Basketball – FC Bayern brings Pesic back

Svetislav Pešić is returning to German basketball champions Bayern Munich as the successor to world champion coach Gordon Herbert. As the club announced on Monday, the 76-year-old will have a contract until the end of the season. His predecessor Herbert was only released last Saturday after eight consecutive defeats in the Euroleague.

“Svetislav knows Munich, he knows Bavaria and both leagues. Some of us know him very well – so the adjustment period for him should be short. That gives us a good feeling about this decision – in addition to his enormous experience,” says FCBB sports director Dragan Tarlac. Pešić was the national coach of his home country Serbia until the summer. Under the coach, Bayern won their first BBL title in 2014. In 1993, Pešić became European champions with Germany.

Pešić will sit on the bench for the first time on Tuesday (7.30 p.m./Magenta Sport) when Munich meets leaders Hapoel Tel Aviv in the European premier class. In the first game after the separation, Bayern were looked after by Herbert’s previous assistants around Mihajlo Mitic on Sunday in the 83:55 (40:27) league victory at Telekom Baskets Bonn. Under Pesic, the turnaround in the Euroleague should be successful. While they started with play-off hopes, Bayern are currently second to last with five wins and twelve defeats. In the Bundesliga, Munich is at the top with 18:2 points, and in the cup the club is aiming for the title in the Top Four in February.

Ultimately, however, Herbert’s lack of success in the Euroleague was his downfall. Bayern had never lost eight games in a row there. Meanwhile, the Canadian, who took up the position in Munich in the summer of 2024, had to accept numerous setbacks over the course of the season so far.