June 2025

1. FTC-Telekom managed to complete the hardest job – retain the Champions League title – which most people probably expected them to do in Malta at the weekend. But, as FTC coach Balazs Nyeki commented in his post-game interview, several great teams have failed to achieve that feat in the past, and even if Fradi’s dominance looks even more overwhelming, their moment of triumph only arrived after two hard-fought matches. Earlier this year, the Hungarian giants were making their games look easy, as they demolished their respective rivals in the first three rounds of the Quarter Final Stage, including a 18-10 thrashing of Barceloneta and a 17-9 rout in Savona. However, they couldn’t maintain that high level in the spring, as they suffered their first defeat on Day 4 in Barcelona, though only in a shootout, and they had to overcome some minor headaches in a couple of matches. But those experiences only helped them to get ready for the ultimate showdown in Malta. A year ago, they downed Novi Beograd in a shootout and edged out title-holders Pro Recco in a thrilling final. This time, they managed to beat CN Marseille and VK Novi Beograd in a way that the last few minutes didn’t offer much drama, as both of their rivals were clearly beaten by the closing stages. However, both challengers made them suffer. Some in the Budapest camp recalled Hungary’s quarter-final against France at the Doha World Championships, when the Magyars led 8-4 at half-time, just like here, but they went on to miss a series of chances, while the French came back and with Thomas Vernoux’s blasts they caused the biggest upset of the event. Now, after some rockets by Vernoux – where FTC goalkeeper Soma Vogel looked just as helpless as in February 2024 – the match was becoming very similar, but only until 10-10. Fradi then stepped up a gear and proved that this team is different, and after making two from eight in man-ups in the second half, they went four from four in the last six minutes to close down the contest. Then, in the final, after a gruelling battle in the first half that saw five goals apiece, FTC managed to speed up their game – while NBG appeared a little worn out – and a mighty 4-0 rush was too much for the Serbs to handle. In the end, both teams hit double digits once again (13-11 this time), just like they have done in all their previous five clashes. The win secured Fradi’s title-defence – the first-ever by a Hungarian side – and they also became the first Magyar club to lift the trophy three times, surpassing Vasas and OSC, which had two titles apiece from the Seventies and Eighties. Fradi’s last two seasons have been a demonstration of absolute power – last season they went 40-1 across all competitions, and this time they finished with 48-1, so combined that adds up to a staggering 88-2 win-loss total in 90 matches, and they clinched seven trophies along the way. Back in April, they lost to Barceloneta on penalties, which means they haven’t been defeated in regular time since August 2023, as only Olympiacos could upend them in 32 minutes, in April 2024. So, one loss in four quarters in 90 matches, which is simply astonishing. 2. Krisztian Manhercz’s story doesn’t lack twists, and becoming the MVP this year was the ultimate redemption for Fradi’s powerful forward, who scored six goals in the gold medal match. Eight years ago, when he was classed as one of the most talented youngsters in Hungarian water polo, he joined Fradi, but it was a complete failure. He found life under coach Zsolt Varga extremely difficult, and after a while he wasn’t even being named in the match-day squads, so he kind of escaped at the end of the season to find shelter at OSC. There he matured and became a brilliant player, but however strong the team was that had been built around him, they were unable to win anything. After losing in successive finals, he joined Marseille last season, where he finally tasted winning on the domestic scene, but the French side fell short in the Champions League. In the meantime, Zsolt Varga was appointed the head coach of the national team in 2022, and their first job was to sit down and put behind them everything which had ruined their relationship years earlier. It went so well that, this year, Varga even nominated Manhercz as the new captain of the national team, and Krisztian – or as everyone calls him, ‘Mano’ – also returned home to take a second shot at playing for Fradi. A totally different chapter started for him in the autumn, as his transition phase was almost invisible – he came up with smooth performances early on and it was like he had been part of the illustrious FTC set-up for years. Still, Manhercz saved his best displays for the end of the season, and his six goals on Sunday night lifted Fradi when Novi were pushing them really hard. His no-look strike from an-almost impossible angle appeared to crush Milan Glusac’s confidence. The young NBG goalkeeper had done really well until that point, but he was nowhere near as solid in the remaining time and Fradi hit three more goals in two and a half minutes, which proved decisive. Manhercz’s feat was even more remarkable as this was his first ever Champions League Final Four, unlike his childhood friend Soma Vogel, who was playing in his sixth Final 8/4. Still, with the skills and the experience he has, this performance was anything but surprising. 3. Novi Beograd reached their third final in four years, but once again they failed to get their hands on the famous trophy. This time it wasn’t Pro Recco – like in 2022 and 2023 – who denied them, instead it was this season’s favourites, Ferencvaros. Their unreal march to the final

Gold medal game Novi Beograd 11-13 FTC-Telekom Balazs Nyeki, coach, FTC-Telekom “We’ve hit an extremely high level early in the year, which I did not expect. What I did expect was our level to drop mid-spring, which actually happened when we lost that one game in Barcelona in the shootout. I also wanted to see the team rise gradually and again, we just did that. “Our play was improving every game in the league finals and that continued here, on the two most important days of the season. We lost one match in the entire season, not a single one in regular time and you may say that this great team made it look easy. But you have to realise it was anything but easy.“The two matches here were real fights, toe-to-toe battles, but this is the Final Four where you can win only this way. And believe me, it’s far from evident that we managed to retain our title with ease. “There are countless examples when great teams failed to deliver here, when everything comes down to one plus one game. Do you remember how long Recco chased their next title after 2015? I do. They had to wait six long years, though they had the same fantastic team which finally won three in a row. “Look at Novi – they are yet to lift the trophy. Look at Barceloneta, all the world class players of the fantastic Spanish national team in one place, and for years they have been considered the favourites, but couldn’t reach the final. “What we excelled at was that whenever our levels dropped, we started working on correcting our mistakes and taking care of re-focusing. Whether it was a longer period or just inside one match – we could always react well. “I’d say we could have even won that match in Barceloneta to have a perfect season, but honestly, I don’t care about winning 100% of our matches. Rather to win 100% of the trophies. We’ve achieved that, we went seven for seven across the last two years and I think this is a tremendous feat. “Yes, it’s all about really hard work, but I won’t say we work harder than the others. In water polo, at this level, everyone puts in the hard work, you can’t work harder or more – what I’m working on with my staff is to work more systematically perhaps. “We have a plan, we have ideas, and we all work hard to implement them in the pool, which gives us the chance to win matches and titles.” Krisztian Manhercz, MVP of the F4, FTC-Telekom “I joined Ferencvaros for this season, after a year when they had already been dominant and won everything. We approached this season targeting the title-defence in all competitions, plus to lift the Super Cup – and we’ve achieved it all, but it wasn’t that simple at all. “We played two great matches here, where all the hard work done in the season paid off. And this may sound as a common-place, but it’s really about all those grey mornings and afternoons in October, November, when we trained like hell, all those league matches played on Wednesday evenings, and even if we won one like 29-3, there was always something which helped to build this team even more. “Today’s triumph just mirrors this hard work, our dedication, commitment and humbleness, which never changed a bit during the whole season. “That’s why we deserved this once more, though we have to give all credits to Novi Beograd. No one thought last November that they would be in the final – but they had a fantastic season, their team effort was amazing, also here in the semis against Barceloneta and they did another great job in the final. “They managed to show something extra, which surprised us, but we also did well, especially in the second half when we further raised our level. We had blocks, Soma (Vogel) had great saves, we played with our hearts, stayed calm and this is what you need to clinch the trophy.” Szilard Jansik, player, FTC-Telekom “Perhaps many think that it’s easy for this great team to win matches, to lift trophies – but we pay the price with the hardest trainings imaginable. Me and my team-mates often do extra workouts as we’re all aware that we still have weaknesses we should work on to improve. This brings us forward and this enables us to play for the titles in all competitions. “We won everything again, but not even our domestic victories came with ease and this one here was definitely another big challenge. Hats off to Novi, even if they lost several players last summer, it was stunning how they came together and got outstanding wins in a row. “They absolutely deserved to be in the final and I can tell you they surprised us with a couple of things too. We had to keep our focus at the highest level in all four quarters to get the upper hand in the end. “Our rotation is wider, our bench is stronger, which was decisive in the second half. Experience was also on our side – many of their youngsters were playing their first Final Four, while in our team, most of us were part of a lot more, for me, for instance, this was the sixth occasion. OK, for Mano (Krisztian Manhercz) it was the first and he hit six goals right away, but that’s why we have him here (laughing).” Zivko Gocic, coach, NBG “Congratulations to Ferencvaros, as they proved why they are the best team in the world – they delivered their best game when it mattered the most. At the same time, I cannot be prouder of my players who really showed their character, they played like a real team and kept up with Ferencvaros for most of the match. “My team gave everything they had, they played with heart, with discipline, they showed some

Ferencvaros went all the way to crown another perfect season by retaining the Champions League title on Sunday night in Malta. Novi Beograd forced a great fight, but a tremendous 4-0 rush in the third put the match on the path the Magyars wanted, and they never let the Serbs get closer than two goals in the remaining time. This was Fradi’s third victory and they also became the first Hungarian team to retain their title. Earlier, Barceloneta grabbed the bronze with a commanding performance against Marseille. Champions League MenFinal Four, FinalsSunday, 1 June 2025 Bronze Medal GameZodiac CNAB (ESP) 19-9 CN Marseille (FRA) Gold Medal GameVK Novi Beograd (SRB) 11-13 FTC Telekom Waterpolo (HUN) After a brief swimming intro to the gold medal game, triggered by several turnover fouls, both sides earned six on fives, two apiece, and it was Fradi who broke the deadlock from the second. Krisztian Manhercz sent the ball home, then Nikola Lukic hit the equaliser from NBG’s third extra. Lukic added another one from the next man-up, preceded by two more turnovers called against the title-holders. Gergo Fekete’s deflected shot made it 2-2, but Lukic was on fire and hit the first action goal from the left wing again to complete his hat-trick inside seven minutes. Dusin Mandic then buried a second attempt 26 seconds from time for 3-3, and the Serbs couldn’t do much in their six second man-up at the end. At the start of the second quarter, Stylianos Argyropoulos failed to hit the target twice in a man-up, but this time a turnover foul against NBG offererd FTC a five on four and Manhercz made no mistake, however, Lukic was unstoppable, as he then hit his fourth of the night from a man-up, this time from the back for 4-4. Edoardo di Somma converted a six on four, then Dimitrios Skoumpakis struck from a man-up to level things up once again. A save and a block denied the Serbs in a man-up, while Fradi lacked their usual composure in offence. Their perimeter shots were anything but precise and they lacked the speed for launching counters. It was rather the Serbs’ style of game – a tough physical battle with disciplined defending and a no-risk approach up front. The half-time score, 5-5, suggested that their plan was working well. Since Lukic kept on scoring, NBG were not only very much in the game, but they led once more early in the third. Argyropoulos then finally found the back of the net after three missed shots, from an extra, for 6-6. Also, NBG goalkeeper Milan Glusac was making all the stops which were expected, while Lukic hit his sixth of the final from a 6m shot, but Manhercz sent the ball to the net from a tight angle to make it 7-7 midway through the third. Again, turnover fouls were shaping the game, which didn’t offer much spectacle. Then came a man-up and Manhercz hit his fourth to put Fradi ahead with two minutes remaining. The Serbs had a man-up denied by a block and the Magyars went for their first real counter and Gergo Fekete finished off a three on two. For the first time, two goals separated the sides at 7-9, and Fradi’s 3-0 run was enough for NBG coach Zivko Gocic to call a time-out. It didn’t help, though – the six on five came, but Dusan Mandic made a huge steal and Szilard Jansik’s perimeter shot ended up in the net. Miroslav Perkovic ended NBG’s bad run with a brilliant goal from the centre 12 seconds from time for 8-10, to keep some hopes alive for the Serbs before the final quarter. Manhercz dashed those hopes somewhat with a stunner 47 seconds into the fourth, though Vasilije Martinovic also hit one from a man-up for 9-11. At this crucial stage, it was all about who scored next, and whether the gap would be back to one, or widen to three. Experience prevailed, as Marton Vamos’ smart finish from action did the damage, then Soma Vogel made a great save and Fradi soon had a six on five after a time-out. Vendel Vigvari’s bouncer went wide and NBG’s Angelos Vlahopoulos’ pinpoint shot narrowed the gap to two once more with 4:24 remaining. Still, Manhercz had some fortune on his side, as he scored when his shot wasn’t even on target – the ball bounced to Glusac’s head, then in for 10-13. As the clock was ticking down, NBG needed everything they had to keep up – but they were running out of steam. Lukic hit the post from a man-up, the next six on five was also lost – and it was hard to see Fradi letting their grip on the trophy slip away. Gocic called for another time-out, but it was a mission impossible to erase the deficit in 95 seconds. Vogel made another save in the next man-down to set up the celebrations. Martinovic netted one 37 seconds from time, but it didn’t alter anything – it was an-all green joy in the water. FTC lifted the trophy for the third time in their history and became the first Hungarian team to retain their title. Earlier, in the bronze medal game, Alvaro Granados needed just 75 seconds to put Zodiac CNAB 2-0 up, and at one stage it was 3-0 after it looked as if he’d scored his third from a counter attack, but the VAR denied him. Instead, what initially appeared to be a great stop from Unai Aguirre a few seconds before in a man-down was ruled a goal, as the ball went behind the virtual line. So instead of 3-0, it was 2-1, and that strike from Romain Marion-Vernoux brought the French side back to life. Unai Biel netted from a six on four, but Thomas Vernoux also blasted one from the perimeter, and then Marseille goalkeeper Petar Tesanovic produced two great saves during a man-down. However, he couldn’t do much with Granados’ next

European Aquatics leaders met club and National Federation representatives on Saturday in Malta to discuss the challenges water polo may face and also shared the results European Aquatics and its stakeholders had achieved in the past year. Details for the reshaped club competition system as well as the key dates for the upcoming season were also revealed. It’s a tradition for years that on the occasion of the pinnacle of the club competition season, the Champions League Final Four, the stakeholders of European water polo come together to discuss the challenges and the proposed changes in the regulations, as well as to evaluate the results achieved. In his welcoming speech, President Antonio Silva underlined the efforts European Aquatics have done recently to fulfil the goals set out in European Aquatics’ strategic plans. Promoting all aquatic disciplines, as well as making them accessible for all, and also making European Aquatics fit for the future and running a transparent European Aquatics – and under good governance – are the most important tasks. As President Silva put it, “We’ve made significant progress to fulfil these goals, but we have more to do in order to reach the 100% mark.” Water polo has played an important part of this strategic plan and got a significant boost in several areas. New competitions and adjusted regulations helped the promotion of the sport and to be able to sell it as valuable TV product. Accessibility has also enjoyed a significant jump with a unified age-group competition system (harmonised with World Aquatics), allocating the events to reliable hosts which triggered record numbers of participation at the U16-U18 European Championships. Keeping up with the current era’s requirements, all water polo matches have been made available on EA’s new live streaming website and a new monthly TV Show, the Water Polo World Magazine, has also been launched. At the same time, former stars of the sport, Italy’s Roberta Bianconi and Hungary’s Denes Varga were chosen as ambassadors for the top two events – the Champions League Final Four tournaments. The coming years will also see a great deal of innovations, including a water polo Development Camp, new TV rights and sponsorship deals. The competition system will further be adjusted, while the level of officiating will also be improved. Intermediate and Advanced Certification Clinics have already been held involving hundreds of referees and delegates and this academy system shall be maintained as Technical Officials Manager Dejan Perisic announced at the meeting. Evaluating the current season, EA Vice President Kyriakos Giannopoulos shared that more than 280 matches were played across the EA competitions. The Vice President thanked all the clubs for their commitment in these financially demanding times. At the same time, he underlined that, “Particular emphasis is needed on improving TV production, streaming quality, and the overall visibility and professionalism of our presence on social media platforms.” The women’s game also evolved, with 47 clubs from 16 nations taking part in the respective series, and the 194 matches played showed significant progress, EA Bureau Liaison Fernando Carpena said. TWPC Secretary Matjaz Rakovec shared the details of the reshaped competition system for the 2025-2026 season, with EA aiming to ensure an even more balanced playing field, while launching a fourth club event, the Conference Cup. The entries from the top nations in the men’s Champions League have been cut to two teams per country (nations at the top of the EA ranks could enter three teams in previous years), and the number of qualification spots in the Group Stage has been raised to six from four (only Novi Beograd could alter that if they beat FTC on Sunday as the Champions League winners shall have a wild card). Based on the EA rankings, the top 10 nations can enter two teams (the champions will have the wild card), while the 11th and 12th countries can send their champions to the battlefield. The Euro Cup winners will also have a place in the Champions League (in case the team doesn’t win their league title). Teams ranked 3-4th in the top 10 national championships can enter the Euro Cup, and the 5-6th placed sides can play in the Conference Cup, alongside teams from lower-ranked nations. The Challenger Cup remains the territory for clubs representing countries placed 13th or lower in the EA rankings. With the men’s Europeans Championships scheduled for 10-25 January 2026 in Belgrade, Serbia, the end of the club season is set for mid-June – which is good news for fans around Europe, as many could enjoy some outdoor games under the sun. The women’s competition will see fewer changes – and next season’s schedule will be finalised once the dates and venue for the women’s standalone European Championships are announced. EA WP Director Renato Zivkovic outlined what clubs are required to do for even better promotion of the sport. He said, “Having expert specialists in key areas such as media, television, and marketing are essential, and we also need to take a huge step forward in event organisation to respect TV schedules and to prioritise the optimal promotion of the events.” EA Bureau Liaison Milos Mracevic talked about the developments in national competitions. Having 89 national teams aboard across all age-group Europeans this season is a tremendous feat. Milos also mentioned that the host nation for the 2026 women Europeans will be revealed soon and the bidding process for the 2028 editions are set to kick off soon. A pilot project will also start shortly, the EA Development Camp, which “Aims to provide opportunities for less developed countries to grow and improve in water polo” Mr Mracevic said. EA TV Manager Toni Zivkovic and Marketing Director Kirill Goncharov shared a couple of encouraging numbers in broadcasting, however, many clubs need to devote more attention to venue branding. To support, EA will issue new branding guidelines which will recognise the very different possibilities in the respective venues. The expected exposure split shall favour the clubs in 70-30 ratio. EA Communication Director