Bayern comeback of the coach: The eternal Pesic

AWhen Svetislav Pesic was the coach of the Bayern basketball team, he enjoyed receiving guests in his office, in a side building of the Rudi Sedlmayer Hall. Once, at the end of 2012, an interview was also about the holidays. “We even celebrate Christmas twice, my wife is Catholic and I am Orthodox,” he said, “so we spend Christmas Eve with relatives, and in two weeks we do the same thing again. My grandchild is happy about it: there are twice the presents.” It’s probably going to be similar now, because 13 years later it’s not that different.

Pesic, 76, has been back as Munich coach since Monday; he is once again stepping in in familiar surroundings after Gordon Herbert had to leave in the middle of the season last weekend. The current world champion coach (Herbert with the DBB 2023) is followed by a previous one (Pesic with Yugoslavia in 2002), a former national coach is followed by one of his predecessors, who first made basketball popular in Germany with the European Championship title in 1993. In many respects it is a strange turn of events that is taking place at Bayern, because hardly any name characterizes this club as much as that of Pesics.

His son Marko initiated the Munich basketball project in 2011 in collaboration with then Bayern President Uli Hoeneß. Svetislav Pesic won the championship at his first coaching position on the Isar in 2014 and stayed for a total of four years, until 2016. And now? The father returns in acute sporting need, while the son leaves the position of managing director at the end of the year after 14 years. The Bayern basketball players and the Pesics, it’s a family thing – and when you consider that Svetislav Pesic’s son-in-law Jan Jagla also played for the team at one point, it becomes even more astonishing.

A look at the Euroleague, which is almost more important to the club than the Bundesliga, gives you an idea of ​​how big the mess is that Pesic senior is supposed to get the team out of. Eight defeats in a row, second to last place, devastating lack of chances – that required a shake-up from the sporting management. It should be the playoffs with a squad that is rated stronger than five bankruptcies, some of which were more than 25 points behind, would suggest. “We definitely don’t want to give up goals,” said President Herbert Hainer at Pesic’s presentation on Monday evening. He should be on the floor for the first time on Tuesday evening against Hapoel Tel Aviv.

Svetislav Pesic slyly comments on the fact that his son Marko is quitting as managing director: “Two would be too many.”

The new coach, who they like to call “the old one” in Munich, introduced himself with his usual shrewdness. It’s okay that his son stopped now of all times, because: “Two would be too many.” It is also part of the story that Marko Pesic remains available in an advisory capacity.

However, this is not the time for sentimentality; it is more important to “get to know the players” quickly, said Svetislav Pesic and indicated where his focus lies: “I believe in discipline and responsibility.” There is reportedly a need to catch up in both areas, as the team is apparently starting to see cracks that are hindering performance after the many bankruptcies.

Under Gordon Herbert there was a lack of clear distribution of roles, players like the highly talented NBA signing Spencer Dinwiddie rotated between positions, and there was a lack of leadership – also due to injuries. Pesic, who will take over until the end of the season, will need the full range of his squeamish coaching skills to clean things up at Bayern; to use the players in such a way that they work against the best in Europe and start a comeback. From 19th place they have to go to at least tenth place in the second half of the Euroleague season in order to have a chance of making the playoffs. And the Bundesliga, where Munich are top of the table, must also continue to run without accidents. Under these conditions, Pesic defines himself as an ad hoc task force: “I only have one goal here, that we improve as quickly as possible.”

The eternal Pesic, he is extending his coaching career for the last time, which recently gave him a few more years as Serbian national coach. Olympic bronze in 2024 was actually considered his last highlight, but now his sometimes authoritarian leadership style is in demand again. With him, the people of Munich are relying on the tried and tested, they know what they’re getting. And other celebrities on the coaching market such as Ettore Messina, Andrea Trinchieri or Zeljko Obradovic were not available at such short notice.

“Svetislav knows Munich, he knows Bavaria. Some of us know him very well – the adjustment period should be short,” said sports director Dragan Tarlac. By “some” he also meant himself, as he most recently worked with Pesic for three years as “Managing Director” of the Serbian national team. And if anyone is still wondering what happened to Pesic’s grandson, who was happy about the double Christmas in 2012: He now plays in the Bayern basketball team’s second team.