Emir Mutapcic has officially been revealed as the new head coach of Germany, the German Basketball Federation revealed today.
Bosnian Mutapcic takes over from Frank Menz who will return to his previous role of coaching the German under-20 side.
The 54-year-old is currently an assistant to Svetislav Pesic at Bayern Munich but the Euroleague side, along with the Beko BBL have both agreed to give Mutapcic a two-month window in order for him to work with the national side.
Mutapcic previously coached Alba Berlin and Phantoms Braunschweig in the Bundesliga, and during his playing days, was a member of the legendary KK Bosna Sarajevo side of the 1980’s.
“I feel very honoured that the DBB approached me for this role,” Mutapcic said on Thursday. The German team has in my opinion a lot of potential and I would very much like to work with that.
“This task will keep me motivated and I’m really looking forward to the first training camp with the squad in early July.”
The DBB President Ingo Weiss echoed the Bosnian’s words, adding that his coaching experience was a key factor in getting the job.
“Emir Mutapcic has a great reputation in basketball circles and brings a great experience that will benefit our team,” Weiss said.
“He has a very good relationship with the players and impressed us with his ideas.”
Weiss added: “We will give him [Mutapcic] all the support we can in his efforts to guide the team to qualification for Eurobasket 2015.
“It’s no secret that we wish to have a full-time coach for the senior national team ahead of Eurobasket 2015 and the Olympic Games in 2016, but that will be discussed after the Eurobasket qualifiers.”
Germany’s international season begins in August when they face Poland, Austria and Luxembourg in the Eurobasket 2015 Qualifying Round.
