Pierluigi "Pierlo" Marzorati (born 12 September 1952) is an Italian former professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player. He is considered to have been one of the best
point guard
The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...
s of all time in Europe, and was named the
Mister Europa
The Mister Europa European Player of the Year Award was an annual basketball award created in 1976, and given until 2010, by the panel of journalists of the Italian weekly magazine '' Superbasket''. Its purpose was to praise the best basketball p ...
, in 1976. He was named one of
FIBA's 50 Greatest Players
FIBA's 50 Greatest Players (1991) is the list of the 50 greatest players in the history of FIBA international basketball, as selected in the year 1991, by FIBA Magazine. The list was created in honor of the 100th anniversary of the creation of the ...
in 1991. In 2007, he was inducted into the
Italian Basketball Hall of Fame
The Italian Basketball Hall of Fame ( it, Italia Basket Hall of Fame, IBHOF) is a hall of fame that honours individuals (or whole teams) that have contributed to the spread and improvement of Italian basketball, through their sporting contributio ...
and enshrined into the
FIBA Hall of Fame
The FIBA Hall of Fame, or FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honors players, coaches, teams, referees, and administrators who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA, in 1991. It includes the " Samar ...
.
HALL OF FAMERS Pierluigi Marzorati (Italy).
/ref> In 2008, he was chosen as one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors.
Club playing career
Marzorati was one of the key players of the Cantù
Cantù (; Brianzöö: ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Como, located at the center of the Brianza zone in Lombardy. It is the second largest city in Brianza.
History
The name could stem from that of the Canturigi, a population of I ...
team (in which he played from 1969 to 1991), winning 2 Italian League
The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the Tr ...
championships (in 1975 and 1981), 2 FIBA European Champions' Cup (EuroLeague) titles (1982 and 1983), 4 FIBA Cup Winners' Cups (1977, 1978, 1979 and 1981), 4 FIBA Korać Cup
The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the third-tier level club competition in European basketball, after the FIBA European Champions' Cup (later renamed th ...
s (1973, 1974, 1975 and 1991) and 2 FIBA Intercontinental Cup
The FIBA Intercontinental Cup, also commonly referred to as the FIBA World Cup for Champion Clubs, or the FIBA Club World Cup, is a professional basketball clubs competition that is endorsed by FIBA and the NBA. Historically, its purpose has be ...
s (1975 and 1982).
In July 2006, Marzorati decided to come back at age 54, to top class competitions with Cantù
Cantù (; Brianzöö: ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Como, located at the center of the Brianza zone in Lombardy. It is the second largest city in Brianza.
History
The name could stem from that of the Canturigi, a population of I ...
, for the 70th anniversary of the team. On 6 October 2006 he finally appeared in an official game for Cantù, playing two minutes in an Italian League
The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the Tr ...
game, against the Italian national league champions Benetton Treviso. Cantù won 70-69. This way, he became the first (and only) basketball player in history to have played official games in five different decades, as well as the oldest professional basketball player to have ever taken part in an official game.
National team career
Marzorati played in 278 games for the Italian national basketball team
The Italy men's national basketball team ( it, Nazionale di pallacanestro dell'Italia) represents Italy in international basketball tournaments. They are administered by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP).
Italy has qualified for 38 EuroBa ...
, scoring 2,209 points. He won the silver medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...
in Moscow, the gold medal at the EuroBasket 1983
The 1983 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1983, was the 23rd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It took place from 26 May to 4 June 1983 in France. Italy defeated Spain in the final ...
, plus three bronze medals at the 1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
Ja ...
, 1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
, and 1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
EuroBasket
EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...
s.
Post-playing career
Marzorati played his whole career with Cantù
Cantù (; Brianzöö: ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Como, located at the center of the Brianza zone in Lombardy. It is the second largest city in Brianza.
History
The name could stem from that of the Canturigi, a population of I ...
. He also became a vice-president for the club, and served in that capacity until 1996.
References
External links
*
FIBA Hall of Fame page on Marzorati
Euroleague.net 50 greatest contributors
Italian League Profile
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marzorati, Pierluigi
1952 births
Living people
Basketball players at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Basketball players at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Basketball players at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics
FIBA EuroBasket-winning players
FIBA Hall of Fame inductees
Italian men's basketball players
1978 FIBA World Championship players
Lega Basket Serie A players
Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Olympic basketball players of Italy
Olympic medalists in basketball
Olympic silver medalists for Italy
Pallacanestro Cantù players
Sportspeople from the Province of Como
Point guards
1986 FIBA World Championship players