Alba Berlin

Alba Berlin, (also Berlin Albatrosse), is a prominent German professional basketball club that is based in Berlin, Germany. The club was founded in 1991, and is today the largest German national basketball club by membership figures. Alba Berlin hosts its home games at the Mercedes-Benz Arena Berlin and competes in the German League and the EuroLeague or the EuroCup.

Alba Berlin
NicknameBerlin Albatrosse
LeaguesBasketball Bundesliga
EuroLeague
Founded1991 (1991)
HistoryAlba Berlin
(1991–present)
ArenaMercedes-Benz Arena
Capacity14,500[1]
LocationBerlin, Germany
Team colorsYellow, Navy, Blue
              
PresidentDieter Hauert
Team managerMarco Baldi
Head coachAíto García Reneses
Championships1 FIBA Korać Cup
9 Basketball Bundesliga
10 BBL-Pokals
3 German Champions Cups
Retired numbers2 (4, 12)
Websitealbaberlin.de

After winning eight German Championships, ten German Cups, three German Supercups, and the FIBA Korać Cup in 1995, ALBA Berlin is considered to be the most successful German basketball team, both domestically and internationally. With an average attendance of more than 10,000 fans per game in a season, it is also one of the most popular basketball clubs in Europe. In 2013, ALBA was portrayed in the ESPN documentary series Basketball Capitals. In 2014, the club was the first German basketball team to beat a reigning NBA champion, the San Antonio Spurs.

History

1991–2000: Foundation and first championships

Alba Berlin traces its history back to the BG Charlottenburg, a basketball club in western Berlin which was founded in 1989. In 1991, when the global recycling company, Alba AG, agreed to a significant basketball sponsorship, BG Charlottenburg changed its name to Alba Berlin.

Shortly thereafter, under the direction of head coach Faruk Kulenović, Alba Berlin became runner-up at the German Championship. In 1993, the Serbian Svetislav Pešić took over as coach, and the club gained successes that no other German basketball team had previously accomplished. Winning the Korać Cup in 1995 was the first international title of a German club team in basketball.

In 1996, shortly after moving the club from the Sömmeringhalle to the Max-Schmeling-Halle, Alba Berlin finally beat series champion Bayer Leverkusen and won its long-awaited first German Championship. In addition to winning the Korać Cup and other successes at the European level, in his seven-year career as head coach, Pešić won four German championships and one German Cup.

2000–2008: Professionalization and national success
The Max-Schmeling-Halle was the team's home arena from 1996 until 2008

Under head coach Emir Mutapčić the team recorded three German championships and two German Cup victories, but particularly at the European level no significant progress could be made. As a reaction to the time without titles, the team was largely rebuilt for each new season. In 2004 and 2005, Berlin eventually was kicked out of the national playoffs semi-final series. Organizationally, the club created the new position of team manager, which was occupied by Henning Harnisch. Further, the professional section of the club was transformed into a GmbH on 1 September 2005.

In the season 2005–06, under new coach Henrik Rödl, Alba Berlin won another German Cup. As winner of the regular season, the team advanced to the finals series of the championship, in which they lost to RheinEnergie Köln. Köln was coached by Saša Obradović, who had helped Berlin win the FIBA Korać Cup in 1995. The following season, 2006–07, however, Berlin was once again winner of the regular season but was eliminated in the quarter finals by the Artland Dragons. This event triggered the dismissal of Rödl and the signing of a new head coach Luka Pavićević, followed by another major remodeling of the team. After injury problems in the preparation and the course of the season the season 2007–08, (including the loss of Goran Jeretin for the entire season and Aleksandar Rašić for the play-offs) in January 2008 Berlin took advantage of the insolvency of the Cologne 99ers and signed their major players Immanuel McElroy and Aleksandar Nađfeji. Led by the league MVP Julius Jenkins, the team was superior to all other competitors in the play-offs and won the championship again after five-year hiatus.

In the 2003–04 season, Berlin achieved its last master qualification to participate in the highest European League, the EuroLeague. Between the seasons 2004–05 and 2007–08, the team was able to present itself "only" in ULEB Cup, the second-highest European league. Here, only in the 2006–07 season the team made it beyond the first round and where it was eliminated in the second round.

2008–present: Current era
Alba logo used till 2015[2]

With the move into the new 14,500-seat O2 World Berlin, the then reigning champion Alba Berlin opened a new chapter in the club's history. Berlin was the first team in German history to ever average more than 7,000 fans in attendance per game. Thus, Alba's manager Marco Baldi and Supervisory Board chairman, Axel Schweitzer, decided to take the next step towards a permanent presence in international competition and appropriate presentation options. The Anschutz Group, owner of the O2 World Berlin, and Alba Berlin agreed to a 15-year contract until 2023, with an option for another ten years.

As the reigning German champion, Alba participated in the 2008–09 Euroleague. There, the team reached the Top 16, where it could not hold its ground against European elite clubs like FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Yet, Alba had Europe's highest attendance at 11,264 spectators in the O2 World Berlin. In addition, the club gathered 14,800 spectators in the main round home game against Union Olimpija, a record crowd at a European Cup game in Germany. While at the national level in the cup final, Alba defeated Baskets Bonn. Later, Alba was beaten by the same team in the play-off semi-final series in five games.

In 2009 and 2015, the manager of Alba Berlin, Marco Baldi, was honored by Euroleague Basketball Company executives with the EuroLeague Executive of the Year Award.[3]

On 8 October 2014 Alba Berlin defeated the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, 94–93, on a buzzer beater by Jamel McLean.[4]

Mercedez-Benz Areana before an Alba Berlin game in 2019

In the 2014–15 season, Alba returned to the EuroLeague and reached the Top 16. In the Bundesliga, the team had another disappointing season: the team finished in second place but was eliminated in the semifinals. In the 2015–16 season, Alba had one of its worst seasons in history as the team managed to finish only in 7th place in the regular season, though Alba managed to win the German Cup. In the playoffs, the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals. In the 2016–2017 season, the same thing repeated – a disappointing sixth-place finish in the Bundesliga.

The 2017–2018 season, though Alba returned to the finals, losing only to FC Bayern Munich (basketball). Alba also had one of the better Eurocup campaigns of the past years, being closest to the playoffs in years. Alba had brought an awarded veteran for the 2017/18: The Spaniard Aíto García Reneses, 70 years old at the time of signing up his first contract abroad. He had won nine Spanish championship titles (Spanish Basketball Liga) as well as Olympic silver as a coach (2008). With him a successful Spanish Army[5] took over: The 2017 new coaching staff also included other Spaniards: such as co-coach Israel Gonzalez, who had worked with Aito in the past, individual coach Carlos Frade and athletics coach Pepe Silva Moreno. As in the previous course of his coaching work, García Reneses has increasingly brought players from the younger teams into the professional team in Berlin, like Franz Wagner, Jonas Mattisseck and Tim Schneider [26] .

In the 2018–2019 season, Alba had some of its greatest success in more than a decade, as they not only played in the Bundesliga finals for the second year in a row, but also managed to reach the 2019 EuroCup Finals, where they ultimately lost the series 1–2 to Valencia Basket. Two of Alba's players, Rokas Giedraitis, and Luke Sikma (who was also named the league's MVP), were selected to the All-EuroCup First Team, while the team's coach, Aíto García Reneses, was named the Eurocup Coach of the Year. The club also set the season's record for highest attendance, with 12,945 spectators in a finals game against Valencia, which Alba won 95–92.

The 2019–20 season was altered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a final tournament behind closed doors in Munich, Alba went on an undefeated 10–0 streak to win its 9th German title, its first in twelve years.[6]

Players

Retired numbers
Alba Berlin retired numbers
No Nat. Player Position Tenure
4Henrik RödlSF1993–2004
12Wendell AlexisPF1996–2002

Current roster
Alba Berlin roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Age
PG 3 Siva, Peyton 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) 29 – (1990-10-24)24 October 1990
SF 5 Giffey, Niels 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 29 – (1991-06-08)8 June 1991
G/F 8 Eriksson, Marcus 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 26 – (1993-12-05)5 December 1993
SG 9 Mattisseck, Jonas 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 20 – (2000-01-16)16 January 2000
PF 10 Schneider, Tim 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 22 – (1997-09-01)1 September 1997
C 32 Thiemann, Johannes 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 26 – (1994-02-09)9 February 1994
PF 43 Sikma, Luke 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 31 – (1989-07-30)30 July 1989
SF –– Fontecchio, Simone 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 24 – (1995-12-09)9 December 1995
C –– Lammers, Ben 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) 24 – (1995-11-12)12 November 1995
F –– Olinde, Louis 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 22 – (1998-03-18)18 March 1998
G –– Lô, Maodo 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 27 – (1992-12-31)31 December 1992
G –– Granger, Jayson 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) 30 – (1989-09-15)15 September 1989
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Development player
  • Injured
Updated: 1 August 2020

Depth chart
Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Ben Lammers Johannes Thiemann
PF Luke Sikma Tim Schneider Louis Olinde
SF Niels Giffey Simone Fontecchio
SG Jayson Granger Marcus Eriksson Jonas Mattisseck
PG Peyton Siva Maodo Lo

Squad changes for the 2020–2021 season

In

Note: Flags indicate national team, as has been defined under FIBA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIBA nationality.

No. Position Player
SF Simone Fontecchio (from Reggio Emilia)
C Ben Lammers (from Bilbao Basket)
F Louis Olinde (from Brose Bamberg)

Out

Note: Flags indicate national team, as has been defined under FIBA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIBA nationality.

No. Position Player
PF Tyler Cavanaugh (to Iberostar Tenerife)
SF Rokas Giedraitis (to Saski Baskonia)
G Martin Hermannsson (to Valencia Basket)
G Makai Mason (to Baxi Manresa)
C Landry Nnoko (to Crvena zvezda)
SF Kenneth Ogbe (to Brose Bamberg)

Season by season
The Merces-Benz Arena is the host venue for Alba Berlin
Alba Berlin vs the Dallas Mavericks in 2012
Season Tier League Pos. German Cup European competitions
1991–92 1 Bundesliga 2nd 2 European CupRS
1992–93 1 Bundesliga 2nd 3 Korać CupRS
1993–94 1 Bundesliga 3rd 3 Korać CupRS
1994–95 1 Bundesliga 2nd 3 Korać CupC
1995–96 1 Bundesliga 2nd Semi-finalist 3 Korać CupQF
1996–97 1 Bundesliga 1st Champion 1 EuroleagueRS
1997–98 1 Bundesliga 1st 1 EuroleagueQF
1998–99 1 Bundesliga 1st Champion 1 EuroleagueRS
1999–00 1 Bundesliga 1st Runner-up 1 EuroleagueRS
2000–01 1 Bundesliga 1st 1 SuproLeagueQF
2001–02 1 Bundesliga 1st Champion 1 EuroleagueRS
2002–03 1 Bundesliga 1st Champion 1 EuroleagueRS
2003–04 1 Bundesliga 3rd 1 EuroleagueRS
2004–05 1 Bundesliga 3rd 2 ULEB CupRS
2005–06 1 Bundesliga 2nd Champion 2 ULEB CupRS
2006–07 1 Bundesliga 5th 2 ULEB CupRS
2007–08 1 Bundesliga 1st Fourth place 2 ULEB CupRS
2008–09 1 Bundesliga 3rd Champion 1 EuroleagueT16
2009–10 1 Bundesliga 6th Quarter-finalist 1 EuroleagueQR2
2 EurocupRU
2010–11 1 Bundesliga 2nd Quarter-finalist 1 EuroleagueQR3
2 EurocupRS
2011–12 1 Bundesliga 5th Quarter-finalist 1 EuroleagueQR2
2 EurocupRS
2012–13 1 Bundesliga 5th Champion 1 EuroleagueT16
2013–14 1 Bundesliga 2nd Champion 2 EurocupQF
2014–15 1 Bundesliga 3rd Third place 1 EuroleagueT16
2015–16 1 Bundesliga 7th Champion 2 EurocupT16
2016–17 1 Bundesliga 6th Third place 2 EuroCupT16
2017–18 1 Bundesliga 2nd Runner-up 2 EuroCupT16
2018–19 1 Bundesliga 2nd Runner-up 2 EuroCupRU
2019–20 1 Bundesliga 1st Champion 1 EuroLeagueCX
2020–21 1 Bundesliga 1 EuroLeague

Honours
Korać Cup

Total Titles: 23

Domestic competitions
Winners: 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2007–08, 2019–20
  • German Cup (10)
Winners: 1996–97, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2019–20
  • German Supercup (3)
Winners: 2008, 2013, 2014

European competitions
Winners: 1994–95
Runners-up: 2009–10, 2018–19

Other competitions
  • Berlin, Germany Invitational Game
Winners: 2010
  • Zielona Gora, Poland Invitational Game
Winners: 2015
  • Torneo EncestaRias
Winners: 2018
  • Trofeo Alava
Runners-up: 2018
  • Clermont-Ferrand, France Invitational Game
Winners: 2019
  • Oranienburg, Germany Invitational Game
Winners: 2019

Games against NBA teams
6 October 2012
Alba Berlin 84–89 Dallas Mavericks
O2 World, Berlin
8 October 2014
Alba Berlin 94–93 San Antonio Spurs
O2 World, Berlin

The road to 1995 FIBA Korać Cup victory
Round Opponent club   Home     Away  
2nd ZTE 79–59 76–60
Top 32 JDA Dijon 106–88 81–72
Top 16 Pau-Orthez 82–101 80–78
Birex Verona 76–66 74–87
Estudiantes Argentaria 107–80 63–65
QF Filodoro Bologna 77–73 80–80
SF Cáceres 93–70 74–72
F Stefanel Milano 85–79 87–87

Hall of Fame

Notable players

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Alba Berlin's home games at Mercedes-Benz Arena (formerly O2 World) are among the most attended of any European basketball club.

German:

European/African:

North American:

Head coaches

Home arenas
Alba Dancers in 2013

Sponsorships
Name sponsor ALBA SE[7]
Shirt sponsor ZhongDe Metal Group[7]
Sport clothing manufacturer Adidas AG[7]
gollark: So we'll make a bizarre city building game?
gollark: 2 is *approximately* equal to 3.
gollark: We should use the minimal ruleset plus some tweakß.
gollark: !laser geckoes --deploy
gollark: B L O C K C H A I N?

See also

References
  1. Stadiums in Germany, Berlin Archived 6 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine Worldstadiums.com
  3. Club Executive of the Year: Marco Baldi, Alba Berlin Euroleague.net
  4. "VIDEO: Spurs lose to Alba Berlin at the buzzer". CBS Sports. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  5. "ALBA's Spanish Army". Welcome to 7DAYS EuroCup. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  6. "Berlin feiert erste Meisterschaft seit zwölf Jahren / Marcos Knight von Kapitänen zum Turnier-MVP gewählt". www.easycredit-bbl.de. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  7. Partner-Übersicht Alba Berlin Basketballteam, albaberlin.de. Retrieved 30 September 2015. (in German)
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