BVB hoping to crown historic promotion with league title

It was on the day of the Christmas party, immediately after the crucial 6-4 win in the big game against Bad Homburg, when Ulla Reitemeyer approached the board of directors. With the prospect of being promoted to the Bundesliga, the head of the table tennis department wanted to find out whether the structures would be in place to allow it to happen this time. The president's answer was clear: put together a list of everything you need...

The next day marked the start of the most difficult weeks for Reitemeyer since taking over as head of the department from Bernd Möllmann. On the one hand, there are the team's current players, who are playing well and achieving promotion through sporting merit - you don't want to penalise them for that. On the other hand, the standard in the top tier is different to the second. "I think," says Reitemeyer in advance, "we have found a good solution for everyone involved."

At the same time, a new budget of unprecedented size had to be arranged. "You don't want to make any mistakes." The head of department has now reached draft number five. The bottom line: the squad is in place. The budget too.

Borussia Dortmund will play in the German Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) next season, that much is certain. The Black & Yellows are at the top of the second division with two games to go before the end of the season - the clubs in first and second place will be promoted. Borussia Dortmund still have to play TTC indeland Jülich and second-placed and reigning champions Bad Homburg, who have also played two games fewer than BVB. Borussia will do everything in their power to lift the second-tier title. However, promotion is no longer in jeopardy: no other club apart from BVB and Bad Homburg are able to progress. "After Borussia Dortmund had given up on promotion twice in the past for financial reasons, it would have been hard to do that a third time. We are Borussia Dortmund and we are committed to competitive sport," says Reitemeyer. 

Ulla, why is three the magic number, why are Borussia Dortmund making use of their right to promotion this season?

Reitemeyer: "The main reason is to be able to offer outstanding players the best prospects here at Borussia Dortmund. I've always struggled with having to tell young players, who are ambitious, determined and want to make it to the top, that Borussia Dortmund only go as high as the second division. What's more, the TTBL has been waiting for the star-power of Borussia Dortmund."

When did you start making concrete plans for promotion to the Bundesliga?

Reitemeyer: "At the Christmas party at the beginning of December, I got the go-ahead in principle from the president. Our sporting director Evgeny Fadeev then put together a great squad for our first year in the top tier. He managed it in just 09 days, from the letter of intent, to the first new signing, and then finally the third one in mid-January. Now we no longer have to deal in variables and uncertainties, but rather with concrete plans." 

Evgeny, how do you put together a Bundesliga squad in just 09 days? 

Fadeev: "I got in touch with about two-dozen candidates. Due to our situation, we couldn't get started any earlier, which meant we were a bit late compared to the competition. We still didn't have any new players by mid-January. But then I read in the newspaper that Mainz were dropping down into the second tier - so I immediately picked up the phone and enquired about Yongyin Li. We were able to quickly win him over for Borussia Dortmund, also through the connection with Wencheng Qi. The second player I was able to convince of our plan was Cedric Nuytinck, the former Belgian number one and Champions League winner with Saarbrücken. After he said yes, we had all the pieces, including Simon Berglund, our current number one. Then I suddenly got a WhatsApp from Anders Lind, who asked me if we could use someone else like him, saying that he'd heard Borussia Dortmund were looking to put together a committed and ambitious team..."

...you have to know this: Anders Lind is a global star, the current number 29 in the world rankings.

Fadeev: "That's right. Anders was the best player in the French league last season, won the Champions League and was the only European to reach the quarter-finals of the World Championships - in singles, mind you. That wasn't really feasible for us, just in terms of budget. I put a few videos to the board group anyway ..."

Reitemeyer: "...and unlike one or two previous candidates, who were ruled out for financial reasons, here, with the number 29 in the world, we immediately got the green light from the executive committee. This was a unique opportunity for a promoted team, and we were allowed to seize it. The club didn't want to leave us out in the cold here. That is a strong message for which we are grateful."

Fadeev: "With these new additions, our squad is very exciting. Yongyin Li is Chinese, playing his first year in Europe, and his record is very positive. He will be a regular for us and could usually play in the second position. To be honest, Cedric Nuytinck's record in the Bundesliga is not outstanding, but internationally he has beaten absolute top players. The difference can be explained by the fact that he played at number four in Saarbrücken - and the first substitute is often over-motivated because he desperately wants to win in order to prove himself. That creates pressure. With us, however, Cedric will be a regular player, who can have peace of mind and regular competition. And then there's Anders Lind, who has a contract for 15 TTBL games."

That sounds really good. But what about the other players, who made this promotion possible in the first place? There's Dennis Klein, Erik Bottroff and our two very talented youngsters Kirill Fadeev and Wim Verdonschot. 

Reitemeyer: "We didn't want to penalise any of these players for their outstanding performances and the promotion they've made possible. Firstly, Dennis Klein: Dennis is absolutely indispensable because he's the only right-hander in the whole team and you need him for doubles. So without Dennis, nothing works, he's set for the doubles and will therefore always be there."

Fadeev: "You need five players to compete in the Bundesliga, three starters and two subs. Anders Lind won't be able to play every game for us, as he'll be competing internationally."

And Erik Bottroff? 

Reitemeyer: "You can always call on Erik Bottroff, who has Bundesliga experience from before he joined BVB. You could give him the call in the middle of the night and he'd be there. Erik will keep his contract, so he remains a Borussia player, but he will also be involved behind the scenes. It's planned that he'll play for both the second team as well as the first team, so he will get his Bundesliga licence. He will also support us in the hall, by moderating the supporting programme and through his work for our sponsor Schöler Micke. Together with Björn Helbing, he is organising the new hall floor and the show court, with a special table being added for the top tier. Erik has many talents, a lot of expertise and will provide entertainment, not least through his podcast Plattenplausch."

Then there are the youngsters, Kirill und Wim. 

Reitemeyer: "We wouldn't have been able to guarantee them regular playing time in the Bundesliga. That would be too little in light of everything that they need to develop as young players. They needed to be playing week-in, week-out, and not just once a month."

Fadeev: "They would have played a maximum of five games in the entire season. What's more, as number three, they would play against the opponent's number one in every game, and these are absolute world-class players at all Bundesliga clubs; it's either someone from Asia or Timo Boll. Neither of them would have enjoyed that. So that wasn't an option. Nevertheless, we made them both an offer, but they turned it down - which I think was right. Because they will always have the chance to come back one day."

"The Table Tennis Bundesliga has been waiting for the star-power of Borussia Dortmund"

Reitemeyer: "Kirill will go to Mainz. This transfer to a team relegated from the Bundesliga was my recommendation to him. He'll play at the top level there and gain experience for the next step in his career. This was exactly what he did before, when he went to the third division for a season and was then ready to play in the second tier for Borussia Dortmund. If he manages to take that step again, this time just one level higher, it would ultimately be a win-win for both Kirill Fadeev and Borussia Dortmund. Because one thing is clear: Kirill is our boy. We won't give him up and we won't give him away, we want to make sure he gets the best possible development at Mainz."

Evgeny, looking specifically at Kirill, for whom you are not just his sporting director, but also his father: how fine is the balancing act that you need to perform?

Fadeev: "I support this decision and am looking forward to seeing how he develops. One thing is that he'll be playing without me at his side. It will be interesting to see how he deals with that. Both of the boys understood our thinking straight away. There was no irritation, no anger, just fair play."

In addition to getting the squad ready, you also need to have the right infrastructure for the top tier. How far along are you in terms of the hall floor, lighting and internet? 

Reitemeyer: "The floor and lighting are not a problem, I have already discussed this with the sports office and Schöler Micke. The new hall floor will be laid in good time. Our hall lighting is already good, but if it doesn't meet the requirements, we'll have to screw in a few more bulbs. I'm not worried about that. What is a real change, however, is the question of stable internet for the live stream. So we should get this off the ground together with the city because, as I said, the TTBL and the streaming platforms are waiting for BVB. So we're talking about our performance here, and that has value for the club, for the TTBL and for table tennis as a whole."

Interview: Nils Hotze

Photos: Hendrik Deckers