Federico Van Lacke Completes Unicaja Coaching Staff

The Spanish-Argentine coach, who has extensive experience as a player in the Liga Endesa, joins the staff led by Txus Vidorreta

Federico Van Lacke completes Unicaja's coaching staff. The club has reached an agreement to bring on the 46-year-old former Spanish-Argentine player as an assistant coach for the first team ahead of the 2026-27 season. In doing so, he will bring to the team his extensive experience accumulated over more than two decades on the court, much of it in the Liga Endesa, as well as a growing track record on the sidelines and in player development.

Born in Santa Fe, Argentina, Van Lacke developed much of his professional career in Spain, where he played for Cantabria Lobos, CB Murcia, Villa Los Barrios, CB Ciudad de Huelva, Coviran Granada, CB Valladolid, Joventut de Badalona, Movistar Estudiantes, and Gipuzkoa Basket starting in 2002. In total, he played nine seasons in the Liga Endesa, five in Primera FEB (formerly LEB Oro), and one in Segunda FEB (LEB Plata), in addition to representing Argentina's national team in 2012 and 2013 and competing for several seasons in the Argentine League with Boca Juniors, Obras Sanitarias, and Ciclista Olímpico.

After retiring from professional play in 2020, Van Lacke began a new chapter focused on coaching and player development. Since then, he has served as Director of Player Development and has worked on developing players across different categories (Liga Endesa, Primera FEB, Segunda FEB, and Liga Femenina Endesa). In recent seasons, he has also served as head coach of EASO Basket's junior men's teams in San Sebastián.

To his profile he adds extensive experience in sports training and coaching, having worked with players, coaches, and teams across different disciplines. Additionally, in 2024 he obtained his Superior Coach certification from the Spanish Basketball Federation, completing a training process that began after his professional playing career.

In this way, Federico Van Lacke completes the coaching staff led by Txus Vidorreta, which already includes Andrija Gavrilovic, Gonzalo Hermoso, and Mikel Ereño.