The DBB team will have to do without national coach Alex Mumbru at the start of the European Championships. The Spaniard will be replaced by Alan Ibrahimagic. The long-time youth national coach has known many of the players for a long time and is a proven Tampere expert.
This is also a first for the DBB. Due to an infection, national coach Alex Mumbru will have to wait for his tournament debut. Instead, youth coach Alan Ibrahimagic will be on the sidelines. Will this be a one-time thing? No one at the DBB wanted or was able to answer that question.
“Everyone has to shake it off and see how we get along,” Ibrahimagic said at the media event at the German hotel, while Dennis Schröder and Maodo Lo were loudly dueling in the lounge playing NBA 2K. Meanwhile, there are no concerns about tomorrow’s game. “We haven’t known each other for very long, but we’ve settled in well,” said the interim national coach.
Contact with Mumbru continues, and this will also be the case during the game. In addition, Ibrahimagic has known large parts of the team for many years due to his work as junior national coach and assistant coach, most recently under Gordon Herbert.
“I am only representing the entire coaching team,” said the Belgrade native modestly. Ibrahimagic has been a constant at the association for many years, working for the DBB for twelve years now and training numerous future national players.
What’s more, Ibrahimagic is something of an expert on Tampere. Last year, the U18 European Championships were held in Tampere, where Germany won its first title at the junior level. The coach at the time? Alan Ibrahimagic, who was also responsible for the U19 team in the summer, which won silver in Lausanne, Switzerland, with new national player Christian Anderson and BBL shooting star Hannes Steinbach.
Ultimately, however, there is also a coaching team, and ideally they all share the same philosophy. Johannes Thiemann also indicated that he does not expect any major changes. “Of course, it’s not great, but I believe he’ll be fit again soon. That’s why we’re not going to play any different systems or anything like that. I’m sure we can compensate for it.”
Things will finally get serious for the DBB team on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. German time, when the reigning world champions will play their second game of the day against Montenegro at the Tampere Deck Arena.
