Bye, Timo - (Part 2 with Bastian Steger): “Experiencing Timo was an enrichment for everyone”

Germany's top star Timo Boll has begun his announced farewell tour of the German Table Tennis League (TTBL) with Borussia Düsseldorf. From now on, important companions of the most successful player in Bundesliga history will formulate their thoughts about Timo Boll and his incomparable career here at monthly intervals. In the second part of our series “Bye, Timo”, German former champion Bastian Steger, who won several titles and numerous other medals with Boll in the national team, has his say.

“Timo and I share a birthday in the same month of the same year, he's not even two weeks older than me. That's also why we met for the first time quite early on, at one of the DTTB's scouting courses. We were nine years old at the time. We all found this showdown of the best players of the same age from all the national associations very exciting. Looking back, it was a fun form, a first step, but at the time we didn't know what would happen next.

But even at that young age, I noticed that Timo developed faster from course to course than everyone else. In the beginning, however, I still kept Timo in check: I remember that at one of the early courses in Tailfingen, I was always at the top of the daily rankings and ahead of him - but things looked very different by the next course.....

A sign of great human quality

In all the years since then, I have always found Timo to be very sociable and decent. He has never caused any problems, and it is generally very difficult to come into conflict with him because he is always calm and level-headed. Thanks to his down-to-earth attitude, he has always remained true to himself and has practically never changed. I think that's really good and for me it's a sign of great human quality.

I don't really need to say anything more about Timo's qualities at the table. That's why my memories of our matches against each other aren't too good, but most of the others feel the same.

Playing with him was always much more relaxed. Of course, I have fond memories of the team tournaments at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and 2016 in Rio, where we played doubles together several times and won a medal both times. But apart from these two highlights, I always think back to the European Championship titles and World Championship medals for our team with Timo.

With these memories in mind, I can also imagine it being very interesting if Timo and I had played together in a club team. I moved from Borussia Düsseldorf to Frickenhausen shortly before Timo came to Düsseldorf. I think it would have been a lot of fun for both of us in a club.

A driving force for the TTBL and table tennis in Germany

But what Timo has achieved since then in Düsseldorf and even before that in Gönnern over almost 30 years in the Bundesliga alone can only be described as unique. To play at such a high level for such a long time is incredible and will be hard to repeat.

As a result, Timo has also become a driving force for Gönnern, but then especially for Düsseldorf, for the Bundesliga and for Germany. It is a boost for everyone, but above all for the TTBL, that he has always played in the Bundesliga as a loyal soul, which also applies to the national team.

But Timo will leave a very big gap next summer when he finally retires from the Bundesliga. Someone like Timo is very difficult to replace, actually not at all. Because it was an enrichment for everyone, whether in the club and team or for spectators and fans, to experience Timo. The fact that not all the hopes for an upturn in our sport associated with his successes have been fulfilled is certainly not down to Timo - he has always delivered over the years.

That's why he has made a name for himself that everyone in Germany has heard at least once. You have to achieve that first.

But his achievements also include the professionalization of our sport, including in the TTBL clubs. Of course, there has been a general development in this area, but a large part of it has only been possible thanks to Timo: It is only because of such a successful athlete in the club and league that the opportunities for more professionalism are available. This progress is certainly also part of Timo's legacy for German table tennis.”

Recorded by Florian Manzke