Volleyball Bundesliga: Haching against the champions at the start of the season

Created: 08/10/2022, 18:15

By: Umberto Savignano

Looking forward to the new Bundesliga season and the opening home game against champions Berlin: Hachinger coach Bogdan Tanase.

© Sven Leifer/Archive

It's going to be full for TSV Haching Munich: At the start of the season, the Bundesliga volleyball team will welcome the defending champion Berlin Recycling Volleys in the Bayernwerk sports arena on Sunday (4 p.m.).

Unterhaching

– Haching's veteran Philipp Schumann already suspects that there won't be much to celebrate: "Of course Berlin is difficult in the first game of the season," says the diagonal player.

Last weekend at the new Bounce House Cup, TSV also met the top favorites from the capital and lost 0:3 as expected.

But in the second and third set, the Hachinger made the match somewhat balanced with 21:25 each.

For Mihai Paduretu, however, this preparatory tournament for the eight Bundesliga teams entitled to participate in the play-offs (the German U20 juniors play as VCO Berlin as the ninth team with no right to the championship round) was not yet a real benchmark.

"Not only we, but also the other clubs had injuries or players who were with the national team all summer and have now rested," said the TSV sports director.

Paduretu's son Eric (stomach muscle strain), Juro Petrusic (knee problems), Daniel Günther (should have played for VCO Munich last weekend with the right to play a second game, but was ill) and Sebastian Rösler (after twisting his ankle in the first set of the Berlin game) were missing from Unterhaching ) four people.

At least Rösler and Petrusic should be in the squad on Sunday,

His father takes a rather positive view of the demanding entry-level programme, which after the away game at Helios Grizzlys Giesen on Saturday immediately brings a home game against record champions VfB Friedrichshafen (Wednesday, October 19, 7 p.m.).

"It's good to have the first two home games against the strongest opponents.

The team can then warm up a bit.

Then we'll see where she stands in two weeks," says the sporting director.

The early duels with the top teams should also fit coach Bogdan Tanase into the concept.

"He would have liked to have had two or three more tournaments to prepare for," says Mihai Paduretu.

"It's because of our financial capabilities that it didn't work out."

Haching hopes for the support of his fans

Paduretu hopes that the hall will be well filled.

After all, there are not only the stars from Berlin to be examined, but also the half-renewed TSV squad.

"The newcomers, like Quentin Zeller, Jere Heiskanen or Marcell Mikuláss Koch, are interesting players," says Paduretu, who is also excited to see how the young players who stayed in Unterhaching have developed.

In any case, Philipp Schumann seems confident that this new mix will do better than in the past two years, when the Hachinger team finished last: "At the Bounce House Cup we saw what we still have to work on, but also what could be possible.

It shouldn't be our goal to beat VCO Berlin twice.

We also want to leave one or two of the other teams behind us.”

Major personnel changes at the Berlin Recycling Volleys 

The Berlin Recycling Volleys are also the top favorite this season.

They underlined this role with their success in the Bounce House Cup with a 3-0 final victory over record champions VfB Friedrichshafen.

However, with seven departures and six additions, the capitals have undergone a major change in personnel.

Superstars such as US diagonal attacker Benjamin Patch (28, career break) and the Russian player icon Sergey Grankin (37, to Fakel Nowy Urengoy/Russia) are no longer available.

Grankin's role is to be taken over by the Spaniard Angel Trinidad de Haro (29), who was previously under contract with Projekt Warsaw and was immediately appointed Berlin captain.

The second setter is Johannes Tille (25) from Saint Nazaire/France, brother of the former Hachinger libero Ferdinand Tille.

Berlin coach Cedric Enard is confident: "We are in the process of building something new.

I feel good when I see our team working on it." (um)