Armani Jeans Milano 2009-10, team profile
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2008-09 RESULTS
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Euroleague
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Regular Season
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5-5
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Top 16
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2-4
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Italian League
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Regular Season
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17-13
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Playoffs
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Finalist
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Armani Jeans Milano was back in the limelight again last season with its best Euroleague results in more than a decade and a spot in the Italian League finals. However that success was no more than a stepping stone as this proud franchise continues to work its way back to the top, a position it knew well in the past. Olimpia Milano was founded in 1936 and immediately won four consecutive domestic titles. That collection would grow over the years to an amazing 25 Italian League titles with four Italian Cup trophies added for good measure. Milano's status in Europe was sealed when Bill Bradley arrived in 1966 and led the team to the Euroleague title in front of its home fans. The team added Saporta Cup titles in 1971, 1972 and 1976 with Art Kenney, Renzo Bariviera, Giorgio Giomo and head coach Cesare Rubini, as well as Korac Cup crowns in 1985 and 1993. Mike D'Antoni, Dino Meneghin and Joe Barry Carroll helped Milano to beat Varese 91-78 in the 1985 Korac Cup final, while Aleksandar Djordjevic, Antonello Riva and Riccardo Pittis pushed Milano past Virtus Roma in the 1993 Korac title series. Its finest moments came when Milano put together a classic team full of talent and experience with players like Meneghin, Bob McAdoo and D'Antoni. They led Olimpia to back-to-back Euroleague titles in 1987 and 1988, under two different head coaches, Dan Peterson and Franco Casalini, both times against Maccabi Tel Aviv. The second of those continental crowns ushered in the Final Four era in Europe. Milano's last titles came as the team won both the Italian League and the Italian Cup in 1996 with Nando Gentile, Dejan Bodiroga and Gregor Fucka. Things have not been easy since then, as Olimpia even missed the domestic playoffs on occasion. Now, a new era has begun for Armani Jeans Milano, with since fashion mogul Giorgio Armani as the team’s main sponsor and a city of fans behind the club's efforts to add to its long history of success. Milano made it to the Italian League finals in 2005 before losing against Climamio Bologna and is now entering its fourth Euroleague season in five years. Last year head coach Piero Bucchi’s men took some time to come together, but finished the Euroleague regular season with wins in five of their last six games to plow into the Top 16, where they handed future Final Four side Olympiacos a loss before bowing out. After that, Armani Jeans battled through the Italian League playoffs to reach the finals before falling at the hands of Montepaschi Siena. The club’s commitment to excellence promises to see Milano as strong as ever this season with its goals set high heading into the 2009-10 season.
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Euroleague.net
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