There are always exciting games in each round of the Champions League. But, the upcoming Day 6 is something special.
Almost all games are derbies, and predicting the outcomes is difficult.
Still, two games are the highlights of the week. Those will be encounters in Barcelona and Budapest that are the clashes between the winners of the Total Player Award at the same time.
Barceloneta, the only team with a perfect 5-0 record after five rounds, will welcome European champion Pro Recco tomorrow. The visitors’ star is freshly crowned winner of the Total Player for 2022 Francesco Di Fulvio. Barceloneta’s brain is Felipe Perrone, who was voted the best player in the world by our jury in 2018. In addition, the winner of the first award, Sandro Sukno (2017), will participate in this match, guiding Pro Recco from the bench.
Ferencvaros and Novi Beograd will face off on Wednesday in Budapest. Ferencvaros’ captain and leader Denes Varga was the Total Player for 2019, while one of Novi Beograd’s superstars and captain, Dusan Mandic, won the award in 2021.
2022/23 Champions League Day 6, Preview
Group A (Tuesday, January 24)
Pro Recco and Barceloneta faced off many times in the Champions League. Last year, Recco defeated Barceloneta narrowly (10:9) after a big battle in the quarterfinals of the F8 in Belgrade.
Before the start of the Champions League, many believed that Olympiacos and Pro Recco would battle for 1st place in this group and that Barceloneta would probably finish in 3rd place. But, two weeks ago, the Spaniards defeated Olympiacos in Piraeus two weeks ago (9:7) and proved they could go higher than 3rd place. It’s interesting that the encounter between Olympiacos and Pro Recco, played on Day 1, produced the same result, but Olympiacos recorded a 9:7 win.
Sandro Sukno Photo by Laszlo Balogh/Total Waterpolo
Pro Recco coach Sandro Sukno expects an interesting match and says that his team has to do its best.
“We face a team that plays modern water polo, with a very high pace, with fast and excellent players in counterattack. The number of Barceloneta players who are part of world champion Spain shows the value of the opponent.”, Sukno said for Pro Recco’s official website and commented on the fact that Barceloneta is led by Elvis Fatovic, who was Sukno’s coach at Jug – “We played against Barceloneta at the last season’s Final Eight, and many agree that it was the best match of the season. Elvis is a good coach. He has changed compared to the time when he led Jug and has brought many things to Barceloneta’s play in the last year and a half. It’s beautiful to watch Barceloneta playing. Still, I think we are stronger, but we have to prove it in the water.”
After the defeat to Barceloneta, Olympiacos will try to get back on the winning track in the Greek derby. The “Red Whites” will host Vouliagmeni. The teams know each other very well. They have met many times. Both sides entered this season with new coaches. But the coaches also know each other excellently. Igor Milanovic arrived at Olympiacos last summer, while Vouliagmeni brought Vladimir Vujasinovic. The two were teammates in the national team of Yugoslavia. They won the 2011 Champions League with Partizan (Milanovic was the head coach, and Vujasinovic was the team’s captain). So, there are no secrets.
Olympiacos is a favorite, but Vouliagmeni has played very well since the start of the season and arrives in Piraeus highly motivated.
“We have had a difficult period; we looked like a hospital, with a lot of problems lately. In our last league match, we had a high tempo, so I think we will be ready for the match against Vouliagmeni. I am waiting for the match with good feelings”, Igor Milanovic commented for the club’s website.
Jadran will play against Radnicki in Split in one of the crucial duels in the race for 4th place in Group A. The Serbian club has won 7 points so far – one more than Jadran. But, Radnicki has had a lot of ups and downs, while Jadran has shown a more constant shape. The Croats recently changed the head coach (Jure Marelja replaced Mile Smodlaka). Radnicki had troubles with injuries and illnesses at the Regional League tournament last week. The winner will make a big step toward the Final Eight.
“The win in Split would be a huge step forward toward the final tournament. Still, the result of tomorrow’s game won’t decide everything”, Radnicki head coach Uros Stevanovic said.
Waspo Hannover and Dinamo Tbilisi are the only two Champions League clubs that haven’t won a single point yet. That will change tomorrow after their encounter in Tbilisi. They don’t have a big chance of reaching 4th place, but surely, they have a big desire to move from ground zero.
Schedule (January 24)
Dinamo Tbilisi – Waspo Hannover (19:00)
Olympiacos – Vouliagmeni (19:30)
Barceloneta – Pro Recco (19:00)
Jadran Split – Radnicki (19:00)
All times are local
Standings: 1. Barceloneta 15, 2. Olympiacos 12, 3. Pro Recco 12, 4. Vouliagmeni 7,, 5. Radnicki 7, 6. Jadran S 6, 7. Waspo Hannover 0, 8.Dinamo Tbilisi 0.
Follow the live scores and statistics on Total Waterpolo Arena
Group A (Wednesday, January 25)
Novi Beograd is the only unbeaten team in Group B. We’ll see if it will continue its unbeaten run after a big challenge in Budapest against Ferencvaros. Neither of the sides is a favorite in this duel. Both have many superstars on the team. In the first five rounds, Novi Beograd achieved much better results than Ferencvaros (which lost to Spandau in Berlin two weeks ago). Still, it’s always hard to beat Ferencvaros in Budapest. The latest games in the Hungarian League prove that Ferencvaros has played better and better from day to day. Everything is possible. Only a big margin between the teams at the end of the match would be a surprise.
The coaches Zsolt Varga (Ferencvaros) and Zivko Gocic (Novi Beograd) don’t count on their best players due to injuries. The hosts’ goalkeeper Soma Vogel is out of the team. One of the pillars of Novi Beograd’s defense, Nikola Jaksic, got injured last week. Still, the list of players who will miss the game due to injuries may be longer.
Zivko Gocic with the players Photo by VK Novi Beograd
At today’s press conference, Zivko Gocic said:
“The match comes at a very bad time for us. At the last training session, we had only ten available players due to illness and injuries. We still don’t know who will travel to Budapest. But, whoever is ready will play and that’s how we are preparing for this difficult away game.Ferencvaros is a really good team that has been playing together for many years under the leadership of coach Zolta Varga. I know them well because I played for a long time and worked as a coach in Hungary (in Szolnok – Ed.), so there shouldn’t be any secrets or surprises. We will be ready. If we give our best, we can hope for a good result.”
Last season, Ferencvaros and Novi Beograd played in the same group of the Champions League. The Hungarians won both games (11:10 in Budapest and 14:11 in Belgrade). Before the start of the season 2022/23, Novi Beograd bettered Ferencvaros in the final of the Memorial Tournament “Vlaho Bata Orlic” in Belgrade. In November, the two teams had joint preparations in Budapest.
Two matches will be played in Budapest on Wednesday. The other is a clash between OSC Budapest and Jug. Both teams are seeking the F8 berths. Considering the rosters, the teams are of similar qualities, but Jug has played much better than the Budapest-based side since the start of the season in all competitions. OSC lost more points than expected both in Europe and Hungary. It was defeated heavily by Novi Beograd and Pro Recco in the Champions League, while it barely saved a point in the home match against Spandau. On Saturday, it suffered a shocking defeat to Eger in the Hungarian Championship, which might be a wake-up alarm.
Second-placed Brescia travels to Berlin to meet Spandau 04. The Italians recorded four convincing wins in the first five rounds (mainly because of their excellent defense) and suffered a loss to Novi Beograd. Undoubtedly, Brescia is the favorite, but Spandau has caused many surprises and has proved that it wasn’t an underdog. The Berliners beat Ferencvaros on Day 5, so it’s clear that Brescia mustn’t underestimate the German team.
Sabadell, the only winless team in Group B, welcomes Marseille. The French are encouraged by last week’s triumph in the national cup. Sabadell has won only one point so far, while Marseille has four. Just like in many other matches of Day 5, it’s difficult to predict the result. An exciting duel is expected.
Schedule (January 25)
Spandau 04 – Brescia (19:30)
Sabadell – Marseille (19:30)
OSC Budapest – Jug Dubrovnik (19:30)
Ferencvaros Telekom – Novi Beograd (20:45)
All times are local
Follow the live scores and statistics on Total Waterpolo Arena
Standings: 1.Novi Beograd 13, 2. Brescia 12, 3. Ferencvaros 9, 4. Jug AO 7, 5. OSC Budapest 5, 6. Spandau 04 2, 7. Marseille 4, 8. Sabadell 1
