June 2022

Recco scores 12sec from time and retains its title with a shootout win  Pro Recco is crowned for the 10th time after another thrilling Champions League final, decided by  penalties for the second time after 2019. Host Novi Beograd was close as it led 11-9 after three  periods and Nikola Jaksic’s 6th goal 50 seconds from time put the Serbs ahead once more. Still,  Gergo Zalanki hit his 5th in the evening 12 seconds before the buzzer to save the game to a 13-13  tie and a shootout. And there, at 3-3, the two heroes lined up for the last shots – Jaksic hit the  crossbar, Zalanki sent the ball home as well as his team-mates to the seventh if not 10th heaven.  His former club Ferencvaros finished third, after downing Brescia – this game was another 26- goal epic, landed by the Magyars with 14-12.   Final: Novi Beograd (SRB) v Pro Recco (ITA) 13-13, pen: 3-4. Bronze medal match: AN Brescia  (ITA) v FTC-Telekom Budapest (HUN) 12-14. For places 5-6th: Waspo 98 Hannover (GER) v Zodiac  Atletic Barceloneta (ESP) 10-12. For places 7-8th: CN Marseille (FRA) v Jug Adriatic Osiguranje  Dubrovnik (CRO) 15-13  Most Valuable Player: Giacomo Cannella (Recco)  102 goals, tremendous excitements and another triumph, the 10th one, for Pro Recco – this is the brief  summary of the last day at the Final Eight tournament.  Recco needed to dig really deep to come back from two goals down in the fourth period against the host  side Novi Beograd in front of a capacity crowd. For two and a half periods Novi Beograd was in front,  though the Italians always found the way to equalise, then led 7-8 for the first time in the game but that  didn’t last long. Indeed, after 8-8, a tricky solution – Strahinja Rasovic scored directly from a corner throw – sent the title-holders off-balance and two more action goals put the hosts 9-11 up before the  final period.  Aaron Younger brought back Recco to life in the fourth, but Nikola Jaksic played the match of his life,  put away man-ups, scored from the centre, then he hit his 6th from the perimeter with 50 seconds  remaining – still, Recco had a last chance and Gergo Zalanki kept his calm to equalise once more, with  0:12 on the clock.  And it was the Hungarian leftie, scoring 5 in the game, who decided the contest in the shootout. Earlier  the biggest heroes fell shy of burying their shots, first Dusan Mandic (won with Recco a year ago, now  missed for NBG), then Younger, then, in the last round, right before Zalanki, Jaksic hit the crossbar to  leave the pool in tears soon – because his last year team-mate executed his shot flawlessly to secure  Recco’s 10th title.  Sandro Sukno joined the elite circle of coaches who won the Champions League both in the water and  in charge at the bench (the other coach-and-player legend, Igor Milanovic lost his first final after winning in 2011 and 2015 – and NBG’s defeat also marked only the 4th time when a team  failed to win the final in its home).   This was the first title-defence since 2008 – back then also Recco clinched back-to-back gold medals.  The Italian record-holder lost a single game in the entire season (back in December to Jug in  Dubrovnik), here they survived some scary moments by denying three man-downs at 10-10 against  Barceloneta in the quarters, and now never ceased fighting, even though they were on the edge of losing  in the last minute of this game.   Ferencvaros won the battle of the exhausted sides for the bronze medal. It was tense game, as usual  between these two, with two red cards apiece, great excitements, fine goals – and with the very same  outcome at the end as last years in the semis: the Magyars won 14-12.   They jumped to a 5-2 lead early, Brescia came back to 6-6 but after 7-8 the Italians had a minor  blackout (three man-ups were gone without a shot) and FTC made them pay for that and led 8-11 before  the last break. The Italians scored two fast goals but after an intense fight, coloured by a series of  expulsions, Ferencvaros managed to bury two man-ups in 61 seconds for a 11-14 lead and that secured  their medal. In fact, they were on the podium at the last three editions, though their trend is perhaps not  the brightest (1st, 2nd, 3rd), still, after losing key players year by year, they were happy with this  outcome.  In the games for the lower ranks, Barceloneta woke up in time to down Hannover with a 6-goal rush in  the third period and let its legendary goalie Dani Lopez bid farewell to his seemingly infinity career on a  winning note. The Spaniard, Champions League winner in 2014, World and European silver medallist  with the national team, contributed a penalty save lately to secure his team’s 5th place finish. When he  was substituted two minutes before the end, the entire pool, including the Hannover players, the referees  and the jury table gave him a round of applause.  In the first game of the last session Marseille upended Jug for the 7th place to record its first win in the  F8 (lost all three matches last season), while the Croats had to settle for their lowest-ever rank in the  finals. Well, in years few shall remember that two days ago, early in the fourth period, they led by two  goals in the quarters against Ferencvaros…  Recaps  Final: Novi Beograd v Recco 13-13, pen: 3-4  The first four minutes produced a grand defensive battle, with a man-up apiece – Radomir Drasovic put  it away for the hosts in the last seconds, while Aaron Younger sent the ball back to the net right away  from 5m after collecting the rebound from the first shot.   Marco de Lungo then stopped Djorjde Vucinic’s ball in a man-down and Giacomo Cannella managed to  gain enough advantage in

19.30, Final – Novi Beograd v Recco 13-13, pen: 3-4  Igor Milanovic, coach, Novi Beograd  “As a coach I don’t count on and definitely not with the penalties, those are pure luck, so it’s better to  focus on the game itself. I think we did well for most of the time, I’m only a bit upset about the last two  goals, perhaps we should have prevented them, or at least one of them. I think this team worked really  well this season, deserved to play for the title, only small things decided the match today.”  Angelos Vlachopoulos, player, Novi Beograd  “I think we were better during the match. We conceded some unlucky, long-distance goals. I think that  made the difference and some missed opportunities at our side. Also, our man-down was bad, we  weren’t active enough. In the end, the penalties are always like roulette. Hopefully, next year we’ll do  better.”  Sandro Sukno, coach, Recco  “I’m really proud of my players and grateful to them, to my staff and to the club. We have had an  absolutely amazing season, won every competition we entered which is what Pro Recco is all about but  that’s not easy to achieve, I can tell you. Today we fought to the very last moment, never stopped  believing, of course, we did mistakes, but that happens – and I think we deserved this victory too.”  Gergo Zalanki, player, Recco  “This match shares the same spot with the 2020 European Championship final in my heart, as two of the  most outstanding memories of my playing career so far. In the heat of the moment, I didn’t even count  how many goals I scored, I just shot when I felt I had to, and I think the whole team did an amazing job.  I think we are the rightful winners, we worked hard, and according to the scoreboard, the hardest to win  the Champions League this year.”  Pietro Figlioli, player, Recco  “This is my sixth title, but it never gets old, I am ready for more! I still feel like a little kid having fun  playing. It helps that I feel great physically. Also, I play in a team that is so stimulating, every training  makes me want to be better for the team. One of our strengths is that we are a very united team. We  never lost the nerve today. From day one, Sandro built this team in this way. This has been a perfect  year. We have won everything!” 17.00, Bronze medal: Brescia v FTC 12-14 Alessandro Bovo, coach, Brescia  “My players were very tired after the semi-final yesterday, still, for all the man-ups and man-downs,  Ferencvaros played them much better today, so their win is well deserved.”  Boris Vapenski, player, Brescia  “We really came here hoping to play in the final. But then all four semi-finalists are top teams and both  semi-finals were so close. I think that the deciding factor for winning today’s match was the motivation.  At the end, the team that won, obviously wanted it more. Also, we were pretty worn out from yesterday  both physically and psychologically. Yesterday we were seconds away from penalties and then we  conceded that unfortunate goal. I congratulate FTC for their well-deserved victory.”  Zsolt Varga, coach, Ferencvaros  “I’m really happy with this medal, this is a kind of coronation of our season. Basically, we were already  happy with making the Final Eight, the team changed from year to year, so finishing on the podium is a  fantastic result for us. Indeed, both our wins today were a great proof how the team had been growing  and improving during the season. Our whole spring went like that, when we had to be up to the task, to  get points in order to survive, we just got them in Piraeus, here in Belgrade, then at our last two home  matches with Radnicki and Brescia. And again, here, in the tensest moments, we managed to keep our  calm and execute our game-plan when it was needed the most, when we were down by two against Jug,  then here, when everything came down to one man-up and one man-down. This shows that this is a  strong team, with great individuals, who can make our club and the community proud.”  Soma Vogel, goalie, Ferencvaros  “Coming here we hoped to play for the gold for the third time in a row, but sadly it did not happen. All  in all, we had a great season. We won both the Cup and the league title in Hungary. We also did well in  the ‘death group’ of the Champions League. It feels good to finish this season with a medal.”  Nemanja Ubovic, player, Ferencvaros  “The third place in the F8 represents the peak of this season. It was difficult after yesterday when we  lost to Recco when we were so close. At the end, the difference in quality was shown and we just didn’t  have enough strength left. This concludes our season. I must say I am proud with how we as a team  reacted to yesterday’s defeat. Ultimately, maybe we just wanted today’s win better.” 14.00, For 5-6th – Hannover v Barceloneta 10-12  Karsten Seehafer, coach, Hannover  “Of course, we are satisfied with this position and this game was also a good for our team. Qualifying  for the Final Eight was a big success already, we did another double in Germany, so our season was  great, we won a game here and today we also did well. We did some mistakes in the third period in  defence, but that’s something which can happen in a game like this.”  Julian Real, player, Hannover  “Our start was pretty well. Somewhere in the third quarter we lost control in defence. I think it was a  nice match for the fans to watch. We enjoyed playing it. Barcelonetta is a great team. For us, it is a big  success to be here. I don’t think we were ready for the match with Brescia, we were

Final – Pro Recco (ITA) v Novi Beograd (SRB)  • This can be Recco’s 10th Champions League title – an absolute record. Partizan Beograd (SRB) and  Mladost Zagreb (CRO) are tied second in the all-time ranks with 7 apiece. Novi Beograd can win its  first title in its brief history.   • Italian clubs claimed 14 titles and were 24 times in the final (this will be their 25th appearance). As for  the Serbs, they have 9 titles and 15 appearances in the final. The last Serbian club to win the Champions  League was Crvena Zvezda in 2013, they also won in Belgrade (in a different location, at the Banjica  Pool).  • So far, Champions League (Champions Cup, Euro League) saw a team winning back-to-back titles 8  times:  Partizan Beograd (YUG) – 1966, 1967  Mladost Zagreb (YUG) – 1968, 1969, 1970 (the only triple)  Partizan Beograd (YUG) – 1975, 1976  Spandau 04 (FRG) – 1986, 1987  Mladost Zagreb (CRO) – 1990, 1991  Jadran Split (CRO) – 1992, 1993  Posillipo Napoli (ITA) – 1997, 1998  Pro Recco (ITA) – 2007, 2008  • Since the inauguration of the Final 4/6/8 format in 1997, the host teams won more than half of the  finals, 11 out of 21 (three editions, 2008, 2012 and 2021 were held in neutral venues). Interestingly, in  the 8 finals held between 2000 and 2007, the host won 7 times.   1997: Posillipo Napoli (ITA) • 2000: Becej (YUG)• 2001: Jug (CRO) • 2003: Recco (ITA) • 2004:  Honved (HUN) • 2005: Posillipo (ITA) • 2006: Jug (CRO) • 2007: Recco (ITA) • 2013: Crvena Zvezda  (SRB) • 2014: Barceloneta (ESP) • 2017: Szolnok (HUN)  • It happened only three times, that the host team reached the final but failed to win it: 2002: Honved (HUN) lost to Olympiacos (GRE) in Budapest  2011: Recco (ITA) lost to Partizan (SRB) in Rome  2018: Recco (ITA) lost to Olympiacos (GRE) in Genova In 2011 the winning Serbian side was coached by Igor Milanovic, who now is in charge at  Novi Beograd.  • Indeed Igor Milanovic, the Serbs’ legend who is a two-time Olympic (1984, 1988) and two-time world  champion (1986, 1991) as a player, won the Champions League 3 times in the pool (with Mladost in  1990 and 1991, with Catalunya in 1995), Then already twice as a coach: he led Partizan to win the  trophy in 2011, then Recco in 2015. He can become the first coach in history to lead three different  teams to Champions League titles. Besides him, Zoltan Kasas (HUN) coached Becej (YUG) in 2000,  then Olympiacos (GRE) in 2002 during their respective title-winning campaigns. • Sandro Sukno can also become a Champions League winning coach after lifted the trophy as a player.  The Croatian was part of Recco’s golden team ten years ago, in 2012.  • From that team, Aleksandar Ivovic is still part of the show, this can be his 4th victory after 2012, 2015  and 2021.  • Aussie Aaron Younger can win the trophy for the 4th time too, since 2017 – he was first with Szolnok  (2017), Ferencvaros (2019) and Recco (2021).  • Among today finalists, Dusko Pijetlovic (NBG) and Pietro Figlioli (REC) already bagged four titles  apiece. Whoever wins, shall join an elite circle of 5-time winner legends like Ozren Bonacic (YUG,  with Partizan&Mladost), Mirko Sandic (YUG, with Partizan), Tamas Kasas (HUN, with  Posillipo&Recco) and Stefano Tempesti (ITA, with Recco). There are two greats with 6 titles: Djordje  Perisic (YUG, with Partizan) and Maurizio Felugo (ITA, with Posillipo&Recco) – Felugo is now the  President of Recco.  • This is going to Recco’s 17th appearance in the final. In the previous 16 they had a 9-7 winning edge.  Lifted the trophy in 1965, 1984, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2021 – and lost in 1967, 1970,  1972, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2018.  • On contrary, this is Novi Beograd’s first-ever appearance in the final.  • Of course, the key players of NGB have already tasted Champions League success in other teams – most notably Dusan Mandic who was the MVP here a year ago while leading Recco to win the title. He  was also part of the Partizan Miracle with Milanovic in 2011.   • Dusko Pijetlovic played for winning team led by Milanovic both in 2011 (Partizan) and in 2015  (Recco) – can they make it for the third time?  • Pijetlovic was also member the last Serbian winning club till date, in Crvena Zvezda in 2013, together  with the Rasovic siblings, Strahinja and Viktor. In fact, Pijetlovic lifted the trophy four times in five  years between 2011 and 2015 (Partizan 2011, Recco 2012, Zvezda 2013, Recco 2015), this could be his  5th victory.  • Nikola Jaksic achieved the unique feat of playing the last three Champions League finals: he won in  2019 and was runner-up in 2021 with Ferencvaros, and now is getting ready with Novi Beograd.  • Mandic, Pijetlovic and Jaksic were there in Tokyo in the Olympic champion Serbian team – together  with NBG team-mates Gojko Pijetlovic and Strahinja Rasovic. • On contrary, after years of strong Serbian presence, there is no freshly crowned Olympic  champion in the title-holder’s roster. The only Olympic gold medallist is the coach Sandro Sukno (won  with Croatia in 2012).   • Still, Recco has plenty of experience – from the 2021 winners, nine players are here to retain their title.  • Interestingly, Milanovic’s Partizan in 2011 also featured a Greek player, Theodoros Chadzitheodoru,  like they have Angelos Vlachopoulos for this season – he made the difference in the final period in the semis against Brescia.  Bronze medal match – Brescia v FTC  • After four unsuccessful attempts to win the quarter-final matches in 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019,  Brescia is now playing its second bronze game match after 2021. Last year they beat Barceloneta 13-7  to claim their best-ever result in the Champions League.  • This is the first bronze medal match for Ferencvaros after they reached the final at their first two  appearances (won in

14.30, For 5-8th places: Hannover v Marseille 11-9  Karsten Seehafer, coach, Hannover  “For us this is a big win. We did it last year against Olympiacos, done it again now against Marseille,  two great teams of quality so for us this is a huge achievement. We played much better today than  yesterday, especially in defence, our man-up worked much better, but it was the defence and our  wonderful goalie Moritz Schenkel who made the difference. Oh, and of course Petar Muslim, he had his  usual big day today. Qualifying here and winning a game here is a huge success for Waspo and we have  one more game to play. That will be hard, for sure, but now let us be just happy for what we just did.”  Petar Muslim, player, Hannover  “After yesterday’s loss today we showed what a team play is. I am really glad with how we have reacted  to yesterday’s defeat. Yesterday Brescia litteraly shut us down with their agressive play. Today we  showed that Waspo does have a place at F8. We are absolutely looking forward to tomorrow’s match  and want to make a step up from last year’ s 6th place. It would be a great farewell of this team that has  been together for three years and has won so many trophies.”  Marko Macan, player, Hannover  “We reacted well to yesterday’s defeat and this is what makes me proud and hopeful for tomorrow.  Yesterday was really bad. Today we won against Marseille which had defeated us in group phase twice  this season. They are a great team. Tomorrow we want to do more and try to catch the 5th place as a  step forward for the future.”  Milos Scepanovic, coach, Marseille  “We could have won this game earlier but somehow we didn’t have the necessary power to score in the  important moments. As you know, we had positive cases here in the team, missed an important player  which affects our rotation and that made more of our key men exhausted. But we should still have  played much better than this, as we showed many times in the season. I’m really sorry that we couldn’t  repeat that level here, we definitely play below our level in this tournament. But we qualified here,  developed a lot in the season, we lost twice here but this happens in sport.”  Vladan Spaic, player, Marseille  “It was a difficult match to play after yesterday’s loss. We had a good season, we were 2nd in our  group. I don’t know, maybe we weren’t prepared psychologically good enough. I think we should have  done better today. We will try to do better tomorrow and show what we know and can do.”  Ugo Crousillat, player, Marseille  “For sure, we wanted to win today. My congratulations to our rivals, they absolutely deserved to win.  We were really bad today but tomorrow we will do everything to win. Of course these matches are not  easy to play but we are athletes and that’s sport.” 16.30, For places 5-8th, Barceloneta v Jug 12-9  Elvis Fatovic, coach, Barceloneta  “It was hard for both teams to recover from last day’s matches and neither team could play on the same  level as yesterday. I was happy to see how the players reacted and I think this win just reinforces that  we have had a good season, despite the loss yesterday. Today in the third Jug started coming back, it  was no surprise, they changed their game a bit, we started committing mistakes in front, and they are  extremely good in counterattacks. Once we calmed down and began to play smarter in attack – as the  defensive mistakes were originated from the attacks –, we regained the control.”  Oscar Asensio, player, Barceloneta  “After yesterday’s loss it was really difficult to concentrate on today’s match. However, we really did  want to win in order to play for the 5th place. It was important for us. We wanted to represent our club  in the best possible way.”  Unai Biel, player, Barceloneta  “It was difficult to play today after losing yesterday’s game. Luckily, F8 is played every year unlike the  Olympics. Still, we did our best and everything our coach wanted us to do. For sure, we want to win  tomorrow too. Waspo is a tough, typical German team. They are strong and never give up. I think our  advantage will be our pace.”  Vjekoslav Kobescak, coach, Jug  “Even if it looked like that, we were doing the same what we had done against Ferencvaros – it was  absolutely not the same, nothing similar. Both teams were exhausted, both of us lost in the same way  and we gave everything, really everything yesterday. Even there was a small hope in the third, right  from the beginning it was obvious, that it’s not the same speed and it also turned out that we had less  gasoline in the tank. It’s not good to lose but the one yesterday was more painful. Tomorrow we try to  finish our season with a win, that would be important as all in all we had a good run this year.”  Loren Fatovic, captain, Jug  “Both teams lost yesterday and were kind of playing by force. We were tired. Once again, we suffered  for having short roster this season. All in all, what is important is that we coclude this season without  penalties or injuries before a busy summer ahead. I wish all the luck to all four semi-finalists.”  Maro Jokovic, player, Jug  “It was a physically demanding match. We had some good moves but felt a bit tired after yesterday.  They were forcing fast rhythm which we could not keep up. Still it is a great learning experience for our  young players.” 18.30 Semi-final: Brescia v Novi Beograd 13-14  Alessandro Bovo, coach, Brescia  “Maybe it was entertaining for the fans but not for me as a coach. I think we played well in several parts  of the game, but our defence did not work as effectively