Pallacanestro Varese
Italian basketball club with ten league titles and five EuroLeague crowns.
Pallacanestro Varese, currently competing as Openjobmetis Varese due to a sponsorship deal, is a professional basketball club from Varese, Lombardy, Italy. Founded in 1945, it now plays in the LBA, Italy’s top division.
The club’s history began with the introduction of basketball to Varese in 1945. Sponsors first appeared in 1954, with names including Storm, Ignis, Emerson, Turisanda, Cagiva, Star, Ciaocrem, Divarese, Ranger, Metis, Whirlpool, and Cimberio. In the mid-1990s, Varese notably played without a main sponsor—an unusual situation in Italian basketball—and adopted the franchise name Varese Roosters.
Varese has won ten Italian League titles (1961, 1964, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, and 1999), placing it third all-time behind Olimpia Milano and Virtus Bologna. The 1999 title came 21 years after the previous one. The club was especially dominant in the 1970s, reaching ten consecutive FIBA European Champions Cup finals and winning five (1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976). Known as Ignis Varese from 1956 to 1975, the golden age began earlier with a FIBA Intercontinental Cup win in 1966, repeated in 1970 and 1973. In 1973, under legendary coach Aca Nikolić, Varese achieved a Triple Crown by winning every available trophy. The club also won two FIBA European Cup Winners’ Cups (1967, 1980) and four Italian Cups (1969, 1970, 1971, 1973).
The great era ended in the early 1990s when the team dropped to the second division. It quickly returned to the top tier and, five years later, won its tenth Italian League title in 1999 under head coach Carlo Recalcati, who later coached the Italian national team. That remains Varese’s last league triumph, though the club has since aimed to return to the top of Italian and European competition.
- Founded
- 1945
- Location
- Varese, Lombardy, Italy
- League
- Italian first division LBA
- Italian League Titles
- 10 (1961, 1964, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1999)
- EuroLeague Titles
- 5 (1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976)
- FIBA Intercontinental Cup Titles
- 3 (1966, 1970, 1973)
Lore & Background
Basketball was introduced in Varese in 1945 with the creation of Pallacanestro Varese. The club first adopted sponsors in 1954, with names including Storm, Ignis, Emerson, and others. Between 1956 and 1975, the club was known as Ignis Varese. The team's golden age began in the 1960s, winning its first Italian League title in 1961 and the FIBA Intercontinental Cup in 1966. The 1970s saw Varese reach ten consecutive European Champions Cup finals, winning five of them, and achieving the Triple Crown in 1973 under head coach Aca Nikolić.
Reader's Guide
Pallacanestro Varese holds a prominent place in Italian and European basketball history. With ten Italian League titles, the club ranks third all-time in Italy, behind Olimpia Milano and Virtus Bologna. Its peak came in the 1970s, when Varese dominated the European Champions Cup, appearing in ten consecutive finals and winning five. The club also won the FIBA Intercontinental Cup three times and the FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup twice. The 1973 season was particularly notable, as Varese won the Triple Crown—Italian League, Italian Cup, and EuroLeague—under coach Aca Nikolić. After a period of decline and relegation in the early 1990s, the club rebounded to win its most recent Italian League title in 1999. Varese's legacy includes 25 total titles across domestic, European, and worldwide competitions, and it remains a respected name in Italian basketball, though it has not returned to its former heights in the 21st century.
Did You Know?
- Pallacanestro Varese was founded in 1945.
- The club won five EuroLeague titles, all in the 1970s.
- Varese achieved the Triple Crown in 1973, winning Italian League, Italian Cup, and EuroLeague.
- The club lacked a main sponsor in the mid-1990s, an unusual situation in the Italian basketball league.
More in Basketball teams in Italy 1-24
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