Germany’s national basketball coach put the game above his health. A bout of pancreatitis left him severely weakened. He endured one of the worst moments of his life, but he understood his team needed him… and the rest is history. Golden history.
Álex Mumbrú (Barcelona, 46 years old) has collected titles as a player, mostly with the Spanish national team. He won gold at the 2001 Mediterranean Games, the 2006 FIBA World Cup in Japan, and the 2009 EuroBasket in Poland. He also earned a silver medal at the Olympics. In European competitions, he has medals of every color, including a silver and a bronze. At the club level, he boasts an ACB League title, a FIBA EuroCup, and a ULEB Cup.
Spanish coaches have paved the way in Germany, with names like Aíto García, Israel González, Pablo Laso, Pedro Calles, Jesús Ramírez… Since September, the country has a new hero: Mumbrú. He had to overcome a severe illness during the EuroBasket, but he managed to pull through, even though it put his life at risk. After an operation to remove gallstones and his gallbladder, he is now recovering.
I don’t want to dwell too much on the illness, as I imagine he’s tired of reliving that bitter episode, but it’s necessary to ask how he is feeling now.
I’m okay, but it’s a long process until I’m back to 100%. I lost a lot of weight very quickly—18 kilos, almost 20—an enormous amount.
A terrifying scare. How did the exact timeline unfold?
We were preparing for the entire EuroBasket. Right when we arrived, as soon as I got off the plane, I started feeling a bit unwell. That thing you say: “Whoa, how strange!” At the moment, you don’t think much of it; you’re deeply immersed in preparing for the tournament. I got to the hotel and was already feeling terrible. I went up to the room and began to worry. I felt something weird—stomach pain, chills… and I started vomiting.
What a distressing experience!
I was hospitalized for ten days. The pain was so intense, and with all the epidural medication they gave me, I wasn’t aware of much. I knew where I was and little else. The hospital turned into chaos. Now it’s all over and I’m happy, but at that moment, it was a big scare.
Those of us who know him, knowing he’s a fierce competitor, suspected something was very wrong when we saw him motionless during the EuroBasket final.
I went a month and a half without eating; I drank a little water with difficulty. I checked myself out of the hospital at my own risk. I had to sign a form for that. The doctors in Tampere, Finland, had advised me not to return to training. But I wanted to be with the team. We had to go to Riga. In the last five days, for example, before the semifinals and the final, all I did was stay in my room hooked up to an IV. I didn’t eat. They would remove the needles so I could get up, go to the game, and come back. They also removed them for the pre-game meetings to discuss the game plan… and then back to the room to lie down until game time. I looked like a zombie. It was torture.
“I didn’t eat; they removed the needles so I could get up, go to the game, and come back” — Mumbrú
Did you ever weigh the situation: your health versus the EuroBasket? You could have risked your life for a trophy!
Well, I’ve mentioned it once. That was the first thing the doctor told me. I was clear that I was going to the hospital. I lifted the trophy with my last bit of strength. And right after that, I went directly to the locker room and left because I was truly in a very bad state. At that moment, I said: I’m going to Barcelona.
