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Werder Bremen has been one of the surprises of the TTBL season so far and, sitting second in the table shortly before the end of the first half of the season, is well placed to secure a playoff spot in the TTBL Final Four. In a double interview, team manager Sascha Greber and head coach Cristian Tamas talk about their playoff hopes, their newly signed game changer Irvin Bertrand, and the remarkable continuity on the Weser.

Before the last two games of the first half of the season, Werder Bremen is tied with leaders Borussia Düsseldorf in second place and can hope to be in the playoff ranks at the turn of the year. How would you comment on the prognosis of such a starting position for the end of the first half of the season?

Sascha Greber: Our goal before the season was to collect enough points as quickly as possible to establish ourselves in mid-table and stay away from the critical positions.

But now Werder is at the top. What do you say now?

Cristian Tamas: We are of course very happy to be in second place now and are more than satisfied with how the season is going. However, we still see this as a snapshot, partly because we also had a good start last season and then quickly ended up in mid-table again. The first half of the season is not over yet, but we are enjoying the situation as it is and like to look at the table every day.

What are the decisive factors behind Werder's success?

SG: The decisive factor is that we were able to strengthen our team with Irvin Bertrand.

CT: The important thing is that we have gained a good doubles player, which Irvin has already proven twice in our two decisive doubles matches so far.

Three players on your team—Mattias Falck, Kirill Gerassimenko, and Marcelo Aguirre—are playing together for the seventh season in a row. How important has this consistency been for your successful first half of the season?

CT: Continuity and consistency play a very, very important role for us in Bremen. Mattias and Kirill even have contracts for next season. In general, I think that our intact training group with players who support each other and the great homogeneity in the team are a great strength of our team.

SG: We have always pursued team unity and continuity. There are also many players who have played in Bremen for a very long time—Bastian Steger, Adrian Crisan, and Constantin Cioti are just three examples. Our team philosophy has also been reflected for decades in the fact that we are one of the few teams that, except for home games, almost always play with our regular starting lineup from number one to four, even when playing away. We usually see this as another strength, but it can also become a weakness due to injuries.

When Falck, Gerassimenko, and Aguirre were signed in 2019, was such an unusually long period of continuity in professional sports part of a master plan?

SG: No, of course you can never plan that far ahead in sports. But that makes us all the more delighted and grateful that we have been able to keep three players, three such valuable players, with us in Bremen for so long.

The counterpart to the close-knit “Boys of 2019” is your new signing Irvin Bertrand. Did you really expect the Frenchman to have such a positive impact on your team's results?

SG: Irvin is known as a very likeable guy and a team player, which was very important to us in terms of homogeneity and team structure. Since he is also very, very well trained technically, he was our absolute dream signing – and he has long since fulfilled our expectations.

CT: We are really incredibly happy that he has made such an impact with us. In sports, no matter how much you plan, you never know what might happen, but Irvin is tactically well-trained, a good singles and doubles player, plays very thoughtfully, and has integrated into our team incredibly quickly thanks to his human strength. He has already helped us move forward in doubles. All in all, Irvin has fulfilled exactly what we hoped he would.

Besides Bertrand, Marcelo Aguirre has also been particularly impressive so far. After a difficult preseason, he surprised everyone in his season debut against 1. FC Saarbrücken with a coup against Olympic champion Fan Zhendong and is currently in a clearly positive position. What is different from last season?

CT: Marcelo not only beat Fan Zhendong, but also Basti Steger and Maciej Kubik afterwards. This has given him a lot of self-confidence, which is an incredibly important component in our sport. This makes training easier for him, although Marcelo is someone who always gives 100 percent in training and always adds an extra session.

SG: We are delighted that things are going so well for him this season, and of course we hope that he continues in the same vein.

Your top duo, Mattias Falck and Kirill Gerassimenko, are being given some important relief thanks to the good performances of Bertrand and Aguirre compared to previous years. How would you rate the performances of the two so far?

CT: We are very satisfied with Mattias and Kyrill. Like Irvin and Marcelo, they are performing well and winning important points, even in doubles.

With the first half of the season coming to an end, Werder's position in the table is certainly more than just a snapshot. How is the response within the club and among the fans?

SG: We have incredibly great fans in Bremen. Our arena is always packed, and we look forward to every home game. The support from the main club—especially from our managing director Anne-Kathrin Laufmann, with whom we work very closely—is also outstanding. We are all enjoying the situation as it is right now.

Is a playoff spot now the declared goal?

SG: Of course, it's a big dream to make it into the playoff spots again this year. If we can get through the next few tough games at TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell and then at Post SV Mühlhausen, we will of course try to be in the running for the playoff spots in the second half of the season.

Playoff participation in 2024, participation in the Liebherr Cup final in 2025, and now a good chance of another playoff spot: Is SV Werder quietly creeping into the group of established top teams year after year?

CT: The TTBL is now simply an incredibly strong league, but we are always able to upset some of the top teams such as 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT, Borussia Düsseldorf, Fulda, and TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt, and to deliver the occasional sting in the tail. That's what we want.

Thank you very much for talking to us, Cristian Tamas and Sascha Greber.

Florian Manzke
Featured image (above): Source SV Werder Bremen