German coach Rodl: "World Cup Qualifiers great for sport - and fans"

FRANKFURT (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - New Germany head coach Henrik Rodl can hardly wait to start his work with the national team ahead of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers as he believes the new competition system is great for both the sport and its fans.

Rodl, who took over the German coaching duties from Chris Fleming, knows a thing or two about the Qualifiers, having made his senior national team debut when games to qualify for EuroBasket were played during breaks in the club season.

That's why the FIBA EuroBasket 1993 champion looks forward to the in-season national team games coming back. He will pace the sidelines when Germany host Georgia on November 24 and then play at Austria on November 27.

The former national team guard spoke to the German daily Frankfurter Rundschau about the start of preparations for the first Qualifiers and the advantages of FIBA's new Competition System.

This coming Monday you will be leading practice for the national team for the first time as its head coach. How much are you looking forward to holding these new duties?
It is something special when you are national team coach. I am happy about the trust that people have in me. It's about time for it to start.

For two years you were an assistant to your predecessor Chris Fleming. What experience were you able to gain and what changes for you now?
We worked together since FIBA EuroBasket 2015 in Berlin. It was there that we started building up a team that took another step at the EuroBasket in Israel and Turkey. We were the youngest team of the tournament. Now it's my job to continue to lead this team, build upon it and hopefully bring it to the next level.

Germany reached the Quarter-Finals at FIBA EuroBasket 2017, before losing to Spain. What did that tell you about the team?
That we are close. We can hold our own with any team in Europe. Our players are more mature than they were two years ago. The team has so much energy and worked so unbelievably well together. That was great. With a little experience and continuing to work at this level, I am convinced that this team can improve on that.

In the build-up to these FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers, there was a lot of discussion about the introduction of the national team games during breaks in the club season. What is your take on this?
In general, it is a great idea. The other major sports do it as well and the national teams has always held a high significance. It is great for the national team to meet up during the season, to work together and give players the opportunity to play. The fans are also interested in the national team. Why should that be different during the season? I participated in this myself as a player and my first national team games were in the Qualifiers.

Some EuroLeague players may not be able to take part in the Qualifiers. The NBA players are not there. Does this not water down the whole intention of strengthening basketball through the national teams when the best players cannot be on hand?
There are still many good national team players there. We will put together a good team and it will also be fun to follow it. It is not yet clear how it will look. Altogether it's not an ideal situation. I hope it will resolve itself in time.

Could spectators stay away if they know that the best players like the NBA's Dennis Schroder or Paul Zipser are missing?
We are working on these players being able to be there again (during the Qualifiers to be played in June/July and September 2018). We hope that the people support us as strongly as possible - regardless of who is out there playing. Like I said, it's not ideal.

Germany's first games of these Qualifiers are against Georgia and Austria. How do you assess them?
Georgia were our opponents in the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Group Phase in Tel Aviv and it was a very, very difficult game for us. It was almost a key game because with the win our chances of qualifying for the next round increased. It is a very well coached team. It will not be easy to beat this team. We must mobilize all our powers. Austria do not have a EuroLeague issue and only have one NBA player. Therefore they are upgraded a bit. We believe we can master both tasks.  

FIBA