A German-minded Catalan leads Germany with video calls from the hospital.

Barcelona"I'm like the Germans, very square." Àlex Mumbrú, a former Catalan player who trained at Joventut Badalona and spent two spells at Real Madrid, is the current German national team coach, one of the sensations of the Eurobasket being held in Cyprus, Finland, Poland, and Latvia. The coach missed the team's first five games due to acute pancreatitis, but is now ready to take his place on the bench. The German team will play the round of 16 against Portugal this Saturday.

Mumbrú's working methods, having previously taken charge of teams such as Bilbao and Valencia Basket, have suited him well in Germany. His calculating nature fits with the country's mentality. "This German national team reminds me a lot of the Spain with which we were champions," he says. The Catalan was crowned champion at the 2006 World Cup in Japan. He also has an Olympic silver medal and three Eurobasketball medals: one gold, one silver, and one bronze.

The German Federation's infatuation with Mumbrú, an enemy of disorder and a fan of planning, was swift. "They had done the work of finding out about me. We had a couple of meetings and things came together. I know they had interviews with a few other coaches, but it ended up being me," confesses the coach, who accepted the job shortly after German basketball's great success, the Gold medal. In 2024, they reached the semifinals.

His predecessor, Gordon Herbert, didn't understand why the German national team didn't opt for his former deputy, Klaus Perwas. "Rather than criticizing me, he wanted to praise one of his assistants, who's been there for 20 years. Gordon did a great job leading the team. He's enviable and objective. When you arrive at a team where nothing's working, maybe you should change, but when it does work, you have to follow the same dynamic," he analyzes.

"It's clear that in recent years, Germany has been at a high level of basketball, not only in the national team, but also in terms of German players in the Bundesliga, the Euroleague, and the NBA. I try to do my part to keep everything flowing," explains the coach, who was preceded by Aíto García Reneses, Israel González, and Pablo Laso in the German league. The national team is a different story. "It's always difficult to leave Spain because of the teams we have and the offers that are available, but many coaches have gone abroad, in Germany and with teams in other countries. It's a beautiful thing that our coaches are so highly regarded in the world of basketball," he opines.

An absence without consequences

Mumbrú, who was hospitalized with pancreatitis, was unable to coach the German team's first five matches, which ended in victory. Alan Ibrahimagic and Alberto Miranda, Unicaja's assistant coach and husband of former player Marta Fernández, have made his absence go unnoticed in victories against Montenegro, Sweden, Lithuania, Great Britain, and Finland.

He has now been given the all-clear. "I feel much better. I'm pleased that the team has performed so well so far. I'm in direct contact with the coaching staff, in whom I have complete confidence. I'm really looking forward to being with the team in Riga," admits Mumbrú, who has been using video calls before and after matches and halftime calls these past few days.