Miguel Méndez (basketball)

Miguel Méndez
Méndez in 2018
Virtus Bologna
PositionHead coach
LeagueLBF
EuroLeague Women
Personal information
Born (1967-03-02) 2 March 1967 (age 57)
Vigo, Spain
Coaching career2001–present
Career history
As coach:
2001–2011Celta de Vigo
2011–2013Baloncesto Rivas
2013–2017Schio
2018–2022UMMC Ekaterinburg
2022–Virtus Bologna
Career highlights and awards
As head coach:
Medals
Women's basketball
Head coach for  Spain
EuroBasket Women
Silver medal – second place 2023 Israel/Slovenia

Miguel Méndez Martínez (born 2 March 1967) is a Spanish professional basketball coach who is the current head coach of Virtus Bologna of the Lega Basket Femminile (LBF) and EuroLeague Women. He is also the head coach of the Spain women's national basketball team.

Coaching career

Celta de Vigo and Baloncesto Rivas

Méndez began his coaching career in 2001, when he began coaching Celta de Vigo. In 2011, he signed a contract with Baloncesto Rivas. Under Méndez's tenure, Rivas reached the EuroLeague final and won the Copa de la Reina.[1][2]

Schio

In 2013, Méndez signed a contract with the Italian club Schio. In his first season with the club, Schio won the Supercoppa Italiana, Coppa Italia and the LBF title in the 2013–14 season, a feat they repeated the following season.[3] Schio won another league title in the 2015–16 season and played in the EuroLeague in their first season there.[4][5] At the beginning of the 2016–17 season Méndez won his fourth (and final) Supercoppa Italiana with the team.[6]

UMMC Ekaterinburg

In 2018, Méndez was hired by UMMC Ekaterinburg. Under his tenure, UMMC won four straight Russian league titles between 2018 and 2021 and the EuroLeague championship 2018, 2019, and 2021.[7][8]

National team coaching career

On 24 September 2021, Méndez was introduced as the new head coach of the Spanish women's team.[9] With this coach, the Spain competed in the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2023, where they lost to Belgium in the final.[10]

References

  1. ^ "La imparable Lyttle termina con el sueño de Rivas". Marca. 1 April 2012.
  2. ^ "Rivas Ecópolis gana la Copa gracias a su intensidad en la segunda parte" (in Spanish). Marca. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Schio. Il Famila Basket è Campione d'Italia e conquista il settimo scudetto della sua storia". 5 May 2015.
  4. ^ "Schio. Tripudio arancione, il Famila Basket è Campione d'Italia. Fotogallery della festa". 15 May 2016.
  5. ^ "Oggi le campionesse in sala consiliare. Intanto su Eurobasket..." 18 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Famila, che fatica. La Supercoppa è salva per un punto". 26 September 2016. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  7. ^ Tikkanen, Amy (May 4, 2023). "Brittney Griner". Britannica. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  8. ^ Phillippou, Alexa (August 2, 2022). "WNBA players' offseason teams, salaries change with Russia, UMMC Ekaterinburg no longer an option". ESPN. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  9. ^ "OFICIAL: Miguel Méndez, nuevo entrenador de la Selección Española femenina".
  10. ^ "Belgium at the EuroBasket Women 2023". Retrieved 25 June 2023.