Pilutti The idol of the Fossa dresses Neptune

Fortitude Icon, if there is one. It is he who, on the night of June 3, 2000, is harnessed and placed in a sort of mechanical arm to put the flag and dress the god Neptune in a white and blue vest. And to place the (cardboard) silhouette of a black and white rabbit on the trident of the god of the sea. He is Claudio Pilutti, born in 1968, two meters tall and, what's more, a unique charm.

A player everywhere – Tanjevic and not only him, would like to transform him into a playmaker, because Pilu sees the game and knows how to put himself at the service of others –, an appreciated and esteemed teammate. Fortitudino (we will see how and why in the course of the story) forever. Pilu actually carries a contradiction with him. Because he grows up in the youth teams of Mestre, he establishes himself in Trieste (where he meets Tanjevic) and everyone is led to think that Pilu is from Veneto, Friuli, perhaps Julian.

He was actually born on April 28, 1968 in Castellamonte, which would be in the province of Turin. He is Piedmontese, therefore. And he is not afraid of anyone. Wearing the Mestre jersey, his first action sees him dunk in Bryant's face. We are in the XNUMXs, few people still talk about Kobe, but everyone in Italy is in love with Joe, known as Jellybean.

Because Joe's dad scores tons of points. And Pilu, who will one day become a defense specialist - perhaps one of the best in Italy - doesn't think twice. And to make it clear who he is, he dunks in his face.

Trieste until, in the summer of 1994, Maurizio Albertini calls him. He suggests a chat in Bologna to talk about Fortitudo and the future. Pilu takes a couple of minutes to decide. Fortitude Forever. In white and blue from 1994 to 1997. He is a steady pair, at cards – cell phones are already there, but the Internet and social media are still to come – with Blasi. He and Micio are White Power. On the other side of the table, Black Power. Dan Gay and Marcelo Damiao. And never mind if Pilu and Dan forget what is now called political correctness.

Their language is particularly colorful and perhaps not very respectful. But amidst the laughter (sincere) you understand from a mile away that those guys really love each other.

Which are a bit like the three musketeers, all for one and one for all. Pilu is hilarious. Like when he reconstructs pieces of the past: his imitations of Professor Nikolic and the street urchin Esposito (two characters apparently at opposite ends of the spectrum, but in reality two basketball giants) are Oscar-worthy.

But Pilu is Oscar-worthy when he is on the field. In Trencin, in the Korac Cup, he closes with 34 points: 8/8 from two, 6/6 from three. Pilu's game in Slovakia goes down in history as the perfect performance. The problem is that on that away trip, following Fortitudo, there are only press officer Fabrizio Pungetti and the trusty Davide Collina. There are no archive images, there are no official statistics: only the story, broadcast on the air, by Pungetti and Collina that is taken as true by all the newspapers of the Two Towers. Since then, true or plausible, Trencin has been synonymous with the perfect game.

Bodiroga before Dejan – "Even though he played a little better as a playmaker", Pilu laughs again –, went to Cantù in 1997. He left Fortitudo for a season in Brianza. He had time to return, in 1998, for another four seasons with Aquila. The apotheosis, in fact, 2000 championship. The Fossa chorus "Claudio Pilutti with you we want to get drunk" and the unusual hairstyle, for a bet, after the championship. "A tal deg", is written on Pilu's head, happy for having fulfilled a dream. He defends, scores, plays cards and wins.

The man for the toughest missions is always him, Claudio Pilutti. Like when, in the derby, he has to try to stop Sasha Danilovic.

In 2002 he leaves Fortitudo, but not Bologna. He moves to the lower level, Progresso Castel Maggiore. It is Giampiero Ticchi's team, the most beautiful Progresso ever. The one that also comes close to a sensational promotion to Serie A, while Madrigali's Virtus has financial problems. And not a few. Summer 2003, Virtus taken over by Claudio Sabatini, moves to Castel Maggiore. And what does Pilu, old Fortitudo heart, do? He doesn't feel like it. But he stays in Bologna. Virtus 1934 (Giordano Consolini on the bench, Paolo Francia and Marco Bonamico among the managers, Marco Sanguettoli among the technicians, professor Grandi as trainer) in B1.

Then Gandino, Castiglione Murri. With the same verve as always. And with the rocking chair - someone might have gotten angry, Pilu who is a master of goliardic humor and knows how to joke about himself, no - that the fans give him. A knee plays up, he is forced to retire in 2008. But in basketball he is always a point of reference. Because he always says what he thinks. Because he is an inexhaustible source of anecdotes. Do you think that the dunk in Bryant's face is the only event?

Let me tell you about when, in Fortitudo, a friendly with a team of Americans materializes in Casalecchio. Among them, a certain Earvin Johnson. Damiao apparently still has the Magic jersey. But the only Italian capable of scoring a hook shot, under the gaze of an incredulous Magic, is precisely him, Pilu from Castellamonte. The idol of the Fossa. And not only that.

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