In the years 2013-20, Žalgiris was coached only by former top Lithuanian players: first Saulius Štombergas (2013-14), then Gintaras Krapikas (2014-16) and then the legend of legends Šarunas Jasikevicius (2016-20).
When Jasikevicius left Kaunas to lead Barcelona, Lithuania’s pride turned to specialists from across the border. However, the seasons with Austrian Martin Schiller and eventually Slovenian Jure Zdovc were a complete failure.
Last spring, Žalgiris returned to the good old track, recruiting the coach of the Lithuanian national team, Kazys Maksvytis. The move was successful: Žalgiris won the Euroleague playoff‘and Maksvytis were even voted third after Georgios Bartzokas and Željko Obradovic in the choice of the best coach in the league.
This year, however, Maksvytis was unable to repeat his success. They have lost six games in a row in the Euroleague and are in 16th place in the tournament standings with 5 wins and 12 losses, behind only Berlin Alba and Villeurbanne Asvel – with whom Žalgiris will among other things have two upcoming duels.
Thus the Žalgiris management informed this morning of the decision, which had already been speculated for a few weeks: the club will separate from Maksvytis. The 55-year-old Italian Andrea Trinchieri was hired as his successor, whose contract will last until the end of 2025.
Coach Kazys Maksvytis leaves Zalgiris by mutual agreement. Coach, thank you for everything! pic.twitter.com/VxRheIxHA1
— BC Zalgiris Kaunas (@bczalgiris) December 30, 2023
The new coach of Zalgiris: Andrea Trinchieri! 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/a1TqSQOnxY
— BC Zalgiris Kaunas (@bczalgiris) December 30, 2023
“The decision was not easy, but we reached it by mutual agreement. Although a few weeks ago we demonstrated the public’s trust in the coach, the recent play and the team’s results did not satisfy the coaches themselves, the club management nor the fans,” said Žalgiris director Paulius Jankunas. “Kazys Maksvytis joined the team at a difficult time and helped us get back to where we want to be. We are grateful to him for this. Now it’s time for a change that should shake up the team. The new coach arrives at the Žalgirio Arena with burning eyes. We hope that this will help stabilize the situation.”
2023-12-30 10:24:31
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