December 2024

Six more entertaining days are coming next year in the Champions League Men as the draw for the Quarter-Final round set up a series of exciting clashes. With highly-prized Final Four berths at stake, all the matches promise great excitements. The draw for the Eight-finals in the Euro Cup, including teams dropped from the Champions League, also ensured prime-time drama for the knockout phase. 2024/25 Champions League MenQuarter-Final Round Draw Group A: VK Novi Beograd (SRB), Olympiacos SFP (GRE), CN Marseille (FRA), VK Jadran Split (CRO)Group B: FTC-Telekom Waterpolo (HUN), Zodiac CNA Barceloneta (ESP), RN Savona (ITA), CSM Oradea (ROU) Group A seems a bit more balanced as there are no easy matches in sight, even for Novi Beograd and Olympiacos – the two sides that finished top in their respective groups in the previous stage. Indeed, these two teams were part of the Final Four show last June in Malta and they are definitely aiming to head back to contest the semis once more (back then, they ended up clashing for the bronze, and Olympiacos clinched it). The other two have never made the top four in the Champions League era, though both have the firepower to clinch a F4 berth at last. Marseille and Jadran both added quality to their line-ups this summer and they will pose some threat to the favourites. In the other group, title-holders Ferencvaros and Barceloneta are the big favourites to go through. The Magyars, yet to lose a match this season (standing with 21-0 so far), have been playing outstanding water polo this season and they even overcame a four-goal deficit in the last round in Split to maintain their unbeaten run. Barceloneta have also been superior so far, their closest match was a 12-9 win in Marseille in the CL and the Spaniards are definitely looking for a return to the big stage after missing the finals last season. Still, the two unbeaten teams cannot take anything for granted, as Savona will not lay down after making this round. The Italians fought hard to catch the train to the QF round and they’ve already demonstrated – with a win in Piraeus against Olympiacos – that they can beat any rival on any given day. Perhaps Oradea has the least chance in the field to progress, however, the Romanians also posted a couple of fine wins which sent them here. 2024/25 Euro Cup MenEight-finals Draw VK Jug AO Dubrovnik (CRO) v Radnicki Kragujevac (SRB)VK Sabac Elixir (SRB) v Jadran m:tel Herceg Novi (MNE)HAVK Mladost Zagreb (CRO) v CSA Steaua Bucharest (ROU)CC Ortigia 1928 (ITA) v KEIO CN Sabadell (ESP)CN Barcelona (ESP) v Vasas Plaket (HUN)Waspo 98 Hannover (GER) v AN Brescia (ITA)Pro Recco (ITA) v Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO)BVSC-Manna ABC (HUN) v Primorac Kotor (MNE) Playing dates: First Leg: 25 January, Second Leg: 6 February The Euro Cup Eight-Finals will also feature a series of thrilling match-ups as the top Euro Cup sides have been drawn against the teams coming down from the Champions League. One of the top clashes is another Croatian v Serbian classic with title-holders Jug facing Radnicki. There will be a couple of ‘golden oldies’ matches, which were usual features in the Champions League in recent seasons, though the Italian greats involved are overwhelming favourites – Brescia against Hannover and Recco versus Dinamo. Sabadell, which reached the EC Final Four last year, will face another Italian test. While they failed it against Savona in the Champions League, they may be luckier this time playing against Ortigia. Watch all the Champions League and Euro Cup water polo action live on www.euroaquaticstv.com and stay up-to-date with the full fixtures, live results/tables and real-time updates through the European Aquatics App. Download it here: Google Play.

A late, late Oradea equaliser, 15 seconds from time in their decisive match against Steaua was all they needed in the all-Romanian clash to qualify for the Quarter Final Round of the men’s Champions League. It was a real thriller and they crowned their achievement by winning the shootout, even though one point would have also sent them through. Elsewhere, both Novi Beograd and FTC kept their perfect records – while the Serbs enjoyed an easy cruising in Hannover, Ferencvaros were in trouble in Split, but the title-holders came back from 7-3 down to land another victory with a huge second half performance. Group A CSM Oradea (ROU) 11-11 (8-7P) Steaua Bucharest (ROU)Waspo 98 Hannover (GER) 9-12 VK Novi Beograd (SRB) Final rankings: 1. Novi Beograd 18, 2. Oradea 10, 3. Steaua 7, 4. Hannover 1 The do-or-die match featuring the top two Romanian sides offered everything one may have expected as it was a real thriller. A packed house crammed into the arena to see the home side beat their arch-rivals in a shootout, but all they needed was to avoid defeat in regular time to progress. After early exchanges of the lead, Steaua seemed to gain control as late in the second period they scored twice in 74 seconds for a 4-6 lead. With 41 seconds to go, they forced a penalty, but Raul Gavris stopped Vlad-Luca Georgescu’s shot. Steaua paid for that miss dearly ­– instead of leading by three, soon they found themselves one goal down as Oradea staged a 3-0 run. Levente Vancsik scored from the 2m line from an extra, then Steaua had another penalty, but Nebojsa Vuskovic hit the post – and Petar Velkic equalised 30 seconds later. Blowing these chances to restore their lead turned out to be crucial, as Filip Gardasevic demonstrated how penalties should be taken, and Oradea went ahead at 7-6 – but finally Andrei-Tudor Fulea buried Steaua’s third penalty to make it even at least before the last period. Which brought extreme excitements. With some luck, Gardasevic netted a man-up for 8-7, Alex Dinca then converted a 6 on 4, but Vancsik was also on target to make it 9-8. Steaua also played their extras well and usually found the way to set up their middle men on the 2m line – and Silvian Colodorovschi could score twice to give back the lead to the Bucharest side at 9-10 with 2:30 left on the clock. Ivan Gusarov missed his shot in Oradea’s next man-up, and for a moment it seemed that the hosts gave away the ball while earning another 6 on 5, but their coach Petar Kovacevic saved the day by calling a time-out just before the bad pass was made. Gardasevic hit the back of the net for 10-10, but Vuskovic silenced the home crowd with a brilliant blast from the perimeter 43 seconds from time. Desperate for an equaliser, Oradea earned a last man-up and again, the ball found Vancsik in front of the goal and he hit his fourth 15 seconds from time. The home crowd erupted, then again, when a fine steal killed Steaua’s last possession, a 7 on 6, and the host players could start celebrating right away, as the outcome of the shootout was irrelevant – they were through to the next round. Still, they took the cherry on the cake as a miss in the 8th round was decisive since the Oradea players netted all the shots. In Hannover, Novi Beograd cruised to another victory after delivering the decisive blow in the third period. The Serbs did well in the first half too, however, the Germans could net a couple of goals to trail 4-6 only at half-time. However, NBG staged a 0-3 run by netting two man-up goals and a penalty in between to go 4-9 up, leaving no way back for Waspo. The Germans struggled in 6 on 5, after 5-10, they missed three in a row in the last two minutes of the third quarter. Group B Jadran Split (CRO) 10-12 FTC-Telekom (HUN)SPD Radnicki Kragujevac (SRB) 8-6 Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO) Final rankings: 1. FTC 18, 2. Jadran 11, 3. Radnicki 7, 4. Dinamo 0 Never this season has Ferencvaros faced such a challenge – they were trailing 7-3 in the second period and still by three goals at half-time. Indeed, their defence looked fragile, Soma Vogel barely touched the ball, while Marko Bijac seemed to enjoy an excellent evening as Jadran led 7-4 after two periods. Despite Vogel kicking off the game with a huge save in a one-on-one, later the Croats converted their man-ups with unusual ease, despite missing Loren Fatovic from their line-up. FTC’s attack wasn’t clicking that well, as Dusan Mandic couldn’t beat Bijac and with Vigvari and Vamos being rested, the Hungarians were lacking their usual sharp finishes. Still, the title-holders hit back in the second half and started a new match on a new level. Vogel stopped a couple of shots, while Edoardo di Somma and Vince Varga netted fine action goals to bring FTC back to 7-6. Marino Cagalj could make an easy put-away from the second extra in back-to-back 6 on 5s. A bit unexpectedly, one of Fradi’s youngsters stepped up and Varga hit his third from the perimeter, and after another save from Vogel in a man-down, Stylianos Argyropoulos finished off an extra to level the scores at 8-8. Jadran earned a penalty and Jerko Marinic-Kragic buried it 42 seconds from time and soon the Croats had a man-up after a time-out, but were unable to finish that with a shot, despite playing it after a time-out. That was an expensive miss, as Ferencvaros turned the match in a span of a minute early in the fourth, Argyropoulos had a tremendous bouncer in a counter, then Mandic’s shot hit the post before it went in – the Serbian usually comes up big when it really matters and his goal gave the lead for his side for the first

With seven of the eight Quarter Final tickets already booked, and three of the group winners decided, the final day of the men’s Champions League Group Stage will see the two Romanian sides – CSM Oradea and Steaua Bucharest – battle for the last remaining berth, while Savona and Olympiacos are set to have a showdown for first place in Group D. Champions League Men – Fixtures, Day 6(all times CET) Group A (Wednesday) 20.00 CSM Oradea (ROU) v Steaua Bucharest (ROU)20.00 Waspo 98 Hannover (GER) v VK Novi Beograd (SRB) Group B (Wednesday) 18.15 Jadran Split (CRO) v FTC-Telekom (HUN)18.15 SPD Radnicki Kragujevac (SRB) v Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO) Group C (Tuesday) 20.00 Jadran m:tel Herceg Novi (MNE) v Vasas-Plaket (HUN)20.00 CN Marseille (FRA) v Zodiac CNA Barceloneta (ESP) Group D (Tuesday) 18.00 RN Savona (ITA) v Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE)18.00 KEIO CN Sabadell (ESP) v Primorac Kotor (MNE) In Group A, it’s going to be an all-out battle between Romania’s top two teams, Oradea and Steaua. Steaua have been ruling the scene in recent years, but their archrivals upset them in Bucharest and they now need a win in regular time to progress, as any other result would send Oradea through. Elsewhere, top ranked Novi Beograd visit Hannover for a match with little at stake, but the Serbs will look to maintain their perfect record, while the Germans are after their first win. All the places are cemented in Group B, however, there is still something to watch in the clash of Jadran and Ferencvaros. The title-holders have been absolutely superior in each game they have played so far this season and their previous season’s 40-1 record is also stunning. However, besides losing that single match to Olympiacos in Piraeus, they had two matches which they did not win in regular time, only after shootouts – one was against Jadran in Split in the very same situation – on Day 6 in the group stage, on 5 December, when both teams had already reached safe waters. In the other game, Radnicki should go for restoring some pride after back-to-back losses to Jadran and Ferencvaros. Barceloneta and Marseille have nothing to lose in their match in Group C, but there is more to play for in the battle of Jadran Herceg Novi and Vasas. That is, to avoid finishing bottom, which would mean to face one of the group winners from the Euro Cup in the Eight Finals of that competition. With Recco and Brescia among the potential opponents, that might not be the very best of prospects. Finally, Group D is the only one where the first place is still open. It’s going to be a clean race for the top spot – Savona and Olympiacos are to play this out, as both currently have 11 points. Savona stunned Olympiacos in Piraeus in the third round, so the Greeks may go for a revenge. The other match is also about practice and pride as Sabadell and Primorac cannot move from their current positions. STATS AHEAD OF DAY SIXGroup A CSM Oradea (ROU) v Steaua Bucharest (ROU)Points gained so far:ORA – 8: 30230STE – 6: 02103Head-to-head (in Europe): 1-2 (1d)Day 3: 13-13, pen: 7-6. 2016-17, qualification: 10-122021-22, Euro Cup: 8-8, 6-10 Waspo 98 Hannover (GER) v VK Novi Beograd (SRB)Points gained so far:HAN – 1: 01000NBG – 15: 33333Head-to-head: 0-1Day 3: 8-10 Group B Jadran Split (CRO) v FTC-Telekom (HUN)Points gained so far:JAD – 11: 23033FTC – 15: 33333Head-to-head: 1-4Day 3: 9-18. 2023-24: 11-12, 16-16, pen: 1-4. 2021-22: 8-14, 9-7 SPD Radnicki Kragujevac (SRB) v Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO)Points gained so far:RAD – 4: 10300DIN – 0: 00000Head-to-head: 4-1Day 3: 10-9. 2022-23: 11-10, 8-13. 2021-22: 19-7, 17-13. Group C Jadran m:tel Herceg Novi (MNE) v Vasas-Plaket (HUN)Points gained so far:JHN – 3: 00300VAS – 3: 03000Head-to-head: 1-0Day 3: 14-6 CN Marseille (FRA) v Zodiac CNA Barceloneta (ESP)Points gained so far:MAR – 9: 30033BAR – 15: 33333Head-to-head: 0-3Day 3: 14-19. 2023-24: 12-13, 7-9 Group D RN Savona (ITA) v Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE)Points gained so far:SAV – 11: 03323OLY – 11: 23033Head-to-head: 1-0Day 3: 10-9 KEIO CN Sabadell (ESP) v Primorac Kotor (MNE)Points gained so far:SAB – 6: 30210PRI – 2: 10100Head-to-head: 1-0Day 3: 11-11, pen: 5-3 — Watch all the Champions League Men action live on www.euroaquaticstv.com and stay up-to-date with live results/tables and real-time updates through the European Aquatics App. Download it here: Google Play.