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Berlin (dpa) - Dirk Nowitzki pulled and pulled - but the balls didn't want the way he wanted.
The basketball legend took his starting problems with the draw for the 2022 European Championship with humor.
“I thought you just had to open it. At first I didn't check that it had to be turned, ”said the 42-year-old with a smile. EM ambassador Nowitzki gave the German team extremely complicated tasks for the home preliminary round: The team of national coach Henrik Rödl will meet the reigning European champion Slovenia with NBA superstar Luka Doncic, the co-favorites France and Lithuania as well as Hungary and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
"We got a tough lot, it's a very, very good group," said Nowitzki after the drawing on Thursday in Berlin.
“Somehow we always have France, we often played against them.
But of course I hope with the home audience that they do better than we did in 2015. "
Almost six years ago, the selection of the German Basketball Association was eliminated in the home preliminary round in Berlin, Nowitzki then gave his very emotional farewell to the national team on the floor.
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The goal for the German team is again the German capital, the complete knockout round will take place in Berlin.
The other three preliminary round groups of the continental tournament rise in the Czech Republic (Prague), Georgia (Tbilisi) and Italy (Milan).
The first four teams reach the round of 16.
The former European champion Lithuania was already known as a German opponent before the draw, as each of the four preliminary round hosts could choose an opponent. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the EM had been postponed by one year to 2022 and will now take place from September 1st to 18th.
At the last European Championship, Nowitzki's successors had shown strong performances four years ago and only failed in the quarter-finals to Spain.
The 2019 World Cup, however, ended with a bitter disappointment and the preliminary round.
"In terms of individual skills, we are well staffed," Nowitzki said of the current team led by Dennis Schröder.
“Then I hope that we will perform well as a team.
It would be great if they could make it to the Olympics this summer. "
The German team has to win their qualifying tournament in Croatia at the end of June in order to qualify for the summer games in Tokyo.
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In 2008 Nowitzki led the German selection to the last Olympic participation so far.
At the EM he will now take on a role outside of the sporting side.
"I would rather play a little more, now I have to act as an ambassador," said the former NBA champion jokingly.
“It's a great honor to stay close to the national team.
It was a great time.
I'm happy that we got a home tournament in Germany. "
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210429-99-403734 / 3