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Record winners Borussia Düsseldorf will fight for their fourth title defense in a row in the Liebherr TTBL final on Sunday in Frankfurt in the last match of their idol Timo Boll. In an interview, manager Andreas Preuß talks about the pressure in the final, the fuss surrounding Boll ahead of his farewell match and Düsseldorf's future without the German icon.

Andreas Preuß, on June 15, Borussia Düsseldorf will defend its championship title against cup winners TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen in the Liebherr TTBL final in Frankfurt. How deep is the disappointment in your club not quite two weeks after losing the Champions League final at 1. FC Saarbrücken TT?

It's clear that the disappointment is huge. But now is no time for disappointment. Our boys are professionals enough to deal with a defeat like this, they've long since turned their attention to the final. Everyone is in training and preparations for Frankfurt are in full swing.

How do you get the team back on track after the unsuccessful dress rehearsal for Frankfurt?

That is primarily the task of our coach Danny Heister. First and foremost, this includes individual discussions, which we began immediately after the final match in Saarbrücken. But it also involved each player coming to terms with the situation personally and then looking ahead to the last game. This will be accompanied by joint training and joint activities. Everyone will be back in training in Düsseldorf from Thursday. It's possible that I'll also have one or two small conversations again to boost the boys' self-confidence on the part of the club.

Will this help them to focus on the final highlight of the season?

I'm quite sure it will. Everyone is incredibly excited for the final. Almost 5,000 spectators are expected. Of course it's been a long season, a long and hard season, especially with the World Cup, with all the disappointments and joys for every single player. But that's part of it. We've all been through it and now comes the grand finale. Our players are definitely looking forward to the final, and together we'll give it everything we've got.

Were your players able to learn anything from the premier class final for Frankfurt?

You can always learn something. Dang Qiu can certainly play a bit more courageously and try to be more aggressive. Timo will certainly have seen and realized against Darko Jorgic that he is excellent and still has a chance against top 20 players. That will give him confidence. Everyone learns their own lessons.

Out of three possibilities, Borussia only has the TTBL Liebherr final left as a chance to win at least one title in the final part of the season. How much pressure is there to succeed?

There's always pressure when you play in Düsseldorf. Every final is pressure. That's part of it, otherwise it's no fun at all.

Their opponents in the final, Ochsenhausen, can play more freely in Frankfurt after winning the cup. Is that an advantage for Ochsenhausen and at the same time a disadvantage for Borussia?

In my opinion, the advantage of Ochsenhausen's team is less the cup victory at the beginning of the year, but rather the awareness that they are a super-strong team after an incredibly successful World Cup with a single world runner-up and a double world champion.

Which factor do you think will be decisive in the final?

Definitely the form on the day. But perhaps also the line-up: who plays who - it will be a poker game. Do we have a chance if we get into the doubles? If we get to 2:2, that would be very good for us, then we would certainly have a chance. That all plays a role in the line-up.

In Frankfurt, Borussia will be playing a Bundesliga final for the first time in your decade-long tenure without its chairman of the board, Hans Wilhelm Gäb, who passed away in April. What emotional note does that give the final from Düsseldorf's perspective?

Hans is missing, of course, Hans is missing everywhere. It's very, very sad that he's no longer here. He was the real face of table tennis for many decades, I don't know table tennis without him, he was simply always there. That's why this final has a very special touch for us and for me, and perhaps also for one or two others who have been with us for a very long time. Hans will be keeping his fingers crossed for us, but in the end he will also be rooting for the best team to win, because Hans stood for fairness like no other.

If you had lost, your team would have gone a season without a title for the first time since 2020. What would that mean for your club?

When you go into a final, you can only win or lose. That's why you always have to expect to lose. We'll give it everything we've got, and when we've given it everything we've got, that's good too, and then we'll see what we've achieved. Things go up and down in sport. We've seen it all before. But we would also survive a defeat and therefore a season without a title. But of course we want to win at all costs.

Borussia's retiring idol Timo Boll is once again the center of attention before his last match in the final. How do you rate that?

When the icon of a sport like Timo Boll plays his last game in table tennis and it's a final, it couldn't get any better. Of course it's difficult for him, but also for the team. For Timo, because he has a lot of appointments on top of all the emotions and his concentration could suffer as a result. But we're looking forward to the huge event, which will be an absolute table tennis festival and perhaps the highlight par excellence.

Does the flood of distractions still leave Boll enough room to focus on his farewell match?

That can certainly be a small disadvantage. But Timo is an absolute professional and he will find a way to deal with it. At the end of the day, playing a final in a farewell game is also a gift, and background noise is part of it.

The team has been pushed into the background by the attention for Boll. How is your team dealing with it?

The team is handling it wonderfully, it's not a problem for any of the boys. Timo is a role model for everyone, which is why nobody begrudges him being the center of attention once again - on the contrary: everyone is happy for Timo and will put everything they've got into it so that Timo can win one last title with us.

When the winner is decided in Frankfurt, the “Timo Boll era” at Borussia Düsseldorf will finally be history. What does that mean for your team and the club?

It really is the end of an era, probably even the greatest and most successful in our club's history, but perhaps a new one will gradually begin. In more than 41 years at Borussia, I've seen things go up and down, there have been different eras. Of course we at Borussia are all sad about Timo's departure, but above all we are all very grateful that Timo has been with us for so many years. But now a new era is beginning, and we are working on that - it goes on and on. Because despite all his merits and successes: Borussia Düsseldorf is always more than Timo Boll.

For the first time in almost 20 years, Düsseldorf will probably not be the favorite in any of the three competitions in the coming season. What does this role change mean?

We probably really won't be favorites in any competition next season. That makes it interesting, which is also an opportunity, because we have a strong team again.

Under these circumstances, what expectations do you have for the new season? Do you already have an objective?

We want to play for a title. That is also the boys' goal. Ultimately, however, it's also about the further development of the players. We have a very interesting team. With Kanak Jha, we've added another young development player alongside Borgar Haug, and Dang and Anton Källberg are far from at the end of their development. We will have a good double. We've signed Chinese player Lin Yongyin to get us through the daily grind. I'm hoping for more finals and major title fights.

Once again, Timo Boll: after so many years, 18 years to be precise, what emotions will you be feeling as you watch the last match of his long career in the pits?

The final will really and definitely be Timo's very, very, very last match, the last dance. That's why it will be very, very emotional, regardless of the result. For Timo and for us, of course, there would be nothing better than one last joint title as a farewell. However, such a title is not a matter of course in sport, and unfortunately there is no script for Timo to win again in his last game. But of course everyone here will fight for it and give it their all. But I believe that everyone in the whole of table tennis Germany is looking forward to this day, despite all the pain of saying goodbye, because it will be a great table tennis celebration. And at the very, very end, there will only be one thing left for me to say: Thank you, Timo!

Thank you very much for the interview, Andreas Preuß.

Interview: Florian Manzke