Miscellaneous

Newcomer Borussia Dortmund achieved its most important goal in its first season in the German Table Tennis League (TTBL) by staying in the top flight. In this interview, department head Ursula Reitemeyer looks back on different and unexpected experiences in the top flight, talks about plans for BVB's first table tennis fan club and describes her expectations of her rebuilt team for the coming season.

Ursula Reitemeyer, Borussia Dortmund finished the TTBL season in ninth place as a newcomer and was no longer in serious danger of relegation a few weeks earlier. How did you experience your club's first season in the top division?

It was nice, but not only that: it was also difficult and sometimes stressful.

What exactly do you mean by that?

It was nice that we didn't really get into relegation trouble. You could say that we practically defended ninth place from start to finish.

What was so difficult?

We and I didn't expect the level in the second Bundesliga to be so different from the TTBL. I would have thought that we would be able to cope well with our squad, even if we didn't play with our best formation at times, but it quickly became clear that we had virtually no chance without our strongest team. The TTBL is simply a completely different level. In hindsight, it's no coincidence that I saw rallies that were beyond what I could have imagined.

And what made you feel stressed?

In the winter, after a series of consecutive defeats, it actually looked at one point as if we would be in relegation trouble - that's when the stress really started. Of course, it also made a difference to us whether we were playing for promotion as in the previous season or against relegation in our first TTBL year. So we had to make sure that all the players got to play in certain matches, regardless of their contracts, otherwise we would certainly have slipped to the bottom.

Ultimately, you managed to stay in the league in sporting terms, regardless of other factors. How important is that to you?

Very important. We were obviously very pleased ourselves, but it was also very important as a sign to the entire club that we are competitive after the club did so much for us on so many different levels before the start of the season.

Before BVB's first TTBL match last summer, you had hoped that your team would be “Bella Figura” overall. Has BVB achieved that?

Yes, I think we really have achieved that. We were able to present ourselves and our sport attractively in our home matches - both visually and with the attitude of our players. We always fought and received applause away from home too, even though we didn't come away victorious. I thought that was remarkable. There were also BVB fans in many halls who held up our banner. All in all, we are extremely satisfied: We kept the class, proved to be competitive, impressed with our attitude and morale at the table and performed well as a team. Yes, we have already made a “Bella Figura”.

The record attendance of more than 1,000 fans at the end of the season against Borussia Düsseldorf matches your perception...

That was a clear sign in Dortmund and beyond that you can also attract spectators, because a lot of people are interested in table tennis.

At the end of the season, club boss Hans-Joachim Watzke and managing director Carsten Cramer also showed their interest by attending the match against Düsseldorf. Was that also a sign of BVB's top management's support for table tennis?

Yes, definitely. You can't get more support than that which we receive from everywhere at BVB.

The supposed soccer city of Dortmund has also accepted your team well overall: BVB had the fourth-best attendance in the entire league after the main round...

I was a little worried before the season that one or two home games might not be so well attended, depending on the day of the week and the opponent.

You also mentioned the support at away matches. In your opinion, was that a general bonus for promoted teams or sympathy for the table tennis team of the popular soccer club Borussia Dortmund?

Of course, it may have something to do with the fact that Borussia Dortmund has fan clubs all over Germany, who may have said here and there that they want to watch Borussia's table tennis team. But we have also been able to attract neutral visitors. In Luxembourg, for example, the first BVB table tennis fan club is currently being prepared.

For the new season, you are reorganizing your team to a large extent. For Simon Berglund, Li Yongyin and Dennis Klein, Alberto Mino and Adam Szudi are returning to BVB and, above all, former doubles world champion Kristian Karlsson is coming back. Anders Lind, Cedric Nuytinck and Erich Bottroff are still part of the team. With this squad, is the declared goal once again to stay in the league or more?

Thanks to Kristian Karlsson's commitment, I don't think we have to worry about the bottom of the table. But that alone cannot be the goal. We can be satisfied that we didn't get relegated in our first year, but Borussia Dortmund would of course like to be a bit more involved.

Even for a play-off place?

Well, we will certainly be satisfied if we finish in the middle. For more, you have to be realistic and realize that you never know what will happen. An injury can change everything. So my motto for the new season would be not to expect too much, but to give everything and do the best we can.

Thank you very much for talking to us, Ursula Reitemeyer.

Interview: Florian Manzke