Olimpia Milano completed its first-team coaching staff with the addition of Emilio Kovacic from Bayern Munich. Kovacic will join Peppe Poeta and Alberto Seravalli on Ettore Messina’s coaching staff that includes Beppe Mangone as player development coach, Stefano Bertoli as video coordinator and Mattia Bonetti as video analyst.

Born on January 11, 1968, in Zadar, Croatia, a member of the Yugoslavian national team that won the gold medal at the 1985 European Championships for Cadets, Emilio Kovacic moved to the U.S. in 1987 to play first at Grand Canyon University, then at Arizona State, and finally at Biola, California, until 1992. Upon returning to Croatia, he played for Zadar, Cibona Zagreb, Zrinjevac, and then back to Zadar. In 1999, he moved to Olimpia Ljubljana, Slovenia, and in 2001—for two seasons—he played in Italy for Fortitudo Bologna, ending his career once again with Zadar. As a player, he also won a European bronze medal with Croatian National Team in 1993. After embarking on a coaching career, he spent six seasons with the Phoenix Suns as an international scout and from 2019 to 2025 was at Bayern Munich as a player development coach, scout, and assistant coach.

Olimpia Coaching Staff 2025/26