Sergio Scariolo (born 1 April 1961) is an Italian 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 ...

coach who is head coach of Virtus Bologna of the Italian

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier ...

(LBA) and the head coach of the senior Spain national team. Having won four

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 ...

championships and a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

at the head of Spain, Scariolo is one of the most successful coaches in the history of international competitions, and according to many players, journalists and commentators, he is regarded as the greatest national team coach of all time.

Coaching career

Early years

Sergio Scariolo started his

coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

career in the early 1980s, as the assistant coach of

Basket Brescia Pallacanestro Brescia S.p.A., known for sponsorship reasons as Germani Brescia, is an Italian professional basketball team based in Brescia, Lombardy. Founded in 2009, the team plays in the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) since the 2016–17 season a ...

, the team of his hometown, and Scavolini Pesaro. In 1985, he became the coach of Italy's military national team, with whom he won the world championship. As assistant coach of

Valerio Bianchini Valerio Bianchini (born July 22, 1943) is an Italian professional basketball coach. He was the first coach in the history of Italian basketball who won three championship titles with three clubs (Cantù, Virtus Roma and Victoria Libertas Pesaro) ...

in Pesaro, Scariolo won its first Italian Serie A championship in 1988.

First successes in Italy (1989–1997)

In 1989, Bianchini became the new coach of

Virtus Roma Pallacanestro Virtus Roma, commonly known as Virtus Roma, was an Italian professional basketball club based in Rome, Lazio. It competed in the first division of Italian basketball, the LBA, for the last time in the 2020–21 season. It was form ...

and Scariolo was hired as new head coach of

Pesaro Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche ...

. In the 1989–90 season, Scariolo's Scavolini was able of winning another Italian league title, defeating

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 s ...

3–1 in the national finals. At age of 29, Scariolo became the youngest coach ever to win the trophy. In the same season, the team also reached the

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 ...

Final, which lost against

Joventut Badalona Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain, playing in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. Known to their fans as ''La Penya'' (in English, ''The Club''), it is one of only two teams ...

. In 1990–91 season, the club arrived 7th in the regular season and was ousted in the national quarterfinals by Phonola Caserta. However, Pesaro succeeded in reaching the European Champions Cup Final Four, but it was defeated 93–84 in the semi-finals by

KK Split Košarkaški klub Split ( en, Split Basketball Club), commonly referred to as KK Split or simply Split, is a men's professional basketball club based in Split, Croatia. The club competes in the ABA League and the Croatian League. History The ...

, which then won the trophy. In the following year, he unexpectedly moved to Aurora Desio, of the Italian 2nd Division. After two seasons in which he failed to reach the promotion, he left the club. In 1993, Scariolo was hired by Fortitudo Bologna, a team which was becoming more and more ambitious under the new ownership of the entrepreneur Giorgio Seragnoli. In 1994, he was awarded as Coach of the Year of the Italian Serie A. In 1994–95 season, Fortitudo arrived second in the regular season but it was defeated in the national semi-finals by Benetton Treviso, while in 1995–96, Scariolo's team succeeded in reaching the national finals, the first ones in the history of the club, but Fortitudo was defeated 3–1 by Olimpia Milano.

Triumphs in Spain (1997–2008)

In 1997, he moved to Spain, a nation which deeply marked his entire career. With Scariolo as head coach, TAU Vitoria reached its first Spanish Championship final in 1998 and won a Spanish King's Cup title in 1999. In 1999, Scariolo was hired by

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, one of the most important clubs of the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, ...

. In the first season, he immediately led Real to win the Spanish national league title, defeating 3–2, Real's historic rival

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

; the team also reached the EuroLeague's quarterfinals, which lost against Fortitudo Bologna. However, in the following season, Real was defeated 3–0 by Barcelona in the national finals, while in 2001–02, it was ousted in the quarterfinals by

CB Estudiantes Club Baloncesto Estudiantes, S.A.D., known simply as Estu and as Movistar Estudiantes for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball team based in the city of Madrid, Spain. It is a member of the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto (ACB). Founded in 19 ...

and Scariolo was sacked. From 2003 to 2008, Sergio Scariolo was the head coach of the Spanish club

Unicaja Málaga Unicaja is a Spanish savings bank based in Málaga and chartered as a caja de ahorros providing retail banking services. The banks full name is ''Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Ronda, Cádiz, Almería, Málaga y Antequera'' after the n ...

, which, under his tenure and thanks to the leadership of

Jorge Garbajosa Jorge Garbajosa Chaparro (born December 19, 1977), also known as The Pornoplayer, is a Spanish former professional basketball player and the current president of the Spanish Basketball Federation. Standing at 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in), he p ...

, lived its so-called "golden age". In 2005, Málaga won the Spanish King's Cup title against Real Madrid and in the next year, during the 2005–06 season, it won its first-ever Spanish League championship, defeating TAU Vitoria 3–0 in the national finals. The club finished its best years to date, by qualifying for the 2007 Euroleague Final Four, where it was defeated in the semi-finals by

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet era, it was a central piece of the big So ...

, and thus finished in third place in the EuroLeague. In October 2007, Unicaja faced the NBA's

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

, and they defeated the Grizzlies, by a score of 102–99. That was one of the few times that an NBA team has lost to a foreign club.

Difficult years in Moscow, Milan and Vitoria (2008–2014)

From 2008 to 2010, Scariolo served as the head coach of the Russian club

BC Khimki BC Khimki (russian: БК Химки) is a Russian professional basketball team that is based in Khimki, Moscow Oblast. The club's senior men's first team participates in the Russian Basketball Super League 1. The club's full official name is BC ...

Moscow. In both seasons he arrived second, losing the national finals against

. In 2009, Scariolo's Khimki was also defeated 80–74 in the EuroCup Final against Lietuvos Rytas. On 20 December 2010, Scariolo and the club mutually agreed to rescind the contract. In 2011, Scariolo returned to Italy, becoming the new head coach of Olimpia Milano. In 2011–12 EuroLeague, Milan reached the Top16, but did not pass the round. Scariolo's team reached the national finals, but it was defeated 4–1 by Monte Paschi Siena. In the following season, Olimpia failed in reaching EuroLeague's Top16 and was once again defeated 4–3 by Siena in the playoffs' quarterfinals and Scariolo resigned from his post. In June 2013, Scariolo became the head coach of

Laboral Kutxa Laboral Kutxa is a Basque credit union that provides banking, savings and investment services. It was created in March 2012 as a result of the merger of two smaller credit unions. The Caja Laboral Popular Sociedad Cooperativa de Crédito (known ...

, a club which he had already coached during the late 1990s. However, after poor results both in national and European competitions, he was fired at the end of the 2013–14 season.

NBA champion with the Toronto Raptors (2018–2021)

In July 2018, he was hired by the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

as an assistant coach, aiding them to win their first NBA championship. Scariolo became the first Italian coach and the second Italian ever, after the shooting guard Marco Belinelli, to become an NBA champion. On 26 February 2021, Scariolo served as interim head coach of the Raptors for a game against the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

after head coach

Nick Nurse Nicholas David Nurse (born July 24, 1967) is an American professional basketball coach, author and former college basketball player. He is the head coach of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Canadian men's ...

and five assistants missed the game due to the NBA's health and safety protocols; Toronto won the game 122–111. Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry collected the game ball after the game and presented it to Scariolo as a memento.

At the head of Virtus Bologna (2021–present)

On 18 June 2021, Scariolo signed a three-year deal with Virtus Bologna, of the Italian

(LBA). On 21 September, the team won the second

Supercup A super cup is a competition, usually but not exclusively in association football, which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competitions during the pre ...

in its history, defeating Olimpia Milano 90–84. Moreover, after having ousted Lietkabelis,

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

and

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

in the first three rounds of the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

, on 11 May 2022, Virtus defeated Frutti Extra Bursaspor by 80–67 at the Segafredo Arena, winning its first EuroCup and qualifying for the EuroLeague after 14 years. However, despite having ended the regular season at the first place and having ousted 3–0 both

and

Tortona Tortona (; pms, Torton-a , ; lat, Dhertona) is a '' comune'' of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines. Histor ...

in the first two rounds of playoffs, Virtus was defeated 4–2 in the national finals by Olimpia Milan. On 29 September 2022, after having ousted Olimpia Milano in the semifinals, Virtus won its third Supercup, defeating 72–69

Banco di Sardegna Sassari Polisportiva Dinamo, commonly known as Dinamo Sassari and currently known as Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Sassari, Sardinia. They are the current European Cu ...

and achieving a back-to-back, following the 2021 trophy.

National team career

(Sergio Scariolo) La selección española de baloncesto prepara en Madrid el mundial de China 06

Scariolo served two times as head coach of the Spanish national team: from 2009 to 2012 and from 2015 to present. Under Scariolo, Spain won the gold medal at the EuroBasket 2009,

EuroBasket 2011 EuroBasket 2011 was the 37th men's European Basketball Championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Lithuania. This was the second time EuroBasket had been held in Lithuania, the country having also hosted the 1939 ch ...

, the

EuroBasket 2015 EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Croatia, France, Germany, and Latvia, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country. It started on 5 ...

and the EuroBasket 2022, and the bronze medal at

EuroBasket 2017 EuroBasket 2017 was the 40th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe and held between 31 August and 17 September 2017. Beginning from 2017, the continental championships take place every four years with a similar ...

. He also won the silver medal at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

and the bronze medal at the

2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

. He also coached Spain at the

2010 FIBA World Championship The 2010 FIBA World Championship was the 16th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship contested by the men's national teams. The tournament ran from 28 August to 12 September 2010. It was co-organised by the Inte ...

. In 2019, Scariolo led Spain to victory in the

FIBA Basketball World Cup The FIBA Basketball World Cup, also known as the FIBA World Cup of Basketball or simply the FIBA World Cup, between 1950 and 2010 known as the FIBA World Championship, is an international basketball competition contested by the senior men's nat ...

. In October 2020, Scariolo announced that he will remain as head coach of the team through the

2024 Summer Olympics ) , nations = TBA , athletes = 10,500 ''(quota limit)'' , events = 329 in 32 sports (48 disciplines) , opening = 26 July 2024 , closing = 11 August 2024 , opened_by = , stadium = Stade de France Jardins du Trocadéro and River Seine , summe ...

Personal life

Scariolo is married to Blanca Ares, a former Spanish basketball player. The couple has two children: Alessandro, who also plays basketball, and Carlota. Sergio Scariolo appeared in the Netflix film '' Hustle'', produced by

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest p ...

and

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1995, before going on to star in numerous Hollywood films, those of wh ...

, who was the co-star along with

Juancho Hernangómez Juan Alberto "Juancho" Hernangómez Geuer (born September 28, 1995) is a Spanish professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously played for Estudiantes of the Liga ACB, and h ...

, which was released on 8 June 2022. In the movie, Scariolo portrayed himself as the head coach of Spanish national team.The complete list of the 64 NBA stars, legends, coaches and more in Adam Sandler's Hustle
''FTW''

Coaching record

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Semi-finals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

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Teamsystem Bologna Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna 103, commonly known as Fortitudo Bologna and currently known as Fortitudo Kiğılı Bologna for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball club based in Bologna, Italy and currently plays in the second division. Hist ...

, align="left" , 1996–97 , 31, , 22, , 9, , , , align="center" , Lost in

Quarter-finals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

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Tau Cerámica Club Deportivo Saski-Baskonia, S.A.D., commonly known as Saski Baskonia (), also known as Cazoo Baskonia for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the ...

, align="left" , 1996–97 , 10, , 5, , 5, , , , align="center" , Eliminated at

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, align="left" , 1999–00 , 28, , 15, , 13, , , , align="center" , Eliminated at Top 16 Stage , - , align="left" , 2000–01 , 15, , 10, , 5, , , , align="center" , Lost in

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, - , align="left" , 2005–06 , 20, , 15, , 5, , , , align="center" , Eliminated at Top 16 Stage , - , align="left" , 2006–07 , 25, , 14, , 11, , , , align="center" , Lost in

, - , align="left" , 2007–08 , 20, , 13, , 7, , , , align="center" , Eliminated at Top 16 Stage , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , 2009–10 , 16, , 10, , 6, , , , align="center" , Eliminated at Top 16 Stage , - , align="left" rowspan=2, EA7 Milano , align="left" , 2011–12 , 16, , 7, , 9, , , , align="center" , Eliminated at Top 16 Stage , - , align="left" , 2012–13 , 10, , 3, , 7, , , , align="center" , Eliminated at

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, align="left" , 2013–14 , 24, , 11, , 13, , , , align="center" , Eliminated at Top 16 Stage , - , -class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan=2, Career, , 281, , 157, , 124, , , ,

References

External links

Sergio Scariolo
at acb.com
Sergio Scariolo
at euroleague.net
Sergio Scariolo
at legabasket.it {{DEFAULTSORT:Scariolo, Sergio 1961 births Living people Baloncesto Málaga coaches BC Khimki coaches Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna coaches Italian basketball coaches Italian expatriate basketball people in Canada Italian expatriate basketball people in Russia Italian expatriate basketball people in Spain Liga ACB head coaches Olimpia Milano coaches Olympic coaches Real Madrid basketball coaches Saski Baskonia coaches Sportspeople from Brescia Toronto Raptors assistant coaches Victoria Libertas Pesaro coaches Spanish Olympic coaches

Coaching career

Early years

First successes in Italy (1989–1997)

Triumphs in Spain (1997–2008)

Difficult years in Moscow, Milan and Vitoria (2008–2014)

NBA champion with the Toronto Raptors (2018–2021)

At the head of Virtus Bologna (2021–present)

National team career

Personal life

Coaching record

See also

References

External links