Their feet were just itching to show what they can do. Andreas Obst, Isaac Bonga and Niels Giffey took one of the balls and showed off their footballing skills. Doing some keepy-uppies, Obst even pulled out some backheels on the pitch at Säbener Straße as Bayern’s three Basketball World Cup winners stopped by to visit their football counterparts on Monday morning.
During training, Obst, Bonga and Giffey – who won the Basketball World Cup with Germany just a week ago – chatted with club president Herbert Hainer. “I think it’s great that our three Basketball World Cup winners have come here to Säbener Straße to meet with the football players,” Hainer said. “The World Cup triumph is a huge success for German basketball and German sport overall. Clear evidence what you can do with team togetherness and spirit. FC Bayern provided the most players in the squad with three players. We’re very proud of our World Cup-winning trio.”
After the session, Joshua Kimmich and Serge Gnabry were the first to offer their congratulations. Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer also spoke with Obst, Bonga and Giffey about Germany’s thrilling tournament. Finally, head coach Thomas Tuchel came over to talk with the world champions.
“It was really cool to be here with the guys, to talk to Herbert Hainer and Thomas Tuchel and be congratulated by them,” said Obst, who was one of the star performers in the semi-final win over the USA. “It’s nice to be back in Munich. We’re coming to terms with what we achieved more and more. It just makes you proud and happy, seeing what it means for other people and how it’s been perceived in Germany.”
The achievements at the World Cup also made an impression on their football colleagues. “We have a lot of basketball fans among the football players. They know each other and as sportspeople have great respect for the achievements of others,” Hainer added. “The football players also said how great it is that Germany won the World Cup, what they achieved and showed them great respect.”
FC Bayern Basketball will now take that World Cup momentum into the new season and last week signed former NBA champion Serge Ibaka. Hainer welcomed the big new signing at the Allianz Arena on Friday. Ibaka wanted to take the chance after his medical to go and watch a football match in Munich. “That also pleased us a lot,” Hainer stated. “Football meets basketball. As you can see, everything at FC Bayern is played together.”
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