Israel González has been the head coach of Alba Berlin since 2021, but his appointment to the club took place four years ago under the guidance of another Spanish coach, Aito García Reneses. Ta. This Friday, they will face Barça in the Euroleague, a team whose point guard Juan Núñez knows well from his time in the Bundesliga and who, in an interview with EFE, describes them as a “team of headaches” for their rivals. is defined.

The Cantabrian coach considers the former Latiopham Ulm player to be a “point guard with very good skills who plays direct blocks and reads the game situation”, adding: “This year I’m surrounded by big stars. So it will be even easier for him to play.” “He will be very difficult to stop” against Palau Blaugrana because he is off-balance.

“What impresses me most about Barça is looking at the playing time and how they distribute it in each game. Practically all 12 players take part. “Because they don’t have players to play, they are able to constantly rotate and maintain a very high defensive rhythm without compromising quality,” he stressed about his next rival, praising new coach João Peñaloya. I am doing it. He has achieved very good results in recent years. ”

“It’s a great team, they have great players and a lot of resources. After losing in the first EuroLeague game, playing at home will be more difficult for us. We have all the enthusiasm in the world. We will go there, fight as much as we can and try to surprise them,” he concluded about the Catalan team.

Kudos to Alba Project and Aito

Regarding the team he coaches, Alba explains: “We have a future project and a clear idea of ​​where the club should go,” which he explains along with the progress he has made over the past seven years. “It was seven years ago when we arrived”, the club was in a kind of slump, but it drew people to the pavilion, played attractive basketball and brought in young players who had not been in the first team before. I wanted to bring out the. “We did what they asked us to do and created a champion team that won the Bundesliga three times and the Cup twice,” he emphasizes.

In that sense, González used the opportunity to praise the man who brought him to the German capital. “Aito is the inventor of modern basketball. When a legend like him asked me to be his assistant and coach because he believes I can be a great coach in the future, he said no. I can’t say that.

The veteran Madrid manager, known in Spain for his work with the youth system, has transferred his philosophy to Alba Berlin, where the Cantabrian manager continues to work. “We have a lot of youth players (Schneider, Procida, Wetzel, Olinde, Derrou, Matysek…)” who grew up with us. “Alba’s intention is to be a team different from other teams in the Euroleague,” he says.

“We are probably the team with the most young players in this competition, which means we have players who see a project where they can develop and want to sign with our team. It’s true that one player can be signed quickly. If a player stands out, we will take him away,” he insists.

When asked if this philosophy would make him uncompetitive in Germany, González was clear: Bayern Munich have essentially more than double our budget, so the disadvantages already start there. We’ve been very competitive and have had them grow and explode with us while having young, quality talent that probably isn’t ready to jump onto other teams yet. That’s our bet. If you go to the pure market, you can’t compete with them. ”

Euroleague excitement and future

They opened their EuroLeague campaign last week with a clash against Panathinaikos, but despite losing, the Spanish coach is happy with the image he has been given. “We were very good. We had five casualties and still managed to get back up and fight. With two minutes left, we had a chance to win the game. We were champions. “We know it’s not our league to beat, but there was effort and good basketball. We were close,” he points out.

González said that Alba’s aim in the EuroLeague is to “develop” the players, in a competition where they know they don’t feel the same pressure as other players, adding that they “enjoy the competition and work hard to develop each player.” It’s about trying to do your best in the game.” “It’s a difficult team for our rivals and we must never give up,” and on a personal level “we can confirm that they are “growing” by winning more than last year.

And thanks to the ecosystem he has found in the Berlin club, he can exclude other temptations in the future. “It was Alba who gave me the opportunity to become a head coach. “I couldn’t ask for a better place,” he added.