TTBL Transfers: Blockbuster Deals, Returnees, and Newcomers
Just a few hours after the decisive match point at the Liebherr TTBL Final4, the transfer deadline for the upcoming season also expired in the top division. According to the documents received by the TTBL so far, ten of the twelve first-division clubs have bolstered their teams with new players, either through major overhauls, spectacular signings, or targeted additions.
A transfer earthquake, a monster comeback, many new faces again, and a first. With the transfer window in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) now closed, the cards have been reshuffled for the first half of the upcoming season.
The transfer of the year caused a sensation far beyond Europe’s borders: Olympic champion Fan Zhendong, who was sensationally signed by 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT just a year ago, joined German record champions Borussia Düsseldorf in a move that was no less spectacular and at least as surprising.
However, this does not necessarily mean a complete reversal of the balance of power from the previous season: Triple winner Saarbrücken responded appropriately to the loss of its superstar and lured none other than World Championship runner-up and last year’s World Cup winner Hugo Calderano back to Germany’s top division.
The Brazilian top-ten star and longtime figurehead of former champion TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen is, however, merely the standout addition to a major overhaul of the previously successful team at the club led by national team player Patrick Franziska. While archrival Düsseldorf signed no new players aside from Fan, the FCS saw a major shake-up: the four new signings—Alvaro Robles, Albert Vilardell, Fan, and Darko Jorgic—are offset by four departures. No other TTBL club’s roster saw as much movement.
The other two Final4 participants, Werder Bremen and TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt, took a much more defensive approach on the transfer market. Bergneustadt signed only Cedric Meißner from Saarbrücken, replacing the departed Frenchman Leo de Nodrest. Bremen is even the only TTBL team entering the new season with a completely unchanged roster. Apart from the Green-Whites, only Post SV Mühlhausen refrained from signing new players.
Borussia Dortmund’s new signing Joao Geraldo and Liam Pitchford at TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau are also making comebacks in the TTBL. With Calderano and Robles, the entire quartet of returnees thus consists of former Ochsenhausen players.
One of the most exciting new faces in the German elite league is future Dortmund player Wim Verdonschot, much to the delight of fans of local players. The multiple WTT Feeder winner is returning to BVB for his first TTBL season after spending several years with second-division club Union Velbert. Meanwhile, Finn Luu is set to become the first Australian to play in the Bundesliga with TTC OE Clarity Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg. The group of league newcomers also includes Chang Tao-Yu at ASC Grünwettersbach and Liang Yanning in Grenzau, continuing the trend of signing up-and-coming Chinese players or those from the second tier of the world champion nation.
This is not contradicted by Xue Fei’s departure from TSV Bad Königshofen, at least for the time being. The “savior” brought in last winter is expected to be available to the Franconians again for the second half of the season if needed. Taiwanese player Kao Cheng-Jui will no longer be part of the TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell roster. The same applies to Bad Homburg’s former fan favorite Jo Yokotani, as well as, not least, Grünwettersbach’s two-time world champion Hiroto Shinozuka.
An overview of all reported signings and departures for TTBL clubs:
1. FC Saarbrücken-TT
Signings: Hugo Calderano, Alvaro Robles, Albert Vilardell
Departures: Fan Zhendong, Darko Jorgic, Cedric Meißner, Yuto Muramatsu
Borussia Düsseldorf
Signings: Fan Zhendong
Departures: Borgar Haug
Werder Bremen
New signings: none
Departures: none
TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt
New signings: Cedric Meißner
Departures: Leo de Nodrest
Post SV Mühlhausen
New signings: none
Departures: Liao Cheng-Ting
TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen
New signings: Daniel Berzosa, Darius Movileanu
Departures: Andreas Levenko
TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell
New signings: Andrej Istrate
Departures: Kao Cheng-Jui
Borussia Dortmund
New signings: Joao Geraldo, Wim Verdonschot
Departures: Alberto Mino
TTC OE Clarity Telefonie Systeme Bad Homburg
New signings: Kazuki Hamada, Finn Luu
Departures: Jo Yokotani
TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau
New signings: Liam Pitchford, Liang Yanning
Departures: Luka Mladenovic
TSV Bad Königshofen
New signings: Liao Cheng-Ting, Volodymir Nevizhyn
Departures: none
ASC Grünwettersbach
New signings: Chang Tao-Yu
Departures: Hiroto Shinozuka
Florian Manzke
Featured images above: WTT, BeLaSportfoto