Original title: Basketball World Cup 丨 Interview with German coach Herbert: Entering the Olympics, but there is still one goal
With Latvian player Bertans’ three-pointer bouncing out of the basket at the last moment, the German team narrowly won by two points 81:79 on the 6th. While entering the semi-finals of the 2023 Basketball World Cup, it also locked a ticket for the Paris Olympics. ticket. German team coach Gordon Herbert said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency on the 7th that one of the team’s goals in this World Cup has been achieved.
Germany head coach Gordon Herbert accepted an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency reporter
“We had two goals, one was to get to the Olympics, and the main goal was to get on the podium and win a medal. Now we’ve got to the Olympics, but there’s one more goal to be achieved,” Herbert said.
This is the first time the German team has entered the World Cup semi-finals since 2002. For the semi-final opponents, the US team, Herbert admitted that the advantage is not on his side, but this may help them play better. He said: “We didn’t play well last night because we were the favorites, so there was a little pressure. The semi-final pressure was on the US team. We just need to be ready for tomorrow’s challenge.”
Since the legendary star Dirk Nowitzki withdrew from the national team in early 2016, the German team has experienced a trough for several years. They first missed the Rio Olympics and failed to enter the top 16 of the 2019 World Cup. But in recent years, German basketball has slowly recovered. It first reached the quarter-finals at the Tokyo Olympics, and then won the bronze medal in last year’s European Championships. In this World Cup, the German team has won all six games since the start, which is another signal of the rebound of German basketball.
On September 6, German team player Dennis Schroeder (left) and teammate Johannes Thiemann celebrated the team’s promotion to the semi-finals.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Meng Yongmin
Herbert, who took over as coach of the German team in September 2021, revealed the reasons for the team’s continuous progress: “When I first came to the team two years ago, I hoped that the players could focus on three major competitions-the European Championships, The World Cup and the Olympics. I think any team needs to have continuity, so we built a talent pool last summer. We built the national team around that talent pool and now we benefit from what we did last year.”
As an experienced coach, Herbert has left footprints in major European leagues and the NBA. He believes that the gap between European and American basketball is narrowing. “In the past 20 years, European basketball has made great progress. Besides the NBA, the best basketball league is also in Europe. Every game is very competitive and the atmosphere of the fans is also very good. This is beneficial to the development of world basketball .”
After Nowitzki, the German team has not yet had a real superstar player. In Herbert’s eyes, the 22-year-old Franz Wagner has the potential to become a superstar.
On August 12, Chinese team player Hu Jinqiu (right) blocked the shot of German team player Franz Wagner during the game. On the same day, in the German Basketball Supercup held in Hamburg, Germany, the Chinese team lost 58:107 to the German team.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ren Pengfei
“Unlike Dirk, Franz is not a four player, he is more of a two or three, but this kid has a bright future. For me, he is the best player in the World Cup One.” Herbert commented.
Before the start of the World Cup, the Chinese men’s basketball team had a warm-up match with the German team, and the latter won a big victory. Herbert revealed that due to time constraints, he did not watch the Chinese team’s World Cup match. He believed that although the Chinese team’s performance was not satisfactory, the Chinese team should continue to trust the head coach Djordjevic.
“Sasha (Djordjevic) and I are very good friends. He is an excellent coach and a very good person. He was also one of the best players in Europe in his player era. The Chinese basketball system is very good. But sometimes it takes time to build a team, establish a style and have continuity. I think Sasha will do a fantastic job with the system,” Herbert said. (Wei Hua Wang Jingyu Xia Liang)
2023-09-08 02:46:26
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