The first trophy of the European club season is to be handed over on Saturday in Herceg Novi (MNE) where Jadran tries to see off French side Marseille’s one-goal advantage in the return leg of the Euro Cup final.

A fortnight ago the two sides produced an outstanding match in Marseille. Jadran took a 0-4 lead early in the second period but Marseille hit back with a 6-0 rush and after that the game turned into a thriller. The French jumped to a 9-7 lead with a quick double in the finish but Jadran managed to pull one back 54 seconds from time to settle the score at 9-8.

Interestingly, last year the first game of the final produced the same result, back then Ferencvaros (HUN) beat BPM (ITA) 9-8 and retained its title by defeating the Italians in the return leg as well (this season both teams play in the Champions League).

In the current season Jadran, coming from the Champions League qualifications, won all four matches it played in the knockout phase of the Euro Cup. First it eliminated fellow Montenegrin side Primorac, then ousted favourite OSC (HUN). Marseille opened its campaign with six wins in the Euro Cup qualifications, then suffered its only defeat in the season in the first leg of the QF in Strasbourg (FRA). They bested their French rivals in the return match, and continued with two wins over Ortigia (ITA) in the semis.

Whoever wins the final, it’s going to be a historical first for the triumphant club. Marseille has already made history by becoming the first French side ever to play in a European final, while Jadran can join Cattaro, which was the first – and till date the only – Montenegrin club to lift the Euro Cup, back in 2010.

LEN offers free live streaming from the match on its website, www.len.eu

Euro Cup, Final, 2nd leg
Saturday
18.00 Jadran Carine Herceg Novi (MNE) v CN Marseille (FRA) – first leg: 8-9

For live results, play-by-play description please visit www.len.eu

Friday
20.30 Steaua Bucharest B. A. (ROU) v ZF Eger (HUN)
Recent from:
Steaua: LLLWL
Eger: WWLLL
Last match:
Steaua: 8-16 v Recco (home)
Eger: 6-11 v Brescia (away)
Day 3:
Eger v Steaua 13-9

Iosep Andrei, head coach, Steaua:
“We have to stop the important players in order to achieve a good result against a very good team like Eger. I am positive and I think we can do it!”

Ghiban Alexandru, player, Steaua:
“It is our last home game in this edition of the Champions League and we are very focused and confident that we can play a great game against Eger. We want all three points and finally to beat one team that is ranked higher than us!”

Norbert Dabrowski, head coach, Eger:
“Last year we had a really hard match against Steaua. I know that they are getting better and better, because of gaining more and more Champions League routine.”

Nikola Murisic, player, Eger:
“I think it will be a very tough game in their home, but I’m sure my team will play a good game, so we can come back to Eger with three points.”

Saturday
12.30 Atletic Barceloneta (ESP) v Dynamo Moscow (RUS)
Recent form:
Barceloneta: WWLLW
Dynamo: LLWWW
Last match:
Barceloneta: 8-5 v FTC (home)
Dynamo: 17-8 v Zvezda (away)
Day 3:
Dynamo v Barceloneta 12-13

Chus Martin, head coach, Barceloneta:
“With three matches remaining, we just need one more victory to qualify for the Final 8. Our objective is to secure those three points as soon as possible against this rival who also has a chance to qualify provided it could win all their remaining matches. So we expect a hard match against a physically very strong opponent with some talented individual players. We’re looking to win with the help of our fans and then book the tickets for Hannover!”

Albero Munarriz, player, Barceloneta:
“It’s a very important match for both sides but especially for them. We have three games ahead and we just need to win one to meet one of our goals of the season, to get into the Final 8. But they can’t afford losing. We want to win now to ensure the qualification and then think about to get the second place in the group. It’ll be a very tough match for both teams. We’ve just come from playing the Europa Cup which had a lot of games. But we’re out to play as well as we did against Ferencvaros. Plus, playing at home will help us to be on top right from the start and take control of the game.”

Felipe Perrone, player, Barceloneta:
“Dynamo is one of the best teams in the world and this is a cruel game for them to keep the chance to qualify for the Final 8. For us it’s the first opportunity to secure our spot, so we can then carry on fighting for a possible second place in Group A. It’ll be a beautiful and intense match between two dynamic water polo sides.”

Marat Zakirov, head coach, Dynamo:
“We will play against strong rival. We want to enjoy this game.”

Victor Ivanov, player, Dynamo:
“We need to beat one of the best teams not only in our group but also in the whole Champions League if we want to get to Final 8. We must show all our best and play without mistakes. I believe we can do it.”

18.30 FTC-Telekom (HUN) v Pro Recco (ITA)
Recent form:
FTC: DLWWL
Recco: WWWWW
Last match:
FTC: 5-8 v Barceloneta (away)
Recco: 16-8 v Steaua (away)
Day 3:
Recco v Ferencvaros 9-6

Zsolt Varga, head coach, FTC-Telekom:
“Pro Recco is one of the strongest team in the competition that is still unbeaten this season. We are facing injury issues but we need to stand up and will be ready to give 100 % in this game in front of our supporters.”

Aaron Younger, player, FTC-Telekom:
“Recco is an incredible team and have so far been undefeated the whole season so we definitely have our work cut out for us. We are coming off a period of bad games so for us we are just going to focus on our performance and building back to the level we know we can play. We will give our best to get back into form and hopefully the game against Recco will give us a good platform to keep building into finals and the rest of the season.”

Alessandro Velotto, player, Pro Recco:
“In Budapest, although the result is irrelevant for our ranking, we will play with concentration and aggression as our coach, Rudic, always requires us to do that.”

Niksa Dobud, player, Pro Recco:
“I am very excited to return to play an official match after four years, I can’t wait for the game to start. I feel good physically, I’ve been training with the team for two months and before my arrival in Recco I did four months of dryland training with my coach in Zagreb. I know, it won’t be easy after a long pause, but I’ll do my best.”

20.30 Crvena Zvezda (SRB) v AN Brescia (ITA)
Recent form:
Zvezda: LLLLL
Brescia: DWWLW
Last match:
Zvezda: 8-17 v Dynamo (home)
Brescia: 11-6 v Eger (home)
Day 3:
Brescia v Zvezda 7-2

Aleksandar Filipovic, coach, Zvezda:
“Although the Italian side has a lot of great players we’ll give our best to earn the first points in front of our home crowd in Belgrade. We hope we can pull off a surprise win.”

Veljko Tankosic, player, Zvezda:
“We train very hard every day, we have good results in our national league, so we’re full of confidence before our game with Brescia.”

Alessandro Bovo, head coach, Brescia:
“In Belgrade we have to play strong and concentrated: we absolutely want to defend the second position, so we have to gain three points. We don’t have to look at the rankings, Red Star is a young team and for sure, in their pool, the Serbians will play with enthusiasm and aggressiveness. We don’t expect an easy challenge.”

Group B
19.00 Szolnoki Dozsa (HUN) v Jug CO Dubrovnik (CRO)
Recent form:
Szolnok: WWWLW
Jug: WDWWD
Last match:
Szolnok: 14-6 v Spandau (home)
Jug: 11-11 v BPM (away)
Day 3:
Jug v Szolnok 8-7

Zivko Gocic, head coach, Szolnok:
“We will meet the strongest team not only of the group but also of the league, we could say. They line up Olympic and World champions and are guided by an excellent coach Vjekoslav Kobescak. We have only been working as a team since Tuesday night since eight members of our team played at the European Cup finals in Zagreb. We are expecting to have a very difficult ‘life or death’ encounter. We will be doing our best to earn those very important three points.”

David Jansik, player, Szolnok:
“It is without a doubt that Dubrovnik is a great team. They have experienced players who have proved their class in several big events in recent years. Moreover, they are leading our group without a defeat so far. Actually this game is our last chance to qualify for the finals, therefore winning is a must for us.”

Vjekoslav Kobescak, head coach, Jug:
“I gave our national team players few days of rest and we are not going to approach this match as we usually do. This is going to be a tough one but I hope we can still stay unbeaten after twelve rounds.”

Toni Popadic, player, Jug:
“Another difficult game for us. We are entering the final part of the season. With a win against Szolnok we can secure our first position and start preparing for the national league and the Regional League Final Four. It will be a difficult match because the Hungarians are playing better and better and this game is crucial for them. Anyway, we’ll give our best and we will see how it will end.”

19.00 BPM Sport Management (ITA) v Waspo Hannover (GER)
Recent form:
BPM: WLWWD
Hannover: LWLLW
Last match:
BPM: 11-11 v Jug (home)
Hannover: 9-8 v Jadran (home)
Day 3:
Hannover v BPM 10-11

Marco Baldineti, coach Banco BPM Sport Management:
“The upcoming game is a very insidious one because, despite with few points in the ranking, this team is full of quality that had made us suffer a lot in the first leg. It’s a difficult team to play with, also because they don’t worry about the result since they have already qualified. At the same time, we eye only one result: we must win. I’m convinced that our team is mature enough to bear the duty of that. “

Stefano Luongo, player, Banco BPM Sport Management:
“If we look at the points we have made in the Champions League, we can say that we are earning our qualification at home where we are unbeaten. We can hopefully build on this also for Saturday’s game, so the fact that we’ll play at home in front of our audience can give us the right load to win.”

Giuseppe Valentino, player, Banco BPM Sport Management:
“We will try to do our best to win, to bring this match home also with the support of our fans and the citizens of Busto Arsizio. We want to make it for our team, for our company and for our city.”

Karsten Seehafer, head coach, Hannover:
“Eight weeks to the Final 8, and we want to play good water polo. If it’s possible to catch some points, we will bring them back to Hannover. Except Giorgetti, all our players are fit.”

Predrag Jokic, captain, Hannover:
“Busto proved this year that it’s an excellent team by winning against Olympiacos and Szolnok. We expect an interesting match but if we close down their counter attack and play disciplined in the attack and the defence, I think we can achieve a good result.”

19.00 Wasserfreunde Spandau 04 (GER) v Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE)
Recent form:
Spandau: LLLLL
Olympiacos: LDWWW
Last match:
Spandau: 6-14 v Szolnok (away)
Olympiacos: 14-6 v Mladost (away)
Day 3:
Olympiacos v Spandau 11-4

Hagen Stamm, President, Spandau 04:
“We are the underdogs in this game, but the earlier comparisons with the Greeks show that we are not without a chance even against top teams if everything is in place: attitude, physical and mental presence, daily shape and individual ability. We will not give away any points easily, that is our principle.”

Theodoros Vlachos, head coach, Olympiacos:
“In Berlin, we will be the team that has a direct interest in winning the three points. Spandau has no interest in winning the game for points, but in their home, which is always a hard place to play, they will fight without pressure. The way we approach the game and the pace we will impose will also determine the result.”

Dimitris Skoumpakis, player, Olympiacos:
“We won the Greek regular season by doing a very good effort. In the last game we were testing some formations we want to use against Spandau. The game against Spandau is like a final for us! We want to clinch the three points in order to make a step closer to the Final 8. We are well prepared and totally focused on our target.”

20.30 HAVK Mladost Zagreb (CRO) v Jadran Split (CRO)
Recent form:
Mladost: LLLLL
Jadran: LWLWL
Last match:
Mladost: 6-14 v Olympiacos (home)
Jadran: 8-9 v Hannover (away)
Day 3:
Jadran v Mladost 10-12

Zoran Bajic, head coach, Mladost:
“This is the last game for us in front of our audience this season. We will do our best to offer our fans a great water polo match and a true spectacle. I hope we will have full stands and enjoy their support and of course win this game to finish our Champions League season properly.”

Lovre Milos, player, Mladost:
“They are a very good team with some great individuals and we expect a hard game. However, we had the time to prepare for Jadran and if we do out job in defence I expect a positive result for us. We were able to beat them three times this season, and I think we will do it again this Saturday.”

Ivan Asic, head coach, Jadran:
“We won our first quarter-final game against Solaris in Sibenik, we didn’t play a great match, but we did what we wanted to do, to win a match. Now we can focus on Saturday’s game against Mladost. It is a match without pressure for both teams, but still we want to win every game we play. We drew one and lost two against Mladost this year, but we feel we can do better.”

Nikola Milardovic, player, Jadran:
“Every match against Mladost is a challenge. We want to show that we can do better than in our previous meetings. We will play once more in the semi-final of the Regional League so this is a kind of test for both of us.”

12 April 2019 

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