Cesare Rubini
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| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's Water polo | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1948 London | Team competition | |
| Bronze | 1952 Helsinki | Team competition | |
Cesare Rubini (born November 2, 1923) is a former Italian basketball player and coach, and high level waterpolo player. One of the greatest European coaches of all time, Rubini has been inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994, the only Italian basketball figure to received such an honour, together with Dino Meneghin. He has been also inducted in the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
Rubini is regarded as one of the greatest Italian sportsmen of all times.
[edit] Career
Rubini started to play basketball in his High School in his native Trieste, where he degreed in 1941. The same year he began to play for Olimpia Milano, the most prestigious Italian basketball club. He however had a long-lived passion for waterpolo: this led him later to become one of the rare world sportsmen to play at the highest level in two different team sports.
In 1946 he won a silver medal with Italian basketball national team in the European Championships held in Geneva. The following year, he won also a silver medal at the European Championships, but this tim with the waterpolo national team. In the meantime he had assumed the role of player-coach of Olimpia Milano: in 1948, however, he was called by the national teams of both sports. Rubini chose waterpolo, and won a gold medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, beating The Netherlands in the final. With Rubini as a full-time player, Italy could boast what was to be called the "Golden Settebello", one of the most valuable waterpolo teams ever, which also won a bronze medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics and at the Turin European Championships of 1954. In both the events, Italy was behind traditional rivals of Yugoslavia and Hungary.
Rubini, also as player-coach, won 6 national titles in waterpolo with Canottieri Olona of Milan, Rari Nantes of Naples and Camogli teams. He totalled 84 caps for Italian national team, 42 of which as captain.
As basketball player, from 1950 to 1954 Rubini won 5 national titles in a row, from 1950 to 1954. After 1956 he devoted only to the coach role, winning 10 national titles with Olimpia. In these years he set an unparalleled record of a 322 victories-28 defeats. As coach of the Milan team, Rubini totalled 488 victories, including the European Winner's Cup of 1966 and two European Cup Winner's Cups (1971 and 1972): these were the first international victories of Italian basketball clubs.
As a manager figure of basketball national team, Rubini took also part to the first international victories of Italy: these include the silver medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics. At the European Championships, Italy was first in 1983 at Nantes, second in1991 at Rome and third in 1985 at Stuttgart.
Rubini is still involved into his beloved sports: he promotes waterpolo formation for young athletes, and is Honorary President of Olimpia Milano.
[edit] References
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