Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna

Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna is an Italian League professional basketball club, based in Bologna. Virtus is one of the most important and titled basketball teams in Europe.



Contents
[hide]  *1 History  ==History[ edit] == Virtus was founded in 1871 as a gymnastics club, and fielded its first professional basketball team in the 1920s. The club has won 15 national league titles in Italy's top division and 8 Italian Cups. It has also been a frequent participant in theEuroleague, the basketball equivalent to football's Champions League. Virtus' best season, as measured by trophies won, was 2000-01, when it won the Italian League, Italian Cup, and Euroleague titles all in the same season, giving the club the coveted Triple Crown championship for the year (though the latter came against the field that did not include all of Europe's national champions as some of them competed in FIBA Suproleague that year). They also won the Euroleague in 1998, led by club hero and icon Predrag Danilović.
 * 2 Sponsorship names
 * 3 Titles
 * 3.1 Domestic competitions
 * 3.2 European competitions
 * 3.3 Worldwide competitions
 * 4 International record
 * 5 Players
 * 5.1 Retired numbers
 * 5.2 Current roster
 * 6 Notable players
 * 7 Coaches
 * 8 References
 * 9 External links

Several key members of Virtus' treble-winners left immediately after that accomplishment. After the 2001-02 season, Manu Ginóbili, the Final Four MVP of Euroleague 2000-01, left for the NBA, as did Marko Jarić. At the end of the 2002-03 season, Virtus suffered relegation from Italy's top division as a result of financial problems.

The local derby between Virtus and Fortitudo is one of the most intense in the entire world of sports. Sports Illustrated writer Alexander Wolff devoted a chapter of his 2002 basketball book, Big Game, Small World (ISBN 0-446-52601-0), to this rivalry.

Virtus' home stadium is Unipol Arena (previously known as Palamalaguti).

In 2009, Virtus Bologna returned to European and club success by winning the EuroChallenge, defeating Cholet Basket in the final. MVP of the final-four was Keith Langford. ==Sponsorship names[ edit] == Through the years, due to sponsorship deals, it has been also known as:[1]

==Titles<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Total titles: 28 ===Domestic competitions<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ===European competitions<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ===Worldwide competitions<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;"> ==International record<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;"> ==Players<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ===Retired numbers<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ===Current roster<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:inherit;">Note: Flags indicate national team, as has been defined by FIBA. Players may hold more than one nationality.
 * No name sponsorship (1945–53)
 * Minganti (1953–58)
 * Oransoda (1958–60)
 * Idrolitina (1960–61)
 * No name sponsorship (1961–62)
 * Knorr (1962–65)
 * Candy (1965–69)
 * No name sponsorship (1969–70)
 * Norda (1970–74)
 * Sinudyne (1974–80)
 * Granarolo (1983–86)
 * Dietor (1986–88)
 * Knorr (1988–93)
 * Buckler (1993–96)
 * Kinder (1996-02)
 * No name sponsorship (2002–03)
 * Carisbo Virtus (2003–04)
 * Caffè Maxim (2004–05)
 * VidiVici (2005–07)
 * La Fortezza (Serie A), VidiVici (EuroLeague) (2007–08)
 * La Fortezza (Serie A), Virtus BolognaFiere (EuroChallenge) (2008–09)
 * Canadian Solar (2009–12)
 * SAIE3 (2012-2013)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[2]
 * Oknoplast (2013)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[3]
 * Granarolo (2013-)
 * Italian Championship
 * Winners (15): 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1955, 1956, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2001
 * Italian Cup
 * Winners (8): 1974, 1984, 1989, 1990, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002
 * Italian Supercup
 * Winners (1): 1995
 * Euroleague
 * Winners (2): 1998, 2001
 * Runners-up (3): 1981, 1999, 2002
 * Saporta Cup
 * Winners (1): 1990
 * Runners-up (2): 1978, 2000
 * EuroChallenge
 * Winners (1): 2009
 * Triple Crown (unofficial)
 * Winners (1): 2001
 * McDonald's Championship
 * Runners-up (2): 1993, 1995
 * 04  Roberto Brunamonti (PG, 1982–96)
 * 05  Predrag Danilović (G, 1992–95, 1997–2000)
 * 10  Renato Villalta (C, 1976–89)

==Notable players<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==Coaches<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == (incl. 4 games from the '68-'69 season) (18 games) (incl. 4 games from the '71-'72 season) (incl. 18 games from the '71-'72 season) (23 games) (18 games from the '80-'81 season) (11 games from the '82-'83 season) (24 games) (incl. 23 games from the '96-'97 season) (11 games from the '96-'97 season) (replaced for two games in '01-'02 by  Giordano Consolini) (14 games from the '02-'03 season) (20 games)
 * Tom McMillen 1 season: '74-'75
 * Marco Bonamico 9 seasons: '75-'76, '77-'78, '80-'86, '88-'89
 * Carlo Caglieris 6 seasons: '75-'81
 * Pietro Generali 6 seasons: '75-'76, '78-'83
 * Gianni Bertolotti 5 seasons: '75-'80
 * Terry Driscoll 3 seasons: '75-'78
 * Eric Luc Leclerc 1 season: '75-'76
 * Luigi Serafini 2 seasons: '75-'77
 * Renato Villalta 13 seasons: '76-'89
 * - Krešimir Ćosić 2 seasons: '78-'80
 * Jim McMillian 2 seasons: '79-'81
 * Elvis Rolle 4 seasons: '81-'85
 * Jan van Breda Kolff 2 seasons: '83-'85
 * Augusto Binelli 18 seasons: '80-'81, '83-'00
 * Roberto Brunamonti 13 seasons: '83-'96
 * Joe Meriweather 1 season: '85-'86
 * Greg Stokes 2 seasons: '86-'88
 * - Mike Sylvester 3 seasons: '87-'90
 * Floyd Allen 1 season: '87-'88
 * Micheal Ray Richardson 3 seasons: '88-'91
 * Clemon Johnson 3 seasons: '88-'91
 * Lauro Bon 3 seasons: '89-'92
 * Claudio Coldebella 7 seasons: '89-'96
 * Riccardo Morandotti 7 seasons: '91-Dec '96, Jul-Nov '97
 * Bill Wennington 2 seasons: '91-'93
 * Jurij Zdovc 1 season: '91-'92
 * Flavio Carera 6 seasons: '92-'97, '01-'02
 * Paolo Moretti 4 seasons: '92-'96
 * Giampiero Savio 1 season: '93-'94
 * Russ Schoene 1 season: '93-'94
 * Alessandro Abbio 8 seasons: '94-'02
 * Joe Binion 1 season: '94-'95
 * Arijan Komazec 2 seasons: '95-'97
 * Orlando Woolridge 1 season: '95-'96
 * Zoran Savić 2 seasons: '96-'98
 * Predrag Danilović 6 seasons: '92-'95, '97-'00
 * Walter Magnifico 1 season: '96-'97
 * - Branislav Prelević 1 season: '96-'97
 * Kostas Patavoukas 1 season: '96-'97
 * Antoine Rigaudeau 6 seasons: '97-'03
 * Alessandro Frosini 6 seasons: '97-'03
 * - Hugo Sconochini 4 seasons: '97-'01
 * - Radoslav Nesterovic 2 seasons: '97-'99
 * John Amaechi 1 season: '97-'98
 * Žarko Paspalj 1 seasons: '98-'99
 * - David Andersen 4 seasons: '99-'03
 * Saulius Štombergas 1 season: '99-'00
 * Nikos Ekonomou 1 season: '99-'00
 * Nikola Jestratijević 1 season: '00-'01
 * Matjaž Smodiš 3 seasons: '00-'03
 * - Emanuel Ginóbili 2 seasons: '00-'02
 * - Guilherme Giovannoni 3 seasons: '06-'09
 * Marko Jarić 2 seasons: '00-'02
 * Rashard Griffith 2 seasons: '00-'02
 * Erick Dial 1 season: '02-'03
 * Charlie Bell 1 season: '02-'03
 * - German Scarone 1 season: '02-'03
 * Dejan Koturović 1 season: '02-'03
 * Mladen Šekularac 1 season: '02-'03
 * Ruslan Avleev 1 season: '02-'03
 * Samuele Podestà 2 seasons: '03-'05
 * Anthony Williams 1 season: '03-'04
 * Vonteego Cummings 1 season: '03-'04
 * A. J. Guyton 1 season: '04-'05
 * Bennett Davison 1 season: '04-'05
 * Corey Brewer 1 season: '04-'05
 * Christian Drejer 2 seasons: '05-'07
 * Kris Lang 2 seasons: '05-'07
 * Dušan Vukčević 2 seasons: '05-'07
 * - David Blu 1 season: '05-'06
 * Marko Milič 1 season: '05-'06
 * Carl English 1 season: '05-'06
 * Travis Best 2 seasons: '06-'08
 * - Vlado Ilievski 1 season: '06-'07
 * Andreas Glyniadakis 1 season: '06-'07
 * Earl Boykins 1 season: '08-'09
 * Keith Langford 1 season: '08-'09
 * Deividas Gailius 2 seasons: '10-'12
 * Renzo Poluzzi - 1948-50
 * Dino Fontana - 1950-51
 * Venzo Vannini - 1951-52
 * Larry Strong - 1952-53
 * Giancarlo Marinelli - 1953-54
 * Larry Strong - 1954-55
 * Vittorio Tracuzzi - 1955-60
 * Eduard Kucharski - 1960-63
 * Mario Alesini - 1963-66
 * Jaroslav Sip - 1966-68
 * Renzo Ranuzzi - 1968-69
 * Nello Paratore - 1969-70
 * Vittorio Tracuzzi - 1970-71
 * Nico Messina - 1971-73
 * Dan Peterson - 1973-78
 * Terry Driscoll - 1978-80
 * Ettore Zuccheri - 1980-81
 * Renzo Ranuzzi - 1981
 * Aleksandar Nikolić - 1981-82
 * George Bisacca - 1982
 * Mauro Di Vincenzo - 1982-83
 * Alberto Bucci - 1983-85
 * Alessandro Gamba - 1985-87
 * Krešimir Ćosić - 1987-88
 * Bob Hill - 1988-89
 * Ettore Messina - 1989-93
 * Alberto Bucci - 1993-97
 * Lino Frattin - 1997
 * Ettore Messina - 1997-02
 * Bogdan Tanjević - 2002
 * Valerio Bianchini - 2002-03
 * Giampiero Ticchi - 2003
 * Alberto Bucci - 2003-04
 * Giordano Consolini - 2004-05
 * Zare Markovski - 2005-07
 * Stefano Pillastrini - 2007
 * Renato Pasquali - 2008
 * Matteo Boniciolli - 2008-09
 * Lino Lardo - 2009–11
 * Alessandro Finelli - 2011-2013
 * Luca Bechi - 2013–present