03 Sep 2014
Doha, 3 September 2014. On Wednesday afternoon the successful Italian basketball coach Sergio Scariolo, who had won gold with the Spanish men’s national basketball team at both the FIBA EuroBasket 2009 and the FIBA EuroBasket 2011, was welcomed at Aspire Academy by Professor Valter Di Salvo, Director of Football Performance & Science, and given a guided tour through the facilities.
“It is truly amazing. I have lived in many different countries, but I have never seen anything like it. For someone who is very committed to sports like myself, this is a kind of heaven”, he commented on the impressions he got while he was here. “In terms of functionality, organization and other aspects this place is outstanding and you can see that Qatar is really putting a lot of hard work into becoming a sports nation and the development so far is really amazing”, said the Italian, who has successfully coached in Spain, Russia and Italy.
He also sees room for basketball to grow in Qatar and the region. “I have noticed a lot of passion and enthusiasm for the sport in Qatar. Maybe the basketball in the Middle East should be more connected with Europe or the United States in order to promote it. With this devotion for the sport and these unbelievable facilities I believe there is a lot of potential.”