After three years of good and loyal service on the bench of Germany, the coach Gordon Herbert has joined Bayern Munich, leaving his place to another international coach, the Spaniard Alex Mumbruwho became a coach in Bilbao after his professional retirement in 2018, and will remain so until 2022. Coach of Valencia for two years before finally being dismissed at the end of the season, the Barcelona native will be able to count on the support of Dirk Nowitzki in his mission.
Even though he doesn't yet know the profile of the new Germany coach very well, the Mavs legend has had only good feedback so far. It will be up to him to follow in the tradition of foreign coaches who have won with the Mannschaft.
“We've had foreign coaches in the past. We can even go back to 1993, when we won the European Championship with Svestislav Pesic. Gordie Herbert is Canadian and we won the World Cup with him. We've had some great stories with international coaches.”, did he slip from Ljubljana for Goran Dragic's jubilee?. “I know Alex a little bit. I played against him a few times in the national team. I don’t know his coaching skills too much. I’ve never seen him coach a game. But I’m sure I’ll get to know him a little bit more in the coming years. I’ve heard that he’s young, energetic and a coach who’s close to his players. Naturally, he knows the game, with his experience.”
Even though there is also talent to spare across the Rhine and the Wagner brothers still have many good years ahead of them, Alex Mumbru's mission will not be easy given the legacy left by Gordon Herbert and the level of competition, which seems ever more intense, particularly in Europe where there are now NBA superstars galore, and not the least among them Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama.
“I hope he can have a big impact and continue to build on what Gordie Herbert has done for us the last few years. I wish him nothing but the best. I hope he has incredible success with this team. Hopefully the team stays together. They can continue to grow and have a few more years.”
Alex Mumbru's first match as coach of the German national team will take place on November 22 against Sweden for the continuation of the qualifying phase for Eurobasket 2025.
