Meneghin, Living Legend of Italian basketball, at Radio Bocconi

Dino Meneghin is the greatest champion in the history of Italian basketball. Silver medalist at the 1980 Moscow Olympics (vs the once mighty Yugoslavia) and European champion with the national team, this strong defensive center has won a dizzying array of titles, including 12 national championships and 7 European cups. He totaled 800 games in the Italian major league (mostly playing for Varese and Milano), and 271 playing for the Italian team. He still thinks about the silver medal he won at the peak of his career: "It was a great satisfaction, but also a lingering regret, because we reached the final exhausted due to the fierce games we had to play in the previous days, otherwise...," he told Chiara, Ilaria and Nazario, Radio Bocconi's reporters who interviewed him in his office in downtown Milano.

The framed basketball jerseys of a career started at 16 years of age and ended at 44 decorate the walls. He's the only Italian player to have been included the US Basketball Hall of Fame. "How could you make your debut in professional basketball as a teenager without burning yourself out?", Radio Bocconi asked Superdino. "The secret is to have passion for what you do and maintain a constant drive to learn and improve your game skills. When you enter the gym, you should forget about the clock: practice must not be seen as duty, but as fun that enables your body to stay fit." Team-mates, and coaches, also count: "I don't like to say: 'I won.' Basketball is a team sport, and without the great mates I had the luck to have, I would have never attained such objectives."

Now it's a difficult moment in the history of Italian basketball. This the reason why Meneghin was appointed as president of the Federation. What will he do to address the present drop in popularity of the sport in Italy? "We need to conquer space on newspapers and media in general. Then we must reach out to schools and universities, to make as many young people as possible passionate about basketball. For instance, I know that at Bocconi you have a very good team."