The Loved Garment of Daniele Cavaliero

An athlete knows well what it means to be inseparable from a garment, to feel its indissoluble connection with events that have marked their sporting career and, consequently, their life. Daniele Cavaliero’s two jerseys currently on display are no exception; he has been an icon of Pallacanestro Trieste, the city’s basketball team.

The red jersey is from his debut in the major league at 16 years old, a memory as vivid as if it were yesterday. Four years later, in 2004, the club goes bankrupt, the team is relegated to a minor league, Cavaliero is forced to leave to continue his journey with other teams. At 20, in the central square Piazza Unità in Trieste protesting with the fans after the bitter relegation, he speaks with the fans’ coordinator with the pride of youth and the sadness of having to leave, “I will return, and I will bring you back to the major league.”

Thirteen years will pass, during which Daniele becomes a globetrotter of Italian basketball.

The white jersey is from 13 years later, from Pallacanestro Trieste’s return to Serie A winning the season in 2018. Daniele is the MVP of the decisive third game in the final series. Seven three-pointers, the first four in a row. In basketball, that’s being “on fire,” that moment when you feel fully in the present and everything works. It is even sweeter to do it wearing a jersey that bears the name of Trieste on the chest, instead of the usual sponsor. Back home, in Piazza Unità, this time it is a celebration, a closure of the circle 13 years later. It’s time for a big hug with the fans’ coordinator who reminds him where they were, 13 years earlier, and what the promise had been. A promise Daniele kept.

Two jerseys that open and close an unforgettable chapter in Daniele Cavaliero’s life, steeped in passion, effort, indelible memories, love, and attachment to his city.