Interview with Sascha Greber (Manager Werder Bremen): “We like to look at the table”

Werder Bremen is the only team with a clean slate in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) going into the European Championship break as the leaders. In an interview, manager Sascha Greber talks about the reasons for and significance of the flawless start to the season and the former champions' prospects in the top matches after the European Championship tournament at TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell in the league and cup.

Sascha Greber, Werder Bremen are the only unbeaten team at the top of the German table tennis league. Has the start with the ideal score of 8:0 points around the Weser left anything to be desired?

This is indeed the dream start to the season we had hoped for. 8:0 points - that's as good as it gets. Mattias Falck is already back in good shape after his groin operation despite little preparation, just like the whole team, which has been well prepared from the very first game. We are very, very happy to have made such a stable start to the season.

Last season, Bremen won three of their first four games and won five of their first six matches, which laid the foundations for reaching the play-offs. Does your team's dream start give you all the more ambitions for another appearance in the finals?

Our situation in the table is a snapshot, which is very nice, which is why we like to look at the table. But all the games in the TTBL are very competitive and we still have a lot of incredibly tough matches ahead of us. That's another reason why we're happy with the current situation and want to make the best of it.

Werder's stability and consistency are striking throughout the season. What do you think is the decisive factor for this?

We've been together in our current constellation for a very long time. Mattias, Kirill Gerassimenko and Marcelo Aguirre are already playing their sixth season for Werder Bremen, Andrei Putuntica has even been part of our training group for seven years, and our coach Cristian Tamas has been in Bremen for what feels like an eternity and prepares the team very, very well for every game. So we all know each other very well and support each other on a daily basis. That's why I think the team spirit and the fighting spirit we show in every game are important factors for our stability.

Many participants at the Summer Games complained about an Olympic hole after Paris - which is something that really can't be said of Kirill Gerassimenko. What is behind his very strong 7:1 record in the four games so far?

Kirill has developed very, very well in Bremen and has been a very stable player for a long time. Of course, his good Olympic tournament has given him a lot of extra confidence going into the new season, which has only grown with his two wins against Borussia Dortmund in our season opener.

Gerassimenko has been outstanding, but Putuntica is still waiting for his debut in a Bremen shirt. Why hasn't your new signing been given a chance yet - and when can we expect him to make his first appearance for Werder?

Andi' is a super kid who has integrated incredibly well into the team in Bremen. We know him from years of training together. He trains very, very well and supports the team, even though he hasn't played yet. Of course he will get his chance, but when exactly that will be, we understandably can't say yet. But when the time comes, we are absolutely convinced that he will seize this opportunity. But what he delivers every day shows his very good attitude in training and in the games, he is very professional and very focused. That's why he'll be an important factor for us over the course of the year. He has also simply joined a team that came close to defeating Champions League winners 1. FC Saarbrücken TT in the play-off semi-finals last season.

Two of Bremen's four victories so far have come in doubles - both times with the Mattias Falck/Marcelo Aguirre combination, which was not used in the previous season. Coincidence or targeted training?

Mattias and Marcelo already played a great match against Patrick Franziska and Cedric Meissner in the semi-final against Saarbrücken last season and almost got us into the decider after taking a big lead and match point. Of course, this quality is also the result of targeted training. But we also want to be more flexible and no longer predictable. Cristian has worked out several options for this.

At the end of October in the TTBL and around two weeks later in the cup quarter-finals, Werder will face Fulda for the first time? What are the chances?

Fulda's season got off to a dream start. In the first four games, everything they have delivered has been very convincing, and they have already played against TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen and even put down an exclamation mark against Borussia Düsseldorf. With Dimitrij Ovtcharov as the leader, the good Kao Cheng-Jui as the second addition, Ruwen Filus and Fanbo Meng, Fulda have a team that is naturally one of the favorites for the titles in all competitions. Of course, it's a shame that we had to play another away game in the cup, because we would have liked to play at home, where our chances would certainly have been even better. Nevertheless, we're looking forward to the games. I think we'll travel to Fulda as underdogs for both games, but of course we don't have to and won't hide, because all our players are in good form and Cristian will prepare the team optimally - after all, we want to finally make it to the Liebherr Cup Final Four again. Both times, it will be important that we take our chances when they present themselves.

Thank you very much for the interview, Sascha Greber.

Interview: Florian Manzke