World Cup winning basketball coach Herbert reveals severe illness

Then Germany's coach Gordon Herbert reacts during the European Championship 4th round, Group D basketball match between Germany and Montenegro at the MHPArena. Marijan Murat/dpa

Gordon Herbert, who coached Germany to the basketball world title in 2023, has said he was seriously ill last year with heart problems in connection with a coronavirus infection.

"I was very lucky. I was lying in bed with myocarditis and an irregular heartbeat, wondering if I’d pull through. It was a very serious situation. I know that people have died from it," Herbert told the basketball-world.news portal.

"It was a difficult time. I couldn’t have imagined that COVID could be so dangerous."

The illness came when Herbert coached Bayern Munich. He was at sideline with a face mask before missing three weeks due to the illness. He was eventually sacked in connection with poor EuroLeague results.

"In the end, I was lucky because the doctors detected an extra heartbeat and took me off the streets. I was diagnosed with myocarditis and two of my heart valves were no longer closing properly.

"I put my job as a coach before my own health," he said. "I paid a price for that. Things got really bad and I was sleeping 16–17 hours a day. I was bedridden for almost two and a half weeks."

Herbert, 66, coached the German national team 2021-2024 and led them to a first-ever world title in 2023. He said he was fit again now and ready to take over the national team of his home country Canada from July onwards.

"I was lucky that my heart is in good shape, and the same goes for my heart valves. I no longer have a second heartbeat, and I’m feeling fine," he said.

"The doctors carried out a whole host of tests and told me I have the heart of a 40-year-old. That really helped me get through it at the time."