Instead, new Bayern coach
World champion coach Herbert would have liked to stay at the DBB
Gordon Herbert has awakened German basketball. After winning bronze at the European Championships, winning the World Championship and coming fourth in Paris, it's over now. Now he explains why he'll soon be on the sidelines at Bayern – and who he would have wanted as his successor at the DBB.
World champion coach Gordon Herbert said he would have liked to continue working for the German Basketball Association (DBB). “I would have been interested in extending my contract, but in the end we couldn't agree,” the Canadian told “Welt”. The separation is probably due to the fact that the association does not allow a dual role, and Herbert would not have been allowed to coach a club at the same time. This was his wish last year.
Herbert gave up his position as national coach after the Olympic Games and now works for German champions Bayern Munich. The reason for his departure was the impending upheaval in the national team. “We now need to build a new team. That will take at least two years. But I only had one year left on my contract,” said Herbert.
“I wasn't asked for my opinion either”
Herbert was not involved in the search for his successor – the Spaniard Alex Mumbru is the new national coach. “I was only officially informed the evening before his presentation. I was not asked for my opinion either,” said the 65-year-old. He himself would have liked to have seen “one of my assistant coaches, Bret Brielmaier or Klaus Perwas, as my successor, but they were not even asked, if I am correctly informed. I don't even know whether they would have wanted the job.”
Financial considerations were not the deciding factor for him when he moved to Munich. “Many people think that I'm going to Bayern because of the money. But that's not true, I had much higher offers,” explained Herbert: “I wanted to stay in Germany. I really enjoy working here, I like the Germans.”
