International

The Champions League Final4 continues the crunch time in international table tennis on the third weekend in May (16–17 May). For the stars of the top TTBL teams – hosts 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT and record winners Borussia Düsseldorf – the final round for the European crown, coming shortly after a medal-less Team World Championships in London, represents on the one hand a welcome opportunity to overcome frustration, but on the other hand also another chance to prove themselves ahead of the Liebherr TTBL Final4 two weeks later (30–31 May) in Frankfurt.

The two “dominators” of the top flight in recent years enter the battle for the continent’s most important club title from different starting positions. With its “Dream Team” centred on Chinese superstar Fan Zhendong and captain Patrick Franziska, Saarbrücken is considered the clear favourite not only for the semi-final against the top Polish side KS Bogoria Grodzisk Mazowiecki. Düsseldorf, on the other hand, with Franziska’s national team colleague and top-10 star Dang Qiu, finds itself in the role of the challenger against AS Nimes/Montpellier and the French Lebrun brothers, Felix and Alexis.

The organisers are making a modest effort at polite understatement. “We’re not making the mistake of thinking about the final before the semi-final,” says the 33-year-old, though he certainly hints at the ambitions of the FCS star ensemble: “With Fan, Truls Möregardh, Darko Jorgic and myself, we already have a very, very good team.”

The Blue and Blacks have a historic goal in mind for Fan Zhendong’s farewell match in Saarbrücken ahead of his summer transfer to Düsseldorf: should they successfully defend their title, the cup winners would become the first German club to triumph in the Champions League for the fourth consecutive time. In the history of the competition, only RV Charleroi from Belgium have achieved the “quadruple” so far, in 2004 with their national sporting icon Jean-Michel Saive. “Of course,” says Franziska, alluding to the chance to write a chapter in Champions League history, “we’re raring to go and achieve such a unique success in front of our own fans.”

Düsseldorf, the first-time Champions League winners, would be only too happy to prevent that. But first, according to Qiu, the Rhinelanders face “a very, very difficult monster of a task” against Montpellier. The “dream final” hoped for by the fans – as in the past four years against Saarbrücken – is considered by the former European champion to be “just as difficult”.

Borussia coach Danny Heister also regards the clash with the Lebrun brothers – Olympic bronze medallist Felix is ranked number four in the world and European champion Alexis is just eight places below him – as a “tough nut to crack”. His team’s quarter-final success last year is now, in the Dutchman’s view, a non-starter: “The two Lebruns have improved further in recent months.” Heister’s conclusion: “We are not the favourites against Montpellier.”

Nevertheless, Düsseldorf’s successful coach is not in the least bit thinking of giving up prematurely. “Especially in the Champions League,” the 54-year-old explains, “with the fifth set only going to six points, there are more opportunities than in a normal set to eleven. Even if you’re not the favourites, you get chances, but you have to be ready to seize them when the moment comes. That’s what we want to be. ”

Florian Manzke
Featured image above: Patrick Franziska (Photo: Ulrich Höfer)