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TTC OE Clarity Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg and TSV Bad Königshofen will face off in the round of 16 at the Cup Grand Opening in Nuremberg (August 28 and 29) in one of five first-division matchups to determine which teams advance to the quarterfinals. In this Cup preview, Bad Homburg’s new coach Slobodan Grujic and Bad Königshofen’s professional player Daniel Habesohn discuss their expectations, potential advantages, and hopes that success in the Cup will provide momentum for the league season.

Slobodan Grujic, you’ve been serving as head coach of TTC OE Clarity Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg since the start of the season. Your new team will face TSV Bad Königshofen in a top-flight matchup at the Cup Grand Opening. Is this tournament more of a cold start or more of an opportunity to assess where you stand?

Slobodan Grujic: It’s definitely not a cold start. We’ll have played three Bundesliga matches against three top teams beforehand. It’s more of an opportunity to test our form. We’ll take it easy and try to make the most of it.

Daniel Habesohn, do you expect your team to play a home game in Nuremberg—just about 100 km from home, in the heart of Franconia?

Daniel Habesohn: Yes, I do think that might be a slight advantage for us, because I’m sure some fans will be coming from Königshofen as well. Our fans are known for their cheering, for the noise they can make, and for being very patriotic, so to speak. I think we’ll definitely have some fans on our side there.

Bad Homburg has reached the semifinals of the Liebherr Cup Final4 twice in a row. Does that mean expectations for your team are higher than in previous years?

Slobodan Grujic: No, not at all. I think everyone at the club is very realistic about it. Reaching the Final4 in the cup the last two years was a huge success. But it’s also shown that our team has potential and that, if everything goes perfectly and everyone rises to the occasion, a lot can happen. We’re going into the game relaxed and confident, but without any pressure.

After the unfortunate course of last season, is the cup tournament a good opportunity for Bad Königshofen to set the course for a more successful season?

Daniel Habesohn: Not necessarily, in my opinion. We’ve already played some Bundesliga games beforehand. It might help a little to have some games under our belts, to get into the season a bit better. But the first games are, of course, always a bit important. However, even setting the cup aside, I believe we’ll play better this season and everyone will be better prepared. In the cup, it’s obviously nice to put in a strong performance so you can show what you’re capable of—not over the entire season, but rather in just one, two, or three games. We’ll definitely give it our all there, too.

Does the new format for the round of 16 and quarterfinals change how you prepare for the cup?

Slobodan Grujic: No, nothing changes in terms of preparation. The three Bundesliga games I already mentioned are also good preparation for the cup. Overall, in my opinion, everything remains normal—even playing a second game in two days. We don’t need to change anything in our preparation for that.

Daniel Habesohn: We prepare for every game as a matter of principle; in my opinion, the new format doesn’t really affect our preparation. Every professional is always well-prepared for games and has their own rhythm. There isn’t any particularly long preparation period for an event like this anyway.

If your team beats Bad Königshofen, you could face your former club, TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau, in the quarterfinals. Is that possibility already on your mind?

Slobodan Grujic: For now, I’m focusing entirely on Bad Königshofen—that’s challenging enough for us. Grenzau is playing Borussia Dortmund, and that’s a tough enough match for them, too. If we end up playing against Grenzau, I’d be happy. But it doesn’t stir up any special feelings in me—I’ve been in the game long enough as a player and coach and know what it’s like. It would be just another normal match for me.

For both Bad Königshofen and Bad Homburg, the draw for Nuremberg could have pitted them against opponents from the second or even third division as the tournament progressed. If you beat Bad Homburg, you’d definitely have to face another first-division team—Bad Königshofen—in the quarterfinals to advance to the Liebherr Cup Final4. How much would you have appreciated an easier path, at least on paper?

Daniel Habesohn: It’s always hard to say anything about a draw. Of course, you could wish for something, but that’s not how it works in sports, and that’s why you can’t go around complaining that there could have been a better draw. You have to take what comes your way. Homburg is our opponent for now—a team we know from the Bundesliga and, I believe, an opponent on equal footing. Just like against any other team, we simply have to play well to win the match. But the idea that we’d hope to get a weaker opponent in this case—that’s not how professionals think.

Can reaching the cup semifinals in August carry a team through the first half of the season all the way to the Liebherr Cup Final4 in January?

Slobodan Grujic: That would, of course, be wonderful and important; it would actually give us a lot of confidence. Successes like that really carry a team forward, which is why we’re hoping for experiences like that, too. But you have to keep the cup and the league separate: In the cup, you play on two days; it’s a bit more relaxed, which is why it’s nice to be there—but the pressure isn’t as high. In the Bundesliga, on the other hand, every game is crucial and different.

Daniel Habesohn: Of course we’ll try to give it our all in Nuremberg, because it would be great to qualify for the Cup Final4 now. Nevertheless, we’re focusing on every game—every game is important, both in the league and, of course, in the Cup. In the end, we’ll see how it turns out. If we play well, then it’s possible—and it would be a great achievement. If we don’t make it to the Final4, nothing’s ruined, and we’ll just keep going in the league. We’ll just have to show where we stand at the end of the season over the course of 22 games.

Slobodan Grujic and Daniel Habesohn, thank you very much for the interview.

Florian Manzke