Head-to-head: Düsseldorf and Saarbrcken compared

In just over two weeks, Borussia Düsseldorf and 1. FC Saarbrcken TT will face each other in the Liebherr TTBL final: the showdown for the German championship will take place on June 30 at the Swag Energie ARENA in Frankfurt. In this head-to-head confrontation we take a closer look at the two finalists.

The direct comparison

Borussia Düsseldorf and 1. FC Saarbrcken TT have already met four times this season, twice for the title. The record champions triumphed in the Liebherr Cup final in January (3:0), while FCS defended its title in the Champions League at Easter (3:2). In the main round of the German Table Tennis League (TTBL), the team from Saarland also came out on top twice, with a 3:2 victory in both the first and second legs. Saarbrcken will now hope for a coveted victory in the Liebherr TTBL final – FCS have been defeated by Düsseldorf each of the last three years (1:3, 2:3, 1:3).

The teams

A total of four players from the top 25 in the world are in the squads of the two teams: Dang Qiu (10) and Anton Kllberg (16) for Dsseldorf, Darko Jorgic (20) and Patrick Franziska (9) for Saarbrcken. At the same time, they are among the best players in the TTBL season so far: Jorgic is the second most successful player behind Ricardo Walther (ASV Grnwettersbach; 15:3) with a record of 14:2, followed by Kllberg (16:5) in third place, ahead of Yuto Muramatsu from Saarbrcken (14:3). Franziska (11:2), Boll (11:7) and Qiu (7:3) also had clearly positive results.

The coaches

Danny Heister has been in charge as coach at Borussia Düsseldorf for 14 years and has guided the record champions to countless successes during this period. Three Champions League titles (2011, 2018, 2021), one ETTU Cup title (2012), nine cup wins (2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2024) and ten championships (2011, 2012 , 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023) are all thanks to Heister. Wang Zhi has been in charge of 1. FC Saarbrcken TT since November 2020 and has also collected several trophies. Under his leadership there have already been eight final appearances in all competitions, including the cup win in 2022 and, most recently, the Champions League title twice.

The road to the Liebherr TTBL Final

Dsseldorf and Saarbrcken have been the dominant teams in Europe for years and have found their way to the Liebherr TTBL final for the fourth time in a row. In the season so far, the challenger has done better: Saarbrcken dominated from the start, winning seven of the twenty games in the main round outright with 3:0 and ultimately securing first place with 34:6 points and a clear lead. The round was more varied for Düsseldorf, which won only four of ten games in the second round. With 26:14 points, Borussia ultimately qualified for second place for the play-offs, where they had the upper hand after three games against TSV Bad Knigshofen (1:3, 3:0, 3:0). Saarbrcken advanced to the Liebherr TTBL final against SV Werder Bremen (3:0, 3:2).

The titles

77 vs. 6 – when comparing the trophy cabinets, Düsseldorf has a clear lead. The record champions are aiming for their 34th German championship on June 30 and can draw on good experiences against their long-term rivals: Borussia had already triumphed against Saarbrcken in the Liebherr TTBL final in the past three years. However, FCS can also look back on the most successful period in the club's history: in addition to the two victories in the Champions League, they won the German championship in 2020 and the cup in 2022 for the second time since 2012. Saarbrcken also won the 2014 ETTU Cup.

The defectors

First Borussia Düsseldorf, then 1. FC Saarbrcken TT – this has happened three times in recent history. Probably the most prominent defector is Patrick Franziska: the Odenwald native played for Düsseldorf for two years before moving to Saarbrücken in 2016, setting the course for the club to establish itself at the top of the world rankings. His current contract runs until 2025 – so FCS can also count on the services of the world number nine next season. Bastian Steger played for Borussia for six years (2000-2006) and came to FCS via TTC Frickenhausen (2006-2010), for whom he played for four years and with whom he won the cup (2012) and the ETTU Cup (2014). ). Patrick Baum played for Saarbrcken from 2016 to 2018, after playing for Düsseldorf from 2010 to 2014 and in between at TTC RhnSprudel Fulda-Maberzell (2014-2015) and TTC Caen (2015-2016). Baum is now active at TTC Zugbrcke Grenzau, Steger at TSV Bad Knigshofen.

Liebherr TTBL Final on June 30

1 o'clock in the afternoon: 1. FC Saarbrcken TT Borussia Dusseldorf

Remaining tickets for the Liebherr TTBL Final are available in our ticket shop. Tickets are available from 15 euros, and the Lotto Hessen group ticket is available for groups of ten or more.

Featured image center: Timo Boll and Patrick Franziska (Photo: BeLa Sportfoto)