FC Bayern basketball players are back on track in Europe. One of the main reasons for the upturn is legendary coach Svetislav Pesic, who has improved many things in Munich. This even impresses the opponent.
After a catastrophic start to the EuroLeague season and a temporary losing streak of nine games, the FC Bayern basketball players are suddenly back in full swing and are rushing from victory to victory.
The 81:75 against Paris Basketball was the third consecutive success in the EuroLeague. But generally, things are going well for FCBB again – and that is very specifically linked to one name: Bayern coach Svetislav Pesic. Since the coaching icon surprisingly returned to Munich, his team has achieved 13 wins across all competitions, with only four defeats (6:3 in the EuroLeague).
“It was important that we didn’t lose our composure against this aggressive Parisian team,” Pesic said: “Such victories also develop the team spirit we need.”
The game against one of the league’s most spectacular offensive teams clearly showed that Bayern under Pesic can not only win again, but also in various ways. There is always the spectacle desired by President Herbert Hainer, but also defensive battles, as against Paris.
Opponent raves about Bayern’s defense: “Impressive”
Especially in defense, Bayern has improved enormously under Pesic. At the start of the season, the Munich team had huge problems stopping the top teams in Europe. If not much came together in their own offense, the team had no chance of winning games. There were even some bitter thrashings, even in their home arena.
But none of that is to be seen now. FCBB defends much more aggressively, giving opponents hardly any room to breathe. Bayern’s top star Andi Obst noted this after the game: “We simply want to be more aggressive and show the opponent right from the start that there’s nothing to get here.”
And this defense definitely has an effect on opponents, as Julius Thomas, German assistant coach of Paris Basketball, explained after the game: “It’s simply difficult for us to get into our systems. There’s physical contact from the start. But it’s completely fair and clean. That’s how they manage to prevent us from getting into our rhythm and our attacks from running as we imagine.”
Thomas was enthusiastic about the opponent’s strong defense: “It’s impressive to see how quickly the team implements this.”
Obst praises Pesic: “Gives us a lot of confidence”
With this concrete defense, Bayern not only shocked Paris, but also the then league leader Hapoel Tel Aviv last week. The star ensemble only managed 64 points in their home arena in a clear defeat.
Since the return of legendary coach Pesic, the offense has also been running much more smoothly. Bayern were able to win games with their offense against Maccabi Tel Aviv (95:71), Baskonia (96:89), and Valencia Basketball (93:89).
Also important in Munich, especially for the audience: there was a spectacle to be seen again, which repeatedly brought the fans to their feet. This was explicitly desired by Bayern President Herbert Hainer at the press conference on the coaching change.
How did Pesic manage the turnaround here too? “We spend a little longer in the arena,” said Andi Obst with a laugh, then explained the changes: “We have longer training sessions and more meetings. In the game, he brought in a lot of structure. We simply follow a clearer line. He clearly dictates what we want to do, and that helps us a lot.”
“He gives us certain freedoms within the system and thus a lot of self-confidence to simply play,” Obst continued.
Pesic turns problem children into key players
The point of self-confidence, in particular, is another extremely positive change. Pesic succeeded in building up the extremely insecure team and ensuring that almost all players are brimming with confidence.
Problem children like Justus Hollatz, David McCormack, or Wenyen Gabriel suddenly became real key players and found their roles. Captain Vladimir Lucic, new signing Justinian Jessup, and especially top scorer Andi Obst improved their solid form from the start of the season and are currently even among the top players in the EuroLeague.
Self-confidence is an extremely important factor for the current top performances, said Obst, who explained how Pesic brought this back into the team: “I do believe that he achieved this with the structure. I thought before, our roles weren’t really clear to us. It was all a bit confusing and muddled. Nobody really knew what was happening, and that wasn’t going so well.”
“Now that everyone clearly knows what to do, we are all better prepared. In every situation, every player knows: Okay, I’m getting the ball now and I have three options. Depending on how you feel, you then use the respective option. That gives every player a certain routine and also great self-confidence,” Obst continued.
Pesic leads with positive body language
Pesic also leads with positive body language itself as a supporting factor. The old master spreads a lot of positive atmosphere during the game and often praises even small, successful plays by his players.
Of course, the 76-year-old can still hit the roof in his typical way if something doesn’t go according to his understanding. However, it is striking that positive addresses clearly predominate, and he manages to inspire his stars with this positive body language.
Can Pesic make the playoff miracle possible?
Bayern are once again a close-knit unit and can thus compensate for the recurring personnel difficulties they have recently faced.
“We constantly have big problems because important players are out. Today Lucic and Dimitrijevic were missing again. Other players were missing before. Sometimes I have more players next to the bench than on the substitutes’ bench. Hopefully, these problems will also be solved at some point,” Pesic said.
This announcement sounds a bit like a threat to the competition. How strong can Bayern and Pesic become once the entire squad is available?
Perhaps then even the playoff miracle is possible. For that, the Munich team must continue to extend their winning streak. They are still four wins behind tenth place, AS Monaco. But it is precisely against this team that they will play on Thursday. With coaching icon Svetislav Pesic, anything is again possible for these Bayern players.