Around two days after Gordon Herbert’s dismissal, Bayern has already found his successor. Svetislav Pesic, an old acquaintance, will take over the club until the end of the season.
“Svetislav knows Munich, he knows Bayern and both leagues; some of us know him very well, so he shouldn’t need much time to settle in,” said sporting director Dragan Tarlac, explaining the choice. “That gives us a good feeling about this decision, in addition to his enormous experience.”
Pesic can look back on a long career as a basketball coach in Germany. Since the 1990s, he has been on the sidelines of the German national team, Alba Berlin, RheinEnergie Cologne, and from 2012 to 2016 also FC Bayern. Most recently, the 76-year-old coached the Serbian national team, which he led to World Championship silver in 2023 and Olympic bronze in 2024. After the surprising early exit from this year’s European Championship, Pesic did not renew his contract.
Pesic signs contract until end of season
The 76-year-old is now set to fill the gap left by Gordon Herbert’s dismissal at Munich until the end of the season. On Saturday, the club announced its separation from the former world champion coach of the German national team. After Herbert’s contract with the DBB expired, he joined the Munich team in the fall of 2024. In his first full season, he led the club to the German championship and a play-in appearance in the EuroLeague.
Munich is also at the top of the Bundesliga table in the current season and is still in the cup competition. Herbert’s downfall was ultimately a series of eight defeats in the EuroLeague. With Pesic, the club now hopes to take advantage of the slim chance it still has of making the postseason.
