Verdonschot: "It’s simply perfect for me!" | OneFootball

Wim Verdonschot, the first matches of your first rookie season in the Bundesliga are now behind you. How satisfied were you heading into the short break in play?“I have to say, I really couldn’t have hoped for a better start. After losing my first match, I played really, really well and I also feel very comfortable in the team. Everyone is super nice — it’s just perfect for me! I’m now at 3:1 wins, and I’m super happy about that.”

You celebrated your first Bundesliga win against Romain Ruiz of TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt. Ruiz, in turn, is one of the few players in the Bundesliga who has already managed to beat Olympic champion and superstar Fan Zhendong. Does that make your win even more memorable?“Of course I noticed Ruiz’s big win — he really does play very aggressively and is very awkward to face. Especially if you don’t return well, he keeps the rallies extremely short and does it extremely well. I had already played against him before at a feeder tournament, so I knew what to expect. Naturally, I’m happy that I was able to get my first TTBL win against him.”

What differences have you noticed so far between the second division and the TTBL?“The biggest difference is definitely the nerves. In my first TTBL matches, I was much, much more nervous than in the second division, because all the attention and focus is directed at just one table instead of two. You can feel that, in that moment when you’re playing, it’s all about you. That’s just incredible, but I really, really like that feeling in the TTBL.”

Is the Bundesliga only more demanding in terms of quality, or does the top division also bring out different emotions?“Of course it’s more demanding in terms of quality, but the focus, the nerves and the joy really are on a completely different level. Winning with the team, keeping the points at home or winning away — it’s just an indescribable feeling.”

Which of your experiences in the Bundesliga so far has been the most valuable for you?“There are two things. On the one hand, my win against Ruiz, because it was my very first success in the Bundesliga and therefore a real milestone for me. On the other hand, reaching the Final Four in the cup was a valuable experience. For me, those have also been the best moments so far. But it’s also important to me that I’ve realized how much your own successes can mean: after the defeat in my first TTBL match, I was really very sad, and then training didn’t go so well either. But after my wins, first against Ruiz and then in the two matches after that, I can feel that those successes give you an incredible amount of self-confidence.”

Has anything completely surprised you as well?“I have to admit that what really surprised me is that practically everything now revolves around nerves and tension during the match, and also just how big they really are in the end. I thought that even though I was coming from the second division, I was otherwise playing quite well, and because of that a TTBL match would be like any other league match — but it really wasn’t at all. That incredible tension really surprised me.”

At the beginning of January, as you already mentioned, Dortmund’s first-ever appearance in the cup Final Four is on the schedule for BVB and for you. Is that already an event that gives you excited anticipation, or is it still too far away?“On the trip back, after qualifying for the Final Four during the cup weekend in Nuremberg, we were already dreaming a little. That already shows that the excitement is there even now. Of course, a lot can still happen before the Final Four, but we’re already incredibly excited.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.