By Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
What will happen when a powerhouse in football decides to spend a lot of money in basketball? A great team will be created that wants to conquer the basketball world. Bayern Munich intends to be as soon as possible the best team in Germany and then to compete in the highest level in Europe. They guy who was called to do this job is the coach that knows better than anyone else how to build a successful team in Germany and has connected his name with the best moments of the sport in the country.
Svetislav Pesic was the coach of the national team in the Eurobasket ’93, the coach of the Korac cup’s winner n 1995, Alba Berlin, and now the coach of the rising team in the country. The first attempt of Bayern to win a title after 45 years (the BEKO BBL’s Top Four Cup) failed in the semifinal, when his old love, Alba, won 92-83.
In any case Bayern made its first steps toward a title and the coach from Serbia who also has a German passport talked on Eurohoops.net about the challenge to make a new powerhouse in basketball: “We have a big opportunity to build something huge in Munich. Everyone here wants to take part in the Euroleague, but we must win something in the Bundesliga first. We want to win, to improve the situation in the club and our philosophy”.
Bayern came back in the first division of the German League last year with coach Bauermann, who was fired last October before the start of the season. His assistant, Christopoulos got the job, but after almost two months he also left giving the chance to Pesic to fill the gap. In Bayern there are three members of “Pesic family” because except Svetislav, Marco Pesic is the GM and Jan Jagla (husband of Ivana Pesic, daughter of Svetislav) is in the roster.
Was that one of the reasons for the experienced coach to sign? He denies it: “One reason by far was Uli Hoeness and the other one was the new project was presented to me. I have been in Germany for many years and it was a challenge for me. I had in the summer time a lot of offers from Euroleague teams and didn’t think about it because my target wasn’t to be in the Euroleague but to create a team to take part in the Euroleague. I want to improve the team and to qualify there. Also, I had offers to be coach in national teams but I didn’t want because it isn’t enough for me. I want to have daily connection with the basketball and you can have it only if you are in a club. Marko and Hoeness asked me to sign in Bayern and I accepted. No more and no less…”
Uli Hoeness is the president of the club and usually expresses his desire to see as soon as possible the basketball team on the top. Pesic says about that “he knows excellent the team, the winning spirit and is very important for us to have him in our side. He supports us because he’s has great history in the club, knows the spirit of the team and has spent all his life in the football so this is his… second sport. It’s very good for the players to see him because they understand they have to be responsible”.
The experienced and very successful coach recognizes that Bayern’s trademark is so powerful that “every opponent is prepared for the game against us as “the game of the season”. Every team thinks that we have the quality of the football team. We have to exist in this situation. So, generally sometimes there is a reason for these great expectations, some not. But always we play to win”.
After many years in obscurity Bayern came back a year ago in the Bundesliga and the targets were from the first moment too high. How intends Pesic to go through this and make Munich a powerhouse? “It’s a long time procedure. The basketball club of Bayern wasn’t professional until some years ago, so everything is new for everyone in the club, the management, the youth teams etc. Everybody knows the football club but now there is one more club, the basketball and as you know everything new needs time. We want to improve the club; we are good until now and need more time. Bayern is one of the biggest football clubs in the world and it’s logical for the fans to compare the two teams. The expectations are too high and the situation makes us more responsible. We have to win, we have good atmosphere in the team and the fans are dedicated. In our last ten games in our court there was a sold out”.
How hard is to grew up a basketball team in Munich and create a fan’s basis in a “football city”? “We don’t have problem with that. We know the philosophy of the club: The football is first and basketball follows. I have been also in Barcelona and I know the situation”.
Which was his first thought when he took the job? “Our goal was not to change players. We took that decision because we believe that our quality is enough to compete. Now we practice every day to improve ourselves and win every game. Also we wanted to see who of the players are ready to stay in the team and play for us in the next season”.
The biggest rivals of Bayern are Bamberg and Alba who have more experience. What Bayern must do to overcome them? “They represent Bundesliga in Euroleague and both have bigger rosters than any other German team. Of course, it’s not excuse for us because we have also a big and good roster. If we want to win the championship we have to play good basketball and not have ups and downs during the games. We are motivated and have to be enough smart to play according to our game plan”.
It’s a common knowledge that the German league grows every year and according to its “leader”, Jan Pommer their target is to have the best league in Europe until 2020. Pesic has worked in too many countries (Germany, Serbia, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Russia), so his opinion is too important. “They improve the product constantly. I coached last time in the German league ten years ago and I see huge improvement. Every club is better than ten years ago. They have better roster, coaching stuff, medical stuff, GMs, gyms etc. The interesting is bigger, the sponsoring and the ticketing programs are better and the fans come to the gyms. Every game is a big event because the fans don’t watch only the games but are happy to see other things around the organization. But the same time I expect more things to happen in the future because the most important thing in sports is in the court”.
UPDATE: Two days after the publishing of this interview, Bayern Munich announced that coach Pesic signed a new contract until the summer of 2015.