INTERVIEW/Captain Germany Marie Gülich: Embracing a basketball sojourn in Taiwan

By Chao Yen-hsiang, CNA staff writer

When Taiyuan Textile has played a game in Taiwan's Women's Super Basketball League (WSBL) this season, one player has stood out: Marie Gülich.

Standing 1.95 meters tall, she easily towers over everyone in the WSBL except for 1.93 m Australian Cayla George of the Cathay Life Tigers, the team the Textile will look to dethrone in the WSBL best-of-five championship series that opens on May 3.

She has also performed up to her WNBA pedigree. In 23 regular-season games, the 30-year-old Gülich was only one of two players to put up a double-double average, leading the WSBL with 13.9 points per game and finishing second with 10.1 rebounds per game.

What has surprised people is not her dominance on the court in Taiwan but simply her presence in a place where she had never set foot before that is not known as a basketball power.

That is especially true given that Gülich captained Germany's then-world No. 19 national team to a seventh-place finish in its Olympic debut in Paris in August 2024, suggesting even bigger things on the horizon.

"When my agent called me, saying there was a team in Taipei City interested in me ... I'm not gonna lie, I had to look up where Taiwan was," Gülich told CNA in a recent interview in New Taipei, 9,422 kilometers away from her hometown of Cologne.

With her first season in Taipei now drawing to a close, Gülich said she has no regrets about choosing to play in Taiwan and "wouldn't do it any other way" when it came to her first experience in Asia.

Basketball: A life changer

Gülich had tried football and handball as a child, but she only found her "comfort zone" in basketball when she was first introduced to the sport at age 12.

As a girl who had long felt uneasy about her height, basketball was the first place where she could fully embrace her body.

"Growing up, I was always taller than everyone, and I was very uncomfortable in my body. People would always comment on how tall I was, and I felt a little ashamed," she recalled.

"I think once I set foot in that gym, I felt comfortable because my height was something special and positive. I think that's why I stuck with basketball in the first place."

Gülich, who did not initially plan to go pro, became the fourth German player ever drafted into the WNBA in 2018, when she was selected 12th overall in the first round by the Phoenix Mercury, after four years at Oregon State in the NCAA.

She played for three WNBA teams over three seasons while also competing in Italy and Poland during the WNBA offseason. In 2020, she left the WNBA and joined Valencia Basket in Spain, winning multiple championships in Europe before signing with Taiyuan.

Taiwan is the fifth country in which she has played for an overseas club.

"I love [basketball], but I love what comes with it [even more]," she said. "I love that you meet really cool people, that I can grow as a person, challenge myself, and see the world."

Gülich: The game changer

Germany's ranking in women's basketball has steadily climbed since Gülich joined the national team in 2018, rising from No. 58 to No. 13 as of FIBA's latest update on Feb. 9.

Commentator Ku Yen-wei (古硯偉) described Gülich as the "centerpiece that binds the team together," her career epitomizing the rise of Germany's middle-generation female players.

"Marie is special because teamwork is her priority, and we really appreciate that. That's why we reached out to her without hesitation," Taiyuan head coach Chiu Chi-yi (邱啟益) told CNA.

Taiyuan approached Gülich in September 2024, while she was recovering from a knee injury. The WSBL season, which began in January, turned out to be a perfect fit for her recovery timeline, and she officially signed in October.

Asked about basketball in Taiwan, Gülich pointed to a play style that was faster and freer compared to the structured, strategy-driven play typical in Europe, and said Taiwanese players deserved respect for their game and effort.

"I see my teammates and everyone practice so hard every day. Over the past years, this program has been working, building, and striving to win a championship," said Gülich, now locked in on helping Taiyuan snap its decade-long title drought.

Taiyuan advanced to the WSBL finals with a league-best 21-3 regular-season record. They will face a steep challenge against the Tigers, who have won every championship in the WSBL's 20 seasons except for one, in 2010 when the team did not compete in the league.

"This is like an adventure for me, but I take it very seriously," Gülich said.

Both her coach and teammates praised her work ethic, noting her meticulous approach to diet, sleep, and training.

"Our practices usually start at 12:30 p.m., but she often arrives at 11:30 a.m. to do warm-ups and weightlifting. That has motivated our local players to prepare earlier, too," Chiu said, adding that Gülich has often brought new ideas and actively engaged in discussions during game tape reviews.

Lin Wen-yu (林文佑), one of Gülich's teammates, said it was a huge honor to play alongside someone of her stature. "It feels like when Dwight Howard came to play in Taiwan a few years ago," she said.

Till next time

Life in Taiwan is completely different from Gülich's past experiences in the United States and Europe, where players usually live separately in their own apartments.

"Here, it feels like being back in college -- living together, eating together. It feels more like a community, and I really enjoy that," she said.

Aside from the WSBL's hectic schedule -- three games in three consecutive days each week -- the league's four-team structure and smaller, scattered crowds have also been a new experience for her.

"Obviously, I prefer having a big crowd and lots of energy because you feed off that ... so I'm really looking forward to the finals."

Gülich will return to Germany after the championship series to prepare for the Women's EuroBasket tournament in June.

Yet she said she will cherish the friendships she has built and looks forward to revisiting Taiwan, where she had a "smooth transition" thanks to the English signage and efficient MRT system.

"The adjustment is still there -- there's a different culture and a lot of Chinese around -- but you can still navigate the city. It's so well organized, like the MRT system. It's so easy to get around and it's a smooth transition.

"So if someone asked me, 'I haven't traveled to Asia, where should I go?' I would say, 'Go to Taiwan for sure.'"

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