Novi Beograd, the Serbian and the Regional League champion, started the preparations for the new season.
Today, Novi Beograd, the silver medalist in the 2022 Champions League, officially promoted the team for the new season at the ceremony held in the outdoor pool of the Sports Centre “11 April”, where the 2023 Final Eight will be held.
Four reinforcements – Alvaro Granados (arrived from Barceloneta), Dimitrios Skoumpakis (Vouliagmeni), goalkeeper Radoslav Filipovic and Savo Cetkovic (both Sabac) were presented today.
The team will be guided by a new head coach. Zivko Gocic, former Serbia’s captain, who arrived from Szolnok, took over Novi Beograd a few months ago. This week, he started to work with the team.
Novi Beograd will play in four competitions – the Champions League, Regional League, Serbian Championships, and national Cup.
Slobodan Soro, the club’s director, underlined that Novi Beograd’s objectives haven’t changed.
“We enter the new season with maximum expectations and the highest goals in all four competitions. Last season, we won two trophies and played in the finals of the LEN Champions League and the Serbian Cup. We believe that we have a chance to make a step further in the Champions League. We will host the Final Eight again, and I think we have a great chance of winning the trophy. ”
Slobodan Soro
Last season, Novi Beograd lost to Pro Recco after a penalty shootout in the CHL final.
Besides Soro, Novi Beograd’s captain Dusan Mandic spoke during the official part of the ceremony:
“It’s an honor to be a captain of such a great team. We’ll do our best to achieve the goals that have been set “.
F8 is still far away, but ambitions are highest possible
After the ceremony, Total Waterpolo spoke with Mandic and Gocic about the challenges in the next season.
Novi Beograd will play against Ferencvaros, Marseille, Jug, Sabadell, Spandau, and two qualifiers in the Preliminary Stage.
Mandic said that it is too early for predictions.
“Each season brings new challenges. As for now, we can say that we will probably have easier tasks in the group stage than in the previous season. As for the Final Eight, everything can happen in three matches. The Final Eight is demanding, and we must be mentally and physically prepared for these matches. The good thing is that the competition formula has been changed. The tournament will be played in four, not in three days. But the Final Eight is still far from us. We will play many matches and have to win many trophies until the Champions League final tournament “.
Dusan Mandic
Will there be more favorites for the title in the season than in the previous?
“The competition will be strong, it’s certain. Pro Recco, Olympiacos, Barceloneta, Ferencvaros and Novi Beograd are the most serious title contenders, in my opinion. We mustn’t forget Brescia, which doesn’t have a wild card, but I expect it will qualify for the Preliminary Stage. All teams have changed their rosters, some more and some less. They all need time to put all things in the right place in new squads. We will see who will handle the best and reach the desired shape in time.”
Next week, Novi Beograd will host Ferencvaros, Szolnok, Partizan, Noisy-le-Sec at the memorial tournament “Vlaho Bata Orlic “.
“The tournament will be an excellent overture for the season. The upcoming friendly matches will be helpful for us, especially to implement new players in our system “., the winner of the 2021 Total Player Award said.
New head coach Zivko Gocic said his first impressions about Novi Beograd are excellent.
“The arrival at Novi Beograd is the biggest challenge in my coaching career. The club’s ambitions are the highest possible in all competitions. We have extraordinary working conditions, and I have to thank the club management for that. Novi Beograd will go for victory in every game and every competition. We will see how successful we will be, but we do not lack motivation and ambition”.
Novi Beograd, roster for the season 2022/23 – goalkeepers: Radoslav Filipovic, Joao Pedro Coimbra Fernandes; field players: Strahinja Rasovic, Dusan Mandic (captain), Alvaro Granados, Djordje Vucinic, Dusko Pijetlovic, Radomir Drasovic, Nikola Jaksic, Miroslav Perkovic, Angelos Vlachopoulos, Dimitrios Skoumpakis, Viktor Rasovic, Savo Cetkovic, Nika Shushiashvili, Vasilije Martinovic
Aleksandar Sostar coaches Novobeogradski Vukovi
There have been changes in the coaching staff of Novobeogradski Vukovi (New Belgrade Wolves), the second (developmental) team of Novi Beograd. The club confirmed that Aleksandar Sostar, who was Novi Beograd’s sporting director in the past year and a half, had been appointed as Novibeogradski Vukovi’s head coach.
Vukovi won 1st place in the Serbian 2nd League last season and was promoted to the Serbian Super League.
Sostar, a long-time captain of the Yugoslavian national team, and winner of two Olympic medals (gold in 1988 and bronze in 2004), was Partizan’s president and LEN Bureau member.
