Interview with Martin Werner (Managing Director of ASC Grünwettersbach): “We can't be sure yet”

ASC Grünwettersbach has worked its way up from the bottom of the table to within sight of the play-off places thanks to a series of wins at the start of the year and has also attracted attention by signing new players. In this interview, managing director Martin Werner talks about the Baden club's ambitions, plans for the future and international goals.

Martin Werner, your ASC Grünwettersbach has achieved a comfortable position in recent weeks: You already no longer have to worry about staying in the league, do you?

Our points cushion is reassuring for us at the moment. But it's the craziest TTBL year I've ever experienced. Anyone can beat anyone. That's why we can't be sure for some time yet.

Before the start of the second half of the season, you somewhat surprisingly signed Taiwanese players Huang Yan-Cheng and Chang Yu-An. Is that intended as additional protection at the bottom or rather as a sign that you want to attack at the top?

It has nothing to do with an attack on the teams above us. The two were looking for an opportunity to play one or two games in the TTBL as pure back-ups and to recommend themselves for the coming season in the TTBL - and not just to us. But it's also a win-win situation for us thanks to our performance center. They could be used occasionally if it suits, but in general there are no plans for them to play several games.

But after the last few weeks, isn't the goal of staying in the league a little understated?

Even if it might be difficult to understand: We haven't even thought about anything else yet. When assessing our situation, we shouldn't forget that we now have the games at Werder Bremen and soon afterwards against Borussia Düsseldorf, in which we can't be considered favorites, as we were recently against TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell. As far as the bottom of the table is concerned, I think we're now more or less on the safe side, so we may have to look further up the table if we continue our run.

In any case, you have already given a lot of thought to the time after the current season. Is the signing of the top 30 man Hiroto Shinozuka to be understood as an announcement of higher expectations?

What do you mean by announcement? If you have the opportunity to sign such a player, even if not for every game, then you have to try to make it work, especially as we've already had good experiences with Japanese players in the past with Masataka Morizono. We're certainly hoping that we can make a difference with Shinozuka, but above all that he can provide some relief and that we won't be as easy to count out as we are at the moment.

How did the contact with Shinozuka come about in the first place?

He himself wanted to move towards the TTBL and we heard about his interest from players. In the end, the request came directly from the player, also because he had only heard good things about Grünwettersbach through his friendship with Morizono - and now we're already looking forward to next season.

Before Shinozuka, you had already signed Tobias Hippler from second division club 1 FC Köln. What were your considerations when you did this?

Of course, we need players who can be deployed at practically any time. Tobias isn't currently playing in any international tournaments, so he can be available at any time, even in the European Cup. The constellation with him is practically perfect for that, plus Tobias is an important player for doubles as a left-hander, and as a young German player he's interesting for us anyway. He has performed consistently for so long now that he should make the step up to the TTBL at some point. For all these reasons, we approached Tobias, he really was a dream player. As a team player, he fits in perfectly with us. I am also sure that he will go down extremely well with our fans thanks to his commitment.

Tiago Apolonia's future with you had not yet been finally clarified until around the turn of the year. What will his role be?

It was clear from both sides that we wanted to continue together, but it also had to fit. Tiago wants to play less because of the pressure and his family, and we first had to find solutions for that, taking into account our limited resources - which we managed to do with Shinozuka. However, saying goodbye to Tiago at the end of the season was never really an issue, as he is not only very important for the whole team with his experience at the table, but also contributes in all other areas. He is simply a great person and fits in perfectly with us and our environment.

You have spoken about limited resources. You have repeatedly described the plans for the future as more of a struggle. What are the biggest difficulties at the Karlsruhe site?

We undoubtedly have great and loyal partners for whom their support really is a matter close to our hearts. The problem is finding additional new partners. We also have good figures in many areas, be it in terms of social media reach, streaming and spectators in the hall. But in Karlsruhe, as in all cities, soccer is number one.

In this context, how great is the perception of the success of your figurehead Ricardo Walther at international level, such as recently at the WTT Champions in Frankfurt?

Ric's successes and his growing importance for us are certainly being noted, which is why we continue to hope that partners can be found who think our club with a national player and a performance center is great and therefore want to support it.

Back to your personnel tableau: what will happen to Guilherme Teodoro and Leo de Nodrest?

My preference would be for both of them to stay. But that will probably be difficult to achieve - perhaps if we are successful in our search for new sponsors. But there's also the fact that Guilherme, as a Brazilian, couldn't be deployed at the same time as Shinozuka. Leo, on the other hand, trains a lot in France and isn't with us that often, which isn't ideal either. We'll see what comes out of the next talks with both of them. In any case, it's clear that we need at least a fifth player.

In the European Cup, you recently set the course for the quarter-finals with a 3:2 win in Austria at SPG Wels. What would a place in the last eight mean to you?

After the narrow victory in the first leg, we would of course also like to win the second leg and advance to the quarter-finals. That would be a huge success, especially as we finished in the last sixteen last season.

Thank you very much for talking to us, Martin Werner.

Interview: Florian Manzke