Scariolo on the brink at Milano

Sergio Scariolo, the coach of Olimpia Milano (Italy, Serie A and Euroleague) is under increasing pressure as the team fell to two consecutive defeats. The home losses to Vanoli Cremona and Sutor Montegranaro have put Scariolo on the brink of losing his job, with former Milano coach and player Sasha Djordjevic tipped to take over the hot seat.

In fact the fans are welcoming a change and during the loss to Sutor they protested against Scariolo and urged him to step down as head coach. However, the former coach of the Spanish national team has stood firm and said he will not resign his position on the bench despite the fans protestations.

As it happens the decision could well be taken out of Scariolo’s hands as it is widely thought that he has to win his next game to stay in his job. That game will come against Dinamo Sassari in Serie A on Saturday, and although Milano president Livio Proli has said he will not fire Scariolo it seems his hand will be forced by a third consecutive loss.

If Scariolo does depart then there will be no shortage of suitors for his position. Sasha Djordjevic, the former Milano player and assistant coach is widely tipped to replace Scariolo and in fact has been linked with the position on other occasions.

In an attempt to jolt the Milano players into action the team has taken the decision to withhold salaries temporarily while the team goes through trying times on the court. These held payments will be issued as they are not fines, but for the time being the players are going unpaid in an attempt to stoke the fire and regain form.