Dairis Bertans always tries to wear another number. 9. Growing up it has always been his favorite number. It is what he wears when he plays for the Latvian National Team. But 9 is a very popular number especially around Europe, where the use of high numbers was not allow until a few years ago “so when 9’s already taken by another player … I use 45 because the sum of the two figures give just … 9, “explains Bertans.

Number 9 in Olimpia belong now to Mantas Kalnietis: before it belonged for two years to Nicolò Melli, and it was also Antonis Fotsis’ number. It is an important number in the history of Olimpia: Cesare Rubini wore it when he was playing. Then Paolo Vittori, one of the greatest All-Time Italian forwards. Vittori went to Varese at the end of the 1964/65 season: that summer the Italian Federation opened to a foreign player per team and 9 became Skip Thoren’s number. He was the Chicago star who scored 21 points in the Champions’ Cup final. Thoren remained a year in Milan, then 9 was the number wore by Steve Chubin who won the Italian League but not Cup. Then 9 was taken by Renzo Bariviera and after the departure of Bariviera it became Vittorio Ferracini’s number. Ferracini was appointed Olimpia’s Captain while wearing that number. Sandro De Pol wore it during the 1995/96 championship season. After that, Nicolò Melli in 2014 and Mantas Kalnietis in 2016 won the championship while wearing number 9. The 9 belonged also to Andrea Michelori, a product of Olimpia’s youth system, by Massimo Bulleri and finally Marco Mordente.

Bertans will wear the number 45 or 4 + 5 from his point of view, as he had already done last year at Darussafaka. So he will be the first player in the history of the club to play with number 45.