The draw for the Champions League main round has been conducted in Rome today.
LEN TWPC Chairman Gianni Lonzi and LEN Operational Manager Marco Birri sorted the teams into two groups of six. Ten teams have wild cars, while two qualifiers will join them.
The clubs were seeded according to the rankings in the season 2018/2019. The reigning Ferencvaros and the runner-up in the 2019 Champions League Olympiacos, were in the first pot, Barceloneta and Pro Recco were in the second, etc.
Also, Ferencvaros and Pro Recco couldn’t be drawn in the same group, because these clubs will be technical hosts of the first “bubble” tournaments, in December (Budapest and Ostia). Besides, the two German clubs (Waspo Hannover and Spandau 04) couldn’t be in the same group.
2020/21 Champions League Groups
Teams sorted according to start numbers (click to enlarge)
Group A
Olympiacos (Greece)
Pro Recco (Italy)
Jug Dubrovnik (Croatia)
Spandau 04 Berlin (Germany)
Marseille (France)
Winner of Group A of the Qualifications
Group B
Ferencvaros Budapest (Hungary)
Barceloneta (Spain)
Waspo Hannover (Germany)
Jadran Herceg Novi (Montenegro)
Dinamo Tbilisi (Georgia)
Winner of Group B of the Qualifications.
Teams sorted according to start numbers (click to enlarge)
It seems that it will be harder to get to the Final Eight grom A group. Four former European champions play in this group
Three teams with long traditions – Olympiacos (2002 and 2018 Champions League winner), Pro Recco (eight-time European champion, the last time in 2015), Jug (four-times European champion, the last time in 2016) are Group A, as well as the LEN Euro Cup winner Marseille and Spandau 04, which was very successful in the 80s. Spandau was the Champion of Europe four times, but it hasn’t won a trophy since the season 1989/90.
Ferencvaros, the reigning champion, and Barceloneta, the 2014 Champions League winner, stand out in Group B. However, in this group, there are only three available tickets for the Final Eight since Waspo Hannover is already qualified for the tournament (June, 3 -5) as a technical host.
So, the groups are relatively balanced.
Champions League Group Calendar
Round 1 (1st – 3rd match)
Group A (Ostia near Rome, Italy): December 14 – 17, 2020
Group B (Budapest, Hungary): December 15 – 18, 2020
Schedule of the first tournaments
Group A
Day 1: Spandau – Jug, Pro Recco – Marseille, Olympiacos – Qualifier A.
Day 2: Jug – Marseille, Qualifier A – Pro Recco, Spandau 04 – Olympiacos.
Day 3: Marseille – Qualifier A, Olympiacos – Jug, Pro Recco – Spandau 04.
Group B
Day 1: Jadran – Ferencvaros, Dinamo – Qualifier B, Hannover – Barceloneta.
Day 2: Ferencvaros – Qualifier B, Barceloneta – Dinamo, Jadran – Hannover.
Day 3: Qualifier B – Barceloneta, Hannover – Ferencvaros, Dinamo – Jadran.
Round 2 (4th – 7th match)
Group A: March 1 – 5, 2021
Group B: March 1 – 5, 2021
Round 3 (8th – 10th match)
Group A: April 19 – 22, 2021
Group B: April, 20 – 23, 2021
Final Eight
June 3 – 5, 2021 (Hannover)
Qualifications (November 11 – 15)
Eighteen teams will take part in the qualifications in November
Group A (Syracuse, Italy)
Group A1: Ortigia Syracuse (Italy), Barcelona (Spain), Steaua Bucharest (Romania), Jadran Split (Croatia), Primorac Kotor (Montenegro).
Group A2: Szolnok (Hungary), Mladost Zagreb (Croatia), Pays d’Aix (France), Ydriakos (Greece).
Group B (Budapest, Hungary)
Group B1: OSC Budapest (Hungary), Sintez Kazan (Russia), KVK Radnicki (Serbia), Terrassa (Spain), Tourcoing (France).
Group B2: Vouliagmeni (Greece), Brescia (Italy), ENKA Istanbul (Turkey), Oradea (Romania).
