End of the Aito era in ALBA Berlin: Israel Gonzalez takes over as new head coach / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: ALBA Berlin Credit ALBA Berlin

It's the end of an era in German champions ALBA Berlin. After 4 years with the club, Aito Garcia Reneses will no longer coach the team he helped win the German title in 2021 and reach the EuroCup finals in 2019. At the age of 74, the legendary Spanish coach is now taking a well-deserved break since his contract expired at the end of last season.

His successor will be none other than his former assistant, Israel Gonzalez. The 46-year-old Spaniard takes the post, after having won three domestic titles (2 championships, 1 Cup) with Reneses at the helm. It's a development that came as no surprise, as BasketNews had reported about a month ago that Gonzalez was the frontrunner for the post if Reneses decided to step down, which he did.

"I have been part of the ALBA family for four years. It makes me happy to be the head coach of this great club. I thank you for the confidence and the chance to take the post of head coach. Together we want to continue on our successful path. I would also like to thank Aíto. In six years together, I learned a lot from him. I want to continue to advance this beautiful and exciting basketball game and share the great feelings around it with all our fans. We miss our fans very much. It will be overwhelming to finally play in front of a full arena again, if circumstances allow it," new ALBA head coach Israel Gonzalez told the club's website.

For Aito Garcia Reneses, the memories from all the experiences lived in Berlin are very vivid: "My time in Berlin was great. I enjoyed it in this city, in this club, with the fans and especially with the people I worked with every day. We can be very proud of what we have achieved in our efforts to make the team and every player better every day. Now is the time for me to take a break as a coach and recharge my batteries. I am very happy for Israel to take over the position of ALBA head coach. He has proven what he can do and I wish him, the team and the club only the best for the future. ALBA Berlin will always have a special place in my heart.“ALBA Sports Director Himar Ojeda added: "With Israel as head coach, we are opening a new chapter at ALBA. We have prepared this step in the long term, starting with his role as an assistant coach and then with the change to associate head coach last autumn. Israel has a great understanding of the game, he shares our basketball idea and our values in the club. We are very happy to go with him into the future. Our big thanks go to Aíto, with whom we have had great pleasure in recent years and who has helped to develop the club decisively. There will always be a door open for him at ALBA.“Aito Reneses joined ALBA BERLIN in 2017 and together with Israel Gonzalez they continued the innovative concept of promoting talents and bringing them to the European top level. Young German players from the ALBA program and talents from abroad were developed under their guidance within a short time, turning into reliable forces at the highest European level.

In total, in the four years under Spanish management, the team reached the final of the German Championship four times, played three times in the Cup final and once in the EuroCup final.

Credit ALBA BerlinIsrael Gonzalez was born on February 16, 1975 in Torralavega, Spain. He graduated in Sports Science from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Gonzalez holds the highest Spanish coaching license and has been active as a coach in professional basketball for 17 years.He began his career in 2004 with Cantabria Baloncesto as an assistant coach, taking the post of head coach in December 2007. After the 2007-08 season, Gonzalez moved to Gran Canaria, where he became head coach of the U20 team of CB Gran Canaria. In addition, he already worked there as a coach for the ACB team. From the 2009-10 season, he worked exclusively as an assistant coach for the professionals.In Gran Canaria, the paths of Reneses and Gonzalez crossed for the first time, when the former became head coach of CB Gran Canaria in the 2014-15 season. After two seasons in which the team finished fifth and eighth in the Spanish ACB, they both moved together to ALBA BERLIN.

Current roster

ALBA Berlin

Position Player Status PG Tamir Blatt (story) Signed until 2023 PG Maodo Lo (story) Signed until 2023 SG Marcus Eriksson Signed until 2023 SG Jonas Mattisseck Signed until 2023 +1 SG Stefan Peno Signed until 2023 SG Malte Delow (story) Signed until 2025 SG/SF Yovel Zoosman (story) Signes until 2024 SF Louis Olinde Signeduntil 2023 PF Luke Sikma Signeduntil 2023 PF Johannes Thiemann Signed until 2024 PF Tim Schneider Signeduntil 2022 C Ben Lammers Signeduntil 2023 C Christ Koumadje Signeduntil 2023 C Kresimir Nikic Signeduntil 2024 Coach Israel Gonzalez (story) Expired contract Aito Garcia Reneses (not coming back), Peyton Siva (not coming back), Jayson Granger (not coming back), Niels Giffey (not coming back) Rumored to leave Interested Jaleen Smith (story) Like what we are doing? Support us by becoming BN+ member.