Start in the Basketball Bundesliga – Herbert and Bayern: Trust in the team builder – Sport

Munich (dpa) – A game of getting to know each other with little pieces of paper in a hat, a “Mafia” party and finally a little wine tasting. The fact that world champion coach Gordon Herbert is focusing on team building at FC Bayern became clear to the basketball players and club bosses at the latest during the unusual measures in the short training camp in Slovenia. “I’ve never had a wine tasting before,” said managing director Marko Pesic, looking back on his active time, “none of my coaches were open to such things.” But Herbert is no ordinary coach – and that is precisely why he is supposed to take the Munich team to a new level.

After his triumphs with the national team – European Championship bronze in 2022, the historic World Cup title in 2023 and narrowly missing out on the Olympic medal by finishing fourth in Paris in the summer – Bayern hope that Herbert will also cause a stir on the Isar. Expectations are high: Firstly, the national double of championship and cup must be defended. On Friday (8 p.m./Dyn) the Munich team will start the championship against the Niners Chemnitz.

Clear message for Euroleague

But a club like FC Bayern is not satisfied with that. After a disappointing season in the Euroleague, the Munich basketball players want to be among the top teams there this time. “The goal for this season is to make it to the playoffs,” said club president Herbert Hainer about the European elite competition and made it clear: “Not making it would be a disappointment.”

After arriving in Munich, Herbert himself had even expressed his vision of making it to the Final Four of the Euroleague with Bayern at some point. That would be a coup against the much richer clubs from Spain, Greece and Turkey – but if anyone knows a thing or two about coups, it’s the 65-year-old coach from Canada.

“Not work, but passion”

Herbert knows the Bundesliga from his coaching positions in Berlin and Frankfurt, among other places – he was last on the sidelines for the Skyliners in 2019. In 2020 he went to Russia for a few months before importing the German selection in September 2021. Why is he now drawn back to a club? Bayern is “a club that I have always looked up to over the years, a model club not only in Germany, but in Europe and the world.” “It is an honor for me to have the opportunity to coach in the Euroleague here,” he said recently at a press conference before the start of the season.

The infrastructure in Munich – which has gained a new prestige with the new SAP Garden as a venue for the Euroleague – is outstanding. “This is a great place to work. Although for me it’s not work, it’s passion. If it were just work, I would have retired a few years ago.” After the comment, President Hainer patted his coach on the shoulder and joked: “And we’re paying you for your passion too.” Herbert laughed and said: “Good to know.”

But the coach knows full well that he cannot hope for a comfortable oasis without pressure in Munich. “This is a business that is based on results, there is no doubt about that,” he said. The question is how to get victories and trophies.

Herbert searches for the “Culture of Greatness”

When he was a young coach, he was mainly focused on strategies, Herbert said. Today, he takes a holistic approach, he wants to build a “culture of greatness” – a belief that great things can be achieved. “Culture wins over strategy.” “It took me many years to realize that,” the coach recalls.

The national team, including NBA stars Dennis Schröder and Franz Wagner, managed to give this winning mentality and lift German basketball to unprecedented heights. The task in Munich is different because Herbert has to bring and maintain his team at the top level, not just in a tournament with a handful of games, but for an entire season with around 80 matches.

Open detailed view

And then Bayern also went through a personnel shake-up. Key players such as world champion Isaac Bonga and former NBA champion Serge Ibaka left the club. Their replacements included world champion Johannes Voigtmann, his Olympic team colleague Oscar da Silva and guards Yam Madar and Shabazz Napier.

According to managing director Pesic, there is “a mood, an atmosphere in the air that I have never experienced before.” This is probably mainly due to coach Gordon Herbert.

© dpa-infocom, dpa:240916-930-233885/1