Without Dennis Schröder, with team spirit as “trump card”: DBB team switches to Tokyo mode

The German national basketball team is preparing for the Olympics at high pressure in Trier. Dennis Schröder’s participation is becoming increasingly unlikely.

As expected, there was no trace of Dennis Schröder when Germany’s basketball players proudly posed in front of the huge black-red-gold flag and peeked cheekily through the oversized Olympic rings.

While the twelve Tokyo riders were first in their jerseys and then in beach outfits for photos, hope faded on Wednesday in Trier that the star playmaker could surprisingly join the Olympic team.

“We assume that it will not work,” said national coach Henrik Rödl during the public media training. Schröder had already missed the qualifying tournament in Split due to unresolved insurance issues, where the national team surprisingly qualified for the summer games in Tokyo (July 23 to August 8).

Therefore Rödl nominated the twelve players who bought the Tokyo ticket in Croatia.

Rödl: “The medal is very exaggerated”

Most recently, the German Basketball Federation (DBB) tried to find a solution to the Schröder case. Even before the qualifying tournament, this was not possible due to the high market value of the 27-year-old in coordination between Schröder’s management, DBB and an insurance company.

Schröder, who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers in the US professional league NBA, is currently a “free agent” and therefore more difficult to insure.

Without the well-known leader, the team unity, which was the key to success in Split, should carry the team far at the Olympics. “The team is our trump card,” said Rödl, who did not want to dream of a big medal coup right away.

“I think we always have a chance of winning a game,” he said. “A medal is, I think, very exaggerated at the moment. But I have very, very much confidence in the team.”

The first Olympic opponent is Italy

The DBB team is still preparing for the Olympics in Trier until July 18, when the Olympic adventure begins. In Japan things get down to business right at the beginning of the group stage. The starting opponent on July 25th (6.40 a.m. CEST) is Italy, which last defeated Germany in the Hamburg Supercup.

But Rödl warns against underestimating the Italians: “They won’t be recognizable,” said the coach, “compared to the team we beat in the Supercup.”

Then Nigeria (July 28 / 3:00 a.m.) and podium candidate Australia (July 31 / 10:20 a.m.) are waiting in the fight for the quarter-finals. The latter even defeated the record Olympic champion USA around superstar Kevin Durant in test matches in Las Vegas. “Our group is very strong, you really have to say that,” admitted Rödl, although he nevertheless confidently admitted: “We are going there with a broad chest.”

For Rödl himself, who finished seventh in Barcelona in 1992, the trip to Tokyo is a very special experience. “One of my big goals in life was to make it there again,” said the coach, whose future with the gang is uncertain. But Rödl will hardly think about that when the plane takes off for the Olympics on Sunday.

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