Calderano’s home debut to put Saarbrücken back on track

After three wins to kick off the season, 1. FC Saarbrücken TT have suffered two defeats. However, there were unusual staffing circumstances for the 3:0 in Ochsenhausen. Patrick Franziska and Hugo Calderano will be available against TSV Bad Königshofen – and team manager Nicolas Barrois has a clear goal in mind before the extended international break.

The result was clear, the lineup unusual: when 1. FC Saarbrücken TT faced TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen on Sunday, it was Albert Vilardell, Danilo Faso and Samuel Arpas stepping up to the table for the German champions. Vilardell is 24 years old, Arpas 19, Faso just 15. This was the youngest team that Saarbrücken have ever fielded in the Tischtennis-Bundesliga. The three were able to hold their own at times against their undefeated top opponents, but the final score was still 3:0. This was the second defeat in a row for FCS. As a result, there is more at stake than just two points in their home game against TSV Bad Königshofen on Friday: Saarbrücken want to secure another win with their strongest lineup.

‘We’ve lost twice in a row now. We were unlucky against Bremen and we weren’t the favourites against Ochsenhausen. But of course, that’s not what we’re aiming for’, team manager Nicolas Barrois said. Saarbrücken began the season with three victories against Dortmund, Mühlhausen and Bad Homburg. They have not had any other league wins since. However, the circumstances leading up to the two defeats were rather different.

Patrick Franziska was present for the 1:3 at home against Werder Bremen in early September, where he secured Saarbrücken’s only point with a clean defeat of Kirill Gerassimenko. Alvaro Robles lost his singles match against Irvin Bertrand in four sets, with the final set going to Bremen 15:13. Eduard Ionescu then took Gerassimenko to the brink of defeat in five sets but was also forced to congratulate his opponent on the win. Bremen were the better team on that particular evening, but FCS had multiple opportunities to make for a closer result. In Ochsenhausen, the team were almost entirely without their experienced players. Both defeats had the same impact on the table rankings but paint different pictures when it comes to assessing Saarbrücken’s prospects.

Even the opening singles match in Ochsenhausen could have sent things off in a different direction. Faso beat Daniel Berzosa 11:8 in the first two sets. The Spaniard battled back and won the fifth set 14:12. Vilardell then won his first set against Tiago Abiodun but subsequently lost the second 11:6, the third 10:12 and the fourth 11:13. Arpas lost to Iulian Chirita in three sets. Saarbrücken did not win any of the three singles matches, but were closer (especially in the first two) than the overall result suggested. This does not make the 3:0 defeat a success. Instead, it highlights that the young players exploited opportunities against an opponent that remains undefeated after five match days.

Barrois expects Friday to be rather different. ‘Tomorrow we will have our full lineup for the first time. Patrick will be there, Hugo will be there’, he noted. Hugo Calderano will be playing in the Saarbrücken jersey in front of a home crowd for the first time. The Brazilian was scheduled to appear at the last two home games but it did not work out last minute. He is already a player who can make a major difference for FCS in the Bundesliga, as he demonstrated in the away fixture against Bad Homburg where he won both singles matches. It took him three sets against Benno Oehme, whilst he came back from two sets down against Csaba Andras to secure the 3:1 win for his team.

His home debut carries significance beyond just the lineup itself. Calderano, who previously played for Ochsenhausen for many years, is one of the key figures in Saarbrücken’s transformation after their triple season. Fan Zhendong left FCS for Düsseldorf after winning the Cup, Champions League and German Championship. In Calderano, the team has gained another player able to compete with the best on an international level. Thus far, Saarbrücken spectators have primarily come across him as an opponent in league matches. On Friday they could be seeing him in action as part of their own team for the first time. Alongside him stands Franziska, who has consistently scored points, even in the defeat by Bremen.

In Barrois’s view, the staffing situation is a reason to set a clear benchmark for the game. ‘Want to live up to our position as favourites tomorrow and beat Bad Königshofen.’ That sounds plausible given the table situation: Saarbrücken are on 6:4 points after five matches, the away team have 2:8 after just one win. However, recent weeks have provided both teams with plenty of examples of how big names alone offer little by way of an indicator for how the evening will progress. Saarbrücken lost against Bremen even with Franziska. A team of three young players put up a strong fight against Ochsenhausen in some sets. Bad Königshofen also showcased where they can pose a threat, despite suffering another defeat.

On Monday, the Lower Franconian team lost 3:2 to TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau. Bastian Steger defeated Maciej Kubik 3:0 and Andre Bertelsmeier similarly beat Martin Allegro without dropping a set. This was not enough to secure the overall win: Grenzau’s new signing Liam Pitchford won both of his singles matches and the doubles decider was clinched by Kubik and Allegro 12:10 in the fifth set. That is how narrow the margin between their potential second win of the season and their fourth defeat can be. Anyone looking solely at the away team’s 2:8 record would miss the importance of that result.

Barrois is fully aware of their opponent’s quality. ‘Bad Königshofen have a very unpredictable team. There are players who can play very, very good matches.’ He has his eye on two names in particular: ‘Bastian Steger is a former Saarbrücken team member. Andre Bertelsmeier is a very young German player who is making a name for himself and achieving increasingly good results.’ Both decisively won their singles matches in Grenzau. However, TSV are more than just this duo: Daniel Habesohn, Cheng-Ting Liao and Filip Zeljko are also on the squad. The lineup will reveal which three players will actually appear and what order they will play.

It became clear in Mühlhausen at the end of August how difficult Bad Königshofen can be to play with the right lineup. This is when TSV secured their only league victory so far at 3:1. Steger beat Marcos Freitas and then turned around a singles match against Kay Stumper after falling two sets behind. Habesohn provided the third point. Bertelsmeier lost his match against Stumper on that particular evening – so it was not a success dependent on three singles matches won by the three supposedly top players. One player might lose, another might win twice, and suddenly a team fight completely changes direction. For Saarbrücken, it will come down to whether their superiority on paper translates into the actual matches.

Bad Königshofen’s most recent defeat in Grenzau has put pressure on the team. Their win in Mühlhausen was initially followed by a 3:0 defeat by Ochsenhausen and then the narrow 3:2 loss on Monday. An away win against the defending champions would allow TSV to provide a clear response to their slim tally of points. The situation is rather different for FCS but similarly uncertain: with three wins in five games, Saarbrücken are within striking distance of the spots that provide access to the playoffs at the end of the season. After two defeats, they do not want to lose any more ground.

‘Of course, we want to win to ensure we are in the top four and continue to play a key role in the battle for the playoffs’, Barrois said. This is just the sixth match day of the season. No-one qualifies for the final playoffs in September. However, even matches against teams towards the bottom end of the table affect the jumping-off point for direct duels against competitors. Saarbrücken won the championship title last year and now need to rebuild a solid league record with a newly formed team. Their first three wins highlighted their potential, the next two matches demonstrated their reliance on tight singles results and player availability.

After Friday evening, FCS are disappearing from the league schedule for a while. International tournaments and the European Championships are disrupting match rhythm, and Saarbrücken’s next TTBL match will not be until 8 November in Grünwettersbach. November then also brings home games against Grenzau and Düsseldorf, followed in December by matches against Bergneustadt and Fulda. FCS have five league matches left across these two months, before the first half of the season comes to an end. A win against Bad Königshofen would send them off into the break with a tally of four victories and two defeats. Another loss would leave consistency questions hanging in the air for weeks.

‘Heading into this extended break with a win under our belts would be important for our confidence’, Barrois noted. ‘Then there are five matches to go in November and December. We will give our all to consolidate our position.’ The first opportunity to do so will be their home game on Friday at 7 p.m. Calderano should finally be playing in front of a Saarbrücken crowd, Franziska will be there, and Barrois has openly described them as the favourites. Bad Königshofen are bringing two players – in Steger and Bertelsmeier – who recently won their singles matches in Grenzau without dropping a set. The situation is clearer than it was in Ochsenhausen recently. Whether Saarbrücken will be able to take advantage of this will be decided at the table.