The former assistant coach of the New York Liberty, Olaf Lange, has been appointed as the new coach of the German women’s basketball team.
Lange, a native of Berlin, will lead the team in the World Cup that Germany will host next year. Previously, he already held this role between 2001 and 2003.
At 53 years old, Lange will reunite with Liberty players Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally during the tournament. Germany also has Phoenix Mercury star Satou Sabally in their squad.
The German team will first participate in the qualifying phase for the FIBA World Cup, which will be held in France next March.
Lange could face his wife, Sandy Brondello, who is the coach of the Australian national team. Lange was part of her coaching staff in the Opals since 2019 and in the Liberty since she took over in 2022. Brondello’s contract was not renewed by New York last month, after the team lost in the first round of the playoffs.
In addition, Lange was the coach of the Russian national team between 2017 and 2019. He replaces Lisa Thomaidis, who coached Germany in the Paris Olympics. The German team reached the quarterfinals in last year’s Olympic Games.
