A new player for Werder

There will be a new addition to SV Werder Bremen's professional table tennis team for the new 2025/2026 season: Irvin Bertrand is moving from Post SV Mühlhausen to the Weser, taking the place of Andrei Putuntica, who is leaving the club after one year. Alongside Mattias Falck, who has already extended his contract at the end of 2024, Kirill Gerassimenko and Marcelo Aguirre will also remain in Bremen.

With Irvin Bertrand, SV Werder Bremen has succeeded in signing a promising talent for the upcoming Bundesliga table tennis season. The young Frenchman made his TTBL debut for the 2021/2022 season at Post SV Mühlhausen, where he is currently still active.

Bertrand has signed a two-year contract in Bremen and, to the delight of the entire Werder team, will also relocate to Bremen. He will also become a member of the Bremen training squad and work closely with Cristian Tamas and his teammates on a daily basis.

“Irvin Bertrand is a good doubles player with a lot of touch and feel for the game. We are delighted to welcome him to Bremen and have high hopes for him,” said Werder manager Sascha Greber.

The left-hander is also looking forward to his future in Bremen: “The team knows each other very well and I will try to integrate myself into this close-knit team as best I can. I think that Cristian and the other players can help me to improve my game both technically and mentally. They are all very experienced and I will learn from them.”

Gerassimenko stays for another two years

In Kirill Gerassimenko, Werder have a player who has established himself in the world class in recent months. Gerassimenko's contract has now been extended for a further two years. Like Mattias Falck, he is now entering his seventh and eighth year at Werder Bremen.

“Kirill had offers from all over the world,” said Greber, ”but he quickly decided to stay in Bremen. We are very happy to be able to continue working with him.”

The 28-year-old is far from finished with his plans in Bremen. “For this season, I hope that we achieve the best possible position in the table for Werder. Next season, I would like to be in the top four again. I know that will be a very difficult task. But I believe that we can do it - we are a good team,” said Gerassimenko.

Another year with Marcelo Aguirre

There will be no change to the consistent personnel line-up of the TTBL's northern club in the upcoming 2025/2026 season. The extension of Marcelo Aguirre's contract for a further year completes the personnel decisions at Werder. The 32-year-old Paraguayan will also be entering his seventh season at SVW.

“We've managed to keep the core of the team together and have also acquired a player who we have high hopes for,” concludes Sascha Greber, who is already looking forward to the upcoming TTBL season.

Anne-Kathrin Laufmann, Managing Director of Sport & Sustainability, is also positive about the future: “I am convinced that Irvin is a top addition to our team. It is also extremely important that we maintain our consistent quality by extending Kirill and Marcelo.”

Andrei Putuntica will leave the club after one year together.

Source: SV Werder Bremen
Featured image above: Irvin Bertrand (Photo: Post SV Mühlhausen)