It’s been a turbulent year for Johannes Voigtmann. The Russian war of aggression on Ukraine has also shaken up the basketball player’s life. And that just before the home European Championships.
Finally basketball again! Finally back on the court with teammates! For Johannes Voigtmann, the two upcoming World Cup qualifiers in Estonia on Thursday and three days later in Bremen against Poland are two very special ones. Not because the German national team is aiming for a good starting position for the second group phase on the way to the World Cup next year. Nor because the matches are already a first small preparatory step for the European Championship this summer with a preliminary round in Cologne and the final round in Berlin. Voigtmann has simply not played basketball since the end of February because of the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine.
When Vladimir Putin gave the order to invade Ukraine on 24 February, Voigtmann was still under contract with Russian top club ZSKA Moscow. The 29-year-old centre was in Munich with his team, where the Euroleague match with FC Bayern scheduled for the evening was cancelled at short notice. No one could think about basketball because of the terrible pictures from Ukraine – and no one could think about staying in Russia either.
With car and dog 2500 kilometres back to Germany
“In the current situation, I can’t reconcile myself with competing for a Russian team, where it’s all about winners and losers in the end”, “Even if it’s only about basketball, it involves a symbolism that is inappropriate from my point of view at the moment.”
So, after returning to Moscow from Munich and after talks with ZSKA officials, Voigtmann grabbed his German shepherd, cleared out his flat and, with the dog in the passenger seat in the car, set off over some 2,500 kilometres to Germany, where his family was already waiting for him.
“The Russian president is responsible for a brutal war of aggression, because of which innocent people are dying in Ukraine, millions of people have to flee their homes, and children are losing their homes and even their lives. I simply could not stay in Russia and carry on as if nothing had happened,” said Voigtmann.
Back in Germany, the first thing was to mentally process the abrupt end in Moscow. After that, Voigtmann was faced with the question, also with a view to the home European Championships: switch to another club in the short term to gain playing practice, or give his body some time to recover after many years without major breaks? Voigtmann decided on the latter option, also because the talks with ZSKA about terminating his contract did not turn out to be so easy. He is still officially under contract in Moscow until the summer of 2023.
But for now, the focus this summer is on the national team. Already a fortnight ago, Voigtmann was part of a small group that started training in Frankfurt am Main. Since last Friday, national coach Gordon Herbert has gathered his complete team around him and is happy that Voigtmann is part of it. “Jo is a very important component,” said Herbert. “We now have to see how quickly he finds his rhythm again.”
Together with NBA pro Dennis Schröder, Voigtmann is expected to lead the team this summer. Already last year, when Schröder was missing, Voigtmann was one of the leaders. The Thuringian also made his standing in the team clear with clear statements in the Joshiko Saibou case, who did not clearly distance himself from conspiracy theories during the Corona period.
“I’ve been with the team for eight or nine years now and I’ve developed into a role there,” Voigtmann told dpa. “It’s not like one person is the boss here. We have many who play at the highest level and therefore have the right to say something. And I think I’m one of them. “
