On February 2nd, during the half-time of the Italian league game between EA7 Emporio Armani Milano and Openjobmetis Varese, Olimpia will celebrate the induction into the club’s Hall of Fame of Antonio Cappellari, category “Executive”. He was Olimpia Milan’s general manager during the back-to-back Euroleague championships of the 1987 and 1988.
Born in Milan in 1948, from a Treviso’s family, Toni Cappellari was recruited to coach Olimpia youth teams by another Trevigiano, Adolfo Bogoncelli. Eventually, he coached the Armed Forces team and the women’s team of Vicenza. His return to Olimpia took place in 1975 as assistant to Pippo Faina. But the following season, after the departure of Cesare Rubini, he was appointed general manager of the club, a position he held until 1989 and then again towards the final part of his career out of spirit of service first at the end of the Stefanel ownership and then during the Sergio Tacchini’s ownership. From 1976 to 1989, Cappellari managed a club that won the Euroleague championship twice, the Korac Cup once, an Intercontinental Cup and two Italian Cups as well as five league titles over nine finals. In those seasons, Olimpia signed players who built the history of those years: Mike D’Antoni, Antoine Carr, Joe Barry Carroll, Bob McAdoo. And he traded for Dino Meneghin, Roberto Premier, Antonello Riva among others on the market. Following his Milanese experience, Cappellari worked as general manager in Varese and at Fortitudo Bologna.
The Olimpia’s Hall of Fames includes now 44 personalities, so far: owners Adolfo Bogoncelli and Gianmario Gabetti, executive Raffaele Morbelli; coaches such as Cesare Rubini, Dan Peterson, Franco Casalini; Italian players Enrico Pagani, Sergio Stefanini, Romeo Romanutti, Sandro Gamba (aa a coach, too), Gianfranco Pieri, Sandro Riminucci, Paolo Vittori, Gabriele Vianello, Massimo Masini, Giulio Iellini, Pino Brumatti, Vittorio Ferracini, Renzo Bariviera, Franco Boselli, Vittorio Gallinari, Mike D’Antoni, Dino Meneghin, Roberto Premier, Riccardo Pittis, Flavio Portaluppi, Nando Gentile, Mason Rocca, Gigi Datome; foreigners stars as Bill Bradley, Skip Thoren, Arthur Kenney, John Gianelli, Russ Schoene, Joe Barry Carroll, Bob McAdoo, Kenny Barlow, Rolando Blackman, Keith Langford, Kruno Simon, Rakim Sanders, Curtis Jerrells, Sergio Rodriguez. Per team policy a candidate is eligible only after his career is ended.
