Olimpia Milano

Olimpia Milano is a basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are red and white. Olimpia was founded in 1936 by Milan businessman Adolfo Bogoncelli.

Related Topics:
Basketball - Milan, Italy - 1936

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The team is sometimes referred as "Scarpette Rosse" (Red Shoes) because team officials imported from the United States (red) Converse All-Star shoes for players. The tag line stuck, and the nickname still is used by many fans today.

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Their sponsorship has kept the team name changing frequently, as from 1936 until 1955, Borletti sponsored the club. Sponsorship changed to Simmenthal until 1973, when Innocenti became the title sponsor, and Cinzano in 1976, with Billy in 1980, but since the 1980's, sponsorship has kept the Olimpia Milano team's name frequently changing.

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Foreign players began playing in 1957, and the team kept winning the LEGA Basket Serie A championship of Italian basketball, with players from the 1960's include Nane Vianello, Sandro Riminucci, Pieri, and Bill Bradley, and dominated the Cup Winners' Cup, which is now the Euroleague.

Related Topics:
LEGA Basket - Bill Bradley

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In the 60's and the 70's three teams were fighting across Europe for supremacy: Olimpia Milano, Ignis Varese, and Real Madrid; Varese and Milano were arch-rivals, as the two cities are 25 miles (40 km) apart. While Milano was a frequent Italian champion, they were unable to win the prestigious Cup Winners' Cup.

Related Topics:
60's - 70's - Real Madrid

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Late in the 1970's, however, the quality of play declined, and Milano was relegated to LEGA Basket Serie B (second division), but still won a Cup Winner's Cup. American head coach Dan Peterson and a new sponsor led the team back to prominence and a return to Serie A, and the team was sold in 1980 to Gabetti family. They promptly signed top Italian superstar Dino Meneghin, and more players joined the team afterwards -- Mike D'Antoni, John Gianelli, Roberto Premier, the Boselli twins, Renzo Bariviera, Ferracini and Gallinari. Bob McAdoo, Joe Bryant, Joe Barry Carroll, Russ Schoene, Antoine Carr, Mike Brown followed.

Related Topics:
1980 - Dino Meneghin - Mike D'Antoni - Bob McAdoo - Joe Bryant - Antoine Carr

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During the 1980's, they made nine LEGA championships, winning five, wih the 1987 team winning LEGA Serie A, the European Championship, the Italian Cup and the Intercontinental Cup.

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Led by point guard Sasha Djordjevic, the team won another Korac CUp in 1993.

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Bepi Stefanel purchased the team in 1994, and the team signed notable European players Dejan Bodiroga, Gregor Fucka, Sandro De Pol, Nando Gentile. In 1996, the team won the Italian Cup and its 25th Italian National Chanpionship, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the club.

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Team management has been inconsistent as ownership groups changed from 1998 until 2004 -- they have included Warren Kidd, Hugo Sconochini, Claudio Coldebella and Petar Naumoski.

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The current ownership, who bought the club in 2004, includes Adriano Galliani (President of Italian soccer club A.C. Milan), Massimo Moratti, the vice president of rival Internazionale), stylist Giorgio Armani, among others.

Related Topics:
A.C. Milan - Massimo Moratti - Internazionale - Giorgio Armani

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