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The reserve teams of second-division side Union Velbert and TTBL side ASC Grünwettersbach will face off in a third-division clash at the Leapmotor Cup Grand Opening in Nuremberg to decide who progresses to the quarter-finals. In this interview, Velbert’s Timotius Köchling and Grünwettersbach’s Tobias Hippler – who has first-division experience – discuss their underdog teams’ chances of victory in the round of 16, their cup highlights so far and internal club rivalries in the competition.

Timotius Köchling, with third-division side Union Velbert II, you’ll be facing ASC Grünwettersbach II at the Leapmotor Cup Grand Opening in Nuremberg in a clash of underdogs from the 3rd Bundesliga. How hopeful are you and your team of reaching the quarter-finals?

I don’t think we need to kid ourselves: we’re going into the match against Grünwettersbach II as clear underdogs. On paper, they’re extremely strong – you can already see a big difference between them and us. But nevertheless, the beauty of table tennis is that anything can happen; even crazier things have happened in the world of table tennis. For us, this cup tie is simply an exciting and enjoyable start to the season, where we can see where we stand and perhaps head into the season feeling a bit more confident. Of course, despite our slim hopes, we’ll give it our all and, above all, try to have fun doing it.

Tobias Hippler, what are your thoughts on Grünwettersbach’s chances following their victory over second-division side 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT in the preliminary round against Velbert?

I think it’ll be an evenly matched game. It’s obviously a bit difficult to say anything in advance when both teams still have a first team in the cup competition and neither we nor our opponents know exactly what the line-ups will look like in the end. But basically, it’s obviously a good draw for us to start with. I mean, we could just as easily have been drawn against TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen, Borussia Düsseldorf or Saarbrücken I in the first round. So, naturally, we reckon we’ve got a chance of progressing to the next round.

Will you be keeping one eye on your ‘first team’s’ simultaneous round-of-16 match against TTC RhönSprudel Fulda-Maberzell, taking place on an adjacent table?

Even though our focus will naturally be on our own table, we’ll inevitably find ourselves glancing over at our first team now and then and giving them a round of applause. A match like the one against Fulda is sure to be a real spectacle, and we’re naturally very keen to see how our first team will fare and what the lads get up to. In Velbert, we feel more like one big team anyway, rather than two separate ones. That’s why we’ll be cheering on our first team just as much as they’ll probably be cheering us on.

Are you in Grünwettersbach glad that you won’t be facing your ‘first team’ in the quarter-finals either, or would that actually have been a real battle under the cup’s own rules?

From the club’s point of view, it’s quite nice for now that we won’t be playing against each other. We wouldn’t have written off the match against our own first team either, but at the end of the day, in the best-case scenario, we might even have the chance to have two teams in the quarter-finals if everything goes perfectly. So that wouldn’t have been my preferred draw.

In the event that Velbert’s ‘reserves’ go through and the ‘first team’ are knocked out by Fulda: will your second-division colleagues have to brace themselves for some banter when they return to Velbert?

So if it really were to come to that – though it would be nothing short of a minor miracle – then of course we wouldn’t be able to resist a jibe or two. But it’s important to bear in mind that our first team isn’t playing just anyone, but Fulda, and if they were to come off second best, then there really would be nothing at all to hold against them. Even so, a few jibes in training would certainly follow in the scenario described. I do believe, however, that in the end the joy of this minor miracle would prevail, so that even our first team would be happier for us than annoyed that the second team had gone further than the first.

Grünwettersbach’s ‘first team’ aren’t exactly in for a walk in the park either in the round of 16 against Post SV Mühlhausen. Are bets already being taken at your ASC on which team will progress in the cup?

Obviously, Mühlhausen isn’t an ideal draw for us. But there aren’t any bets going on within the club right now about who’ll go through. I see myself as part of both teams, after all – I actually travel with the team for every TTBL match and made a few appearances for the first team last year too. That’s why it would be nonsense to bet against each other now about who’ll go through.

In Nuremberg, the round of 16 and quarter-finals are taking place on two consecutive days. Are you making any special preparations for this demanding schedule?

The fact that both matches are taking place on two consecutive days is nothing out of the ordinary for us now.
After all, during the league season we also had the odd double-header, and the younger players in our squad in particular – who, after all, now have a relatively busy tournament schedule – are more than familiar with playing a few more than just one or two singles matches in a weekend. So there’s no need for any special preparation now, especially as the cup preliminary round has always been played on a single day in recent years – we’ve played three matches in a day and always managed to get through it somehow.

Tobias Hippler, back in 2017, whilst playing for TuS Celle – also in the third division – did you reach the quarter-finals against 1. FC Saarbrücken-TT and your current club-mate Tiago Apolonia? Was that match your best cup experience to date, or do you tend to think of other experiences instead?

Back then, just reaching the quarter-finals was something special for us. Celle is, after all, a bit like my home club – I played there for five or six years and worked my way up from the Regionalliga to the second division. The match against Saarbrücken was certainly the biggest game in the club’s history at the time. Nevertheless, I think it was too long ago – partly because I felt the quarter-final two years ago with my then second-division team, 1. FC Köln, also against Saarbrücken, was a bigger occasion. There were far more people in the hall on that occasion. The other match was really nine years ago now, so it’s faded a bit from my memory.

Timotius Köchling, just last season you and your first team nearly caused an upset in the quarter-final against Champions League winners Saarbrücken. What do you particularly enjoy looking back on from that?

When we, as a club, look back on last year’s cup match against Saarbrücken, what sticks in our minds above all is the incredible atmosphere created by our home crowd. What our club officials managed to organise to give us players such an unforgettable day was truly amazing. It’s not every day that we get to host such a big match here in Velbert – it really was something very special. When I think back on the match personally, the first thing that springs to mind, of course, is Wim Verdonschot’s incredible performance; he really took the wind out of the sails of those two world-class players, Eduard Ionescu and Darko Jorgic, that day. I also fondly recall my first set against Jorgic, when I managed to take a 1–0 lead in the tie-break.
That was, of course, a special moment for me personally too, even if it ended up 1–3 in the end.
But I reckon taking a 1–0 lead against the then world number 13 in front of a home crowd wasn’t too bad at all.

Also not bad, Tobias Hippler, is your rise over the past few months to become a not-so-secret favourite on social media: a Reel of your spectacular rally in the TTBL match against Saarbrücken’s Ionescu currently stands at a staggering 111 million views. Do you notice anything of this popularity?

I’m sure people have noticed. I’ve been asked about it quite a few times. I’ve also gained a few more followers on social media. Still, anyone who knows me a bit knows that I’m not exactly the sort of person who posts the most on Instagram. So, it’s certainly ‘nice to have’ and perhaps good for the club too, but for me it’s not exactly life-changing.

Timotius Köchling and Tobias Hippler, thank you very much for talking to us.

Florian Manzke