Pokal
“A special moment in my career”: Reactions to the Liebherr Cup Final Four
With the triumph in the German Table Tennis Cup, 1. FC Saarbrücken TT has reached the first milestone in the quest for the title treble. There was plenty of praise for the performance in the Liebherr Cup Final Four from the defeated final opponents TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell. We have compiled the reactions to the event.
Fan Zhendong (1. FC Saarbrücken TT)
... about the Liebherr Cup Final Four: “I am very happy to have won the title. It was my first Final Four and it was a lot of fun. Today was a special moment in my career. I hope to be able to participate in this event again in the future.”
... about the support from the fans: “Many fans support us all the time, and there were a lot of them here today too. This support makes me very happy and also helps us a lot as a team.”
Patrick Franziska (1. FC Saarbrücken TT)
... about winning the cup: “We felt more pressure than in previous years. The title was our big goal. That's why I'm very proud of the whole team and the whole club – also because we were always there for each other. We've come a long way, which was crowned today with the cup victory.”
... about 1. FC Saarbrücken TT being the favorites: “When Timo Boll was at his best, Düsseldorf was in a similar position. Now we have three players, led by Fan, who are difficult to beat. We are already feeling more pressure than before. But it is a privilege and also nice for us as a team to be considered the favorites.”
... about Fan Zhendong: “You can see that the TTBL is a special league and difficult to play in. But he has adapted really well. Right from the start, you could see in training that he is an Olympic champion for good reason. I'm very happy for him because he's a really nice, down-to-earth guy – it's a lot of fun to be with him.”
Wang Zhi (Coach 1. FC Saarbrücken TT)
... about winning the cup: “We worked very hard for this success. But that certainly applies to the other teams as well. In the end, I'm just very happy about our success.”
Dimitrij Ovtcharov (TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell)
... about the final against 1. FC Saarbrücken TT: "That's sport for you. Saarbrücken was the better team and deserved to win. Nevertheless, reaching the final is a great success for us, which we also owe to the fans. They spurred us on brilliantly. I hope reaching the final will give us a boost for the second half of the league season so that we can make it to the playoffs."
... about Ruwen Filus' performance: “Ruwen is an incredible legend. I'm very proud of him.”
Ruwen Filus (TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell)
... about the team's performance in the Liebherr Cup Final Four: “Overall, we can draw a positive conclusion. We wanted to reach the final, and we achieved that. We have to acknowledge that Saarbrücken was the better team and therefore deserved to win. So overall, we are very happy with the silver medal.”
Qing Yu Meng (Coach TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell)
... about the final defeat against 1. FC Saarbrücken TT: “Congratulations to Saarbrücken. They have three absolutely top players, and it's very difficult for us against each of them. Despite the defeat, I'm very proud of my players; they gave their all.”
Iulian Chirita (TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen)
... about the semi-final against 1. FC Saarbrücken TT: “We played against an extremely strong team made up exclusively of world-class players. We knew in advance that it would be a very difficult task. Nevertheless, we gave our best and always believed in ourselves.”
... about the atmosphere in the ratiopharm arena: “For us as a young team, it was a great experience to play in front of such a crowd. A big thank you goes to our fans for their fantastic support.”
Nico Stehle (CEO Tischtennis Bundesliga GmbH)
... about the Liebherr Cup Final Four: "We experienced a fantastic Final Four with an outstanding atmosphere and world-class table tennis. We are very happy and delighted with this event and, I can already say today, we will be back at the ratiopharm arena again next season. That's because we receive tremendous support from the entire region. A big thank you for the tremendous commitment goes to the cities of Ulm and Neu-Ulm, to the numerous sponsors and partners, and to all the helpers without whom this event would not be possible."
Header photo: 1. FC Saarbrücken TT's Fan Zhendong (by BeLa Sportfoto)
