It’s not over until it’s over – that’s what Andrea Trinchieri said after Bayern’s second defeat in the playoff semifinals against Ratiopharm Ulm on Tuesday. When it was really over on Friday, it was really over – the 54-year-old drew the line a few minutes after being eliminated. Thus, the brief era of Trinchieri in Munich is now over. His last words at the press conference in the small, dark Ulm conference room after a six-minute farewell speech were: “Grazie, Arrivederci”. It ends with a smooth 0:3 of the table third against the table seventh of the main round, who is in top form and had already knocked out Alba Berlin with 3:1 victories in the quarterfinals.
It shouldn’t have ended at this point. The last action by Trinchieri’s team was actually brilliant. What happened in the final seconds of this game was a bit representative of the entire Bayern season. The scene also suited Trinchieri himself, the Milan native who sometimes displays the attitude of an opera singer: pathetic, dramatic, sometimes larger than life.
After two defeats at home, Bayern now had to win in Ulm, and on Friday evening they briefly managed to overcome their greatest weakness at the moment: they didn’t collapse when the opposition were doing well, not even under the unbelievable noise in the arena Neu-Ulm, they kept coming back, they fought, early foul problems took their toll. On the contrary, they used the panic that Ulm’s coach Anton Gavel confirmed to his team in the final quarter and caught up 16 points. Bayern were just moments away from victory, but with 8.8 seconds to go there was another bang when Ulm’s Brandon Paul sank a three to equalize from a very difficult position.
In extra time, Bayern only came back into play when they were already well behind. And then, 2.4 seconds later, this brilliant move by Trinchieri: Bayern needed three points. Nick Weiler-Babb sunk a free throw. So two more. Weiler-Babb put the second throw on the ring, got the rebound himself – and threw the ball far away, out to Andreas Obst, who was waiting at the three-point line. Ulm’s coach Gavel calls Obst “probably the best pitcher in Europe by now”, but Trinchieri managed to let Obst throw more freely in such a situation than ever before. But fruit didn’t hit. Final siren, Ulm’s rabbit mascot named “Spass” jumped onto the field, Ulm celebrated, Bavaria was defeated. After all, red had sold well once again, no more and no less.
While Trinchieri only said at Magentasport: “I think it was the last game of my tenure at Bayern”, he became clearer in the press conference. “That was my last game with Bayern.” He thanked his team, President Herbert Hainer, sports director Daniele Baiesi, who listened to the press conference standing with a rucksack over his shoulder. And with managing director Marko Pesic, who was “a partner” for him. “I think we deserved to get to game four today and this team deserved a title more,” said Trinchieri. Two national cups were won in three years, the Trinchieri Bayern were the first German team to reach the Euroleague playoffs, even twice in a row – albeit once without a spectator and once without a Russian team. Others would now have the task of sticking “the sticker, the label” on his term of office. And then there was a little dig at German referees. The fact that he conceded a technical foul in extra time in his last game with Bayern, “It’s going to be a page in my book,” he said angrily, “unbelievable,” he said in German. Some referees are like the police.
Trinchieri’s successor at Bayern will probably be Pablo Lazo
A few minutes later, Pesic also answered a few urgent questions, although there were no further personal details to announce for the time being. “If that’s what he said, then yes,” said the 46-year-old when asked if Trinchieri had quit of his own accord. It was obviously important to the coach to draw the line himself in view of his expiring contract.
“Trinchieri gave us his heart,” said Pesic, “he was always there 100 percent. He’s also had a lot of bad luck, with injuries in the last two years.” The permanent topic at Bayern. In fact, Trinchieri did not have the full squad available for a single game in the three years. But Pesic also said: “Maybe we’ve been arguing too much with ourselves, thinking too much about what we don’t have” instead of concentrating on what you have. A little more focus on that might have provided the necessary calm in crucial situations. In this respect, this semi-final series was also a bit symbolic for several seasons.
However, Trinchieri’s farewell to Tacheles does not mean that his successor will be presented just as quickly. Pablo Lazo, 55, was Real Madrid coach for a decade but took time off last year after suffering a heart attack. Among other things, he is a two-time Euroleague winner. The announcement of his commitment should only be a formality, but it will probably not be completed when the players celebrate the end of the season with the fans on Sunday. Now the Bavarians also have something that they have often longed for in the long season: peace and time.