicknamed the “Baron”.  The Italian team overcame a very difficult qualifying round, beating Lithuania, Yugoslavia, Russia, France, Germany and the Czech Republic, finding in every game some young new stars to compliment captain Catarina Pollini.  Italy literally flew into the semi-finals where they crushed Slovakia in front of a sold out arena, getting a superb game from the duo of Nicoletta Caselin and Valentina Gardellin. The Italian media took notice as TV picked up the games so fans in Italy could see their team in action. In the final against the Ukraine Pollini, scored 27 points but Italy succumbed physically in the second part of the game and fell 77-66. Still the silver medal was a significant achievement.

		Gianni Lambruschi will lead Italy at EuroBasket Women 2007.

Biggest Eurobasket Disaster
In the years 1997 and 1999 Italy didn’t manage to finish above 11th place in EuroBasket Women’s final round.  Pollini, Fullin and the players who built the earlier successes put the Azzura shirt into their closet or were limited due to physical issues which cost their team dearly. Those are the worst finishes at EuroBasket Women for the Italian team and that began a "dark era" which led to changes in the technical staff Aldo Corno. Gianni Lambruschi then replaced Sales as head coach. Italy did not even make it to the final round in 2001, 2003 and 2005, the result of bad losses to the likes of the Czech Republic, France and Lithuania in qualifying.

Best individual Performance/Best Player of All-Time
Catarina Pollini was the first Italian women’s player to make her way to America and play in the WNBA.  A modern power forward with agility, energy, ability to run the court and a range of offensive skills, she built the success of Venezia, Cesena and Como, winning the Italian and European Championships almost every year, amassing seven international titles. Pollini is the Italian National Team’s all-time leading scorer, with 3903 points in 252 games, a 15.4 points average. Born in the 1966 in Vicenza, she grew up in the shadow of Wanda Sandon, another mythical figure of Italian basketball. Pollini began playing at a very young age in Zolu Vicenza, and showed from the very start skills never seen before in an Italian player of her size. Pollini was the first Italian to cross the ocean and play at an American college (University of Texas) and then in the WNBA, where she suited up with the Houston Comets and won a title.  In Spain, she began her career as a coach. The “Tzarina” Pollini, her nickname, was voted the best European player four times (1983, 1984, 1986 and 1987).

Scouting report
Fastbreaks and great spacing are important for an Italian team that is finally able to play with a true center in Dubravka Dacic, who represents the focal point of the Italian basketball philosophy heading into EuroBasket Women 2007. A balance of roles and a strict hierarchy led the Italian coach to precise choices, some of which went against conventional wisdom. But the intent is to take to Chieti a group that is willing to sacrifice in order to win. Much will depend on the physical durability of Mariangela Cirone, the only real point guard and the one who sets the pace for the team. Intriguing is the introduction of a zone press that Italy will use to increase the pace on defense and to utilize smaller line-ups without the use of a real center. Gianni Lambruschi has to bet on that, because it’s under the basket that Italy can suffer once again.  Behind Dacic, there are hopes for a good performance from Kathrin Ress, fresh from her NCAA experience at Boston College (16.3 ppg and 8.2 rpg). Macchi can play some minutes at power forward, but without a doubt a big part of the Italian chances lies on the shoulders of the young Dacic, who turned 22 in May 2007.

Likely Squad
The Italian National Team has been rejuvenated, with high hopes put on the 1979-1981 generation. Laura Macchi and Raffaella Masciadri return to the National Team. They form a very harmonious duo that already has experienced success at Pool Comense. Macchi, had a great season, averaging almost 19 points per game for Ribera. Masciadri, playing for Schio, suffered through a tough season for her team, but her reliability on the court is undisputed.  The big question mark is the health of Simona Ballardini. Her knee injury could cost Italy a fundamental figure at the top of her physical and technical maturity. Dubravka Dacic has also had injury issues and was out of the Italian Championships in March and April. Parma had to do without her 2.01 meters and over 10 rebounds per game average, a fundamental asset for Team Italy as well. Because of the questionable condition of Ballardini, there could be more room for Francesca Zara, a talented guard who gained experience with Spartak Moscow Region this year, but saw very little action (4.1 ppg in 16 minutes per game in the EuroLeague Women). She and Sara Giauro are the only ones left from Italy’s last EuroBasket Women experience in 1999.  A starting five with good offensive balance and a bench ready to sacrifice for the team embodies the spirit of an Italian National Team that is starved for wins and respect in Europe.

Prediction
Italy’s dream is to be on the podium. The preliminary round will be extremely difficult, with traditional powerhouses like France and Russia and an up-and-coming team like Greece in their group. Much will be determined by the 25th of September game against the Greeks. This result could be the difference between a prestigious tournament and an early exit and would mean no chance for them to reach their minimum objective of making it to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Last 10 events
Year Event Place Achievement
2006 World Championship Sao Paolo Did not qualify
2005 EuroBasket Ankara Did not qualify
2004 Olympics Athens Did not qualify
2003 EuroBasket Patras Did not qualify
2002 World Championship Nanjing Did not qualify
2001 EuroBasket Le Mans Did not qualify
2000 Olympics Sydney Did not qualify
1999 EuroBasket Katowice 11TH
1998 World Championship Berlin Did not qualify
1997 EuroBasket Budapest 11TH

How did they qualify?
Italy is qualified as the host team