Tomorrow, Udine’s Bluenergy Stadium will host the Blues in an international rugby match for the first time in 15 years. (The last occasion was in 2009 when Italy played South Africa.) The game against the ‘Pumas’ of Argentina will be the first test for Gonzalo Quesada’s Blues in the 2024 Autumn Nations Series. On the grass of the Friulian stadium – one of Italy’s most advanced sports facilities – the Blues went through a brief last-minute training session under the watchful eyes of an exceptional onlooker: Gianmarco Pozzecco, coach of the Italian national basketball team.
These two young coaches share the same responsibility for training national teams that symbolise the best in Italian sport and also share the thrill of wearing a colour – Italian Azzurro – that is packed with significance. In addition to the colour blue, the two shirts also united by the same technical sponsor, since both the FIR and the FIP (the Italian Rugby and Basketball Federations respectively) are among the many federations dressed by Macron. The two coaches met at the home of Udinese Calcio, a football club that has very strong ties to the Emilian brand.
During the meting, Gianmarco Pozzecco and Gonzalo Quesada symbolically exchanged shirts. The two coaches involved in the exchange have both succeeded in transmitting the values of teamwork, shared objectives and spirit of sacrifice that embody the team concept in Macron’s sporting philosophy.
After the game against Argentina in Udine (which will also host the Italian side again in 2025 and 2026), Quesada’s Italrugby will be back on the pitch on 17 November at the ‘Luigi Ferraris’ stadium in Genoa in a match against Georgia and then, on 23 November at the Allianz Stadium in Turin for a much-awaited game against the All Blacks.
For Pozzecco’s Italbasket, the month of November will see two matches against Iceland (first in Reykjavík on 22 November and then in Reggio Emilia on 25 November) which could lead to qualification for the next European Basketball Championship, scheduled for 2025 in Latvia, Cyprus, Finland and Poland.
All the shirts of the Italian national rugby team and Italian national basketball team, along with the FIR and FIP clothing collections designed and made by Macron, can be purchased from the relevant sections of the macron.com website , from Macron Sports Hubs and from all authorised Macron dealers.
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