Pro Recco didn’t let Sabadell surprise in the match for the 2022 LEN Super Cup. The European champion convincingly beat Sabadell, the reigning LEN Euro Cup winner, – 16:8.
Sabadell, the host of the game, had ups and downs, but it managed to keep up with the favorite until the middle break. Still, Pro Recco secured the win with a dominant 5:0 third quarter.
The Italian side won its 8th LEN Super Cup and became the first club to defend the prestigious trophy twice (2007 and 2008 – 2021 and 2022).
The Italians set another record. For the first time, a team scored 16 goals in a single game of the LEN Super Cup. The previous record was Recco’s 15 goals in the last season’s triumph over Szolnok (15:4).
Recco won the “Grand Slam”, as it triumphed in all competitions it played in the season 2021/22 – the Italian Cup, the Italian Championships, the Champions League, and the LEN Super Cup. Today’s match formally belongs to the previous season.
2022 LEN Men’s Super Cup, Sabadell
Pro Recco – Sabadell 16:8 (3:1, 4:4, 5:0, 4:3)
Pro Recco: Del Lungo, Di Fulvio 4, Zalanki 1, Figlioli 1, Younger 1, Fondelli 1, N.Presciutti, Cannella 2, Iocchi Gratta 3, Velotto, Loncar 1, Hallock 2, Negri. Head coach: Sukno.
Sabadell: Lorrio, Sanahuja 2, Gil, Teclas, Veich, Valera 1, Bertran 1, Cabanas 1, Averka 2, Banicevic 1, Bonet, Bustos, Teclas. Head coach: Colet
Today’s game wasn’t a one-sided contest like the 2021 Super Cup was (Pro Recco – Szolnok 15:4). Still, Recco was always ahead and didn’t leave the decision for the finish of the game.
Sabadell had more good chances to score in the opening minutes. However, the Spaniards wasted three man-ups in three consecutive attacks. And they paid for missed chances. Recco scored three unanswered goals in 02:13 minutes. Fondelli netted from a 6 on 5 for 1:0. Iocchi Gratta made it 2:0 (the only action goal in the 1st quarter), while Cannella gave Recco a 3:0 lead. Sanahuja put Sabadell on the scoreboard with 36 seconds left on the clock in the first period.
Early in the second, Di Fulvio scored for 4:1. In the middle of the quarter, Recco stretched the margin to four (6:2). Still, the European champions finished several attacks rashly, and they started losing their rhythm. Sabadell managed to cut the deficit to two goals (4:6). Di Fulvio scored his second goal – 7:4, but Bernat Sanahuja closed the first period. Just six seconds before the middle break, Sanahuja fired the ball from a distance for 5:7, so Sabadell was still in the game. It was the hosts’ first action goal in the game.
But, Sabadell’s hope didn’t live for long. The Italians opened the third quarter with two quick goals (Figlioli and Loncar). In the 20th minute, Di Fulvio found the net from a close-range shot after an excellent Gergo Zalanki’s assist. A minute and 36 seconds before the last break Ben Hallock scored from a counterattack (Zalanki was an assistant again). In the 24th minute, Iocchi Gratta sent the ball to the net from a tricky lob, Recco went to 12:5 and the contest was over.
“We closed the last season with a trophy, and we opened this season in the same way. We’ll do everything to continue winning. I am satisfied with Pro Recco’s play. We played much better than Sabadell, we proved that we were a stronger team and controlled the game”, Sandro Sukno, Recco’s coach, said. The 2022 Super Cup is Sukno’s fifth trophy on Recco’s bench, after the LEN Super Cup, the LEN Champions League and the double crown in Italy won in the season 2021/22.
Today, Recco won the trophy without captain Aleksandar Ivovic and leftie Gonzalo Echenique, who have been still recovering from surgeries. Centre-forward Matteo Aicardi was missing,too.
Francesco di Fulvio was the first one who lifted the trophy in Sabadell as Recco’s captain.
All winners
1976 Mladost (Yugoslavia)
1977 CSKA Moscow (USSR)
1978 Ferencvaros (Hungary)
1979 Orvosegyetem (Hungary)
1980 Ferencvaros (Hungary)
1981 CSKA Moscow (USSR)
1982 Barcelona (Spain)
1983 CSKA Moscow (USSR)
1984 POSK (Yugoslavia)
1985 Vasas (Hungary)
1986 Spandau 04 (West Germany)
1987 Spandau 04 (West Germany)
1988 Pescara (Italy)
1989 Not held
1990 Mladost (Yugoslavia)
1991 Partizan (Yugoslavia)
1992 Catalunya (Spain)
1993 Pescara (Italy)
1994 Ujpest (Hungary)
1995 Catalunya (Spain)
1996 Mladost (Croatia)
1997-2001 Not held
2002 Olympiacos (Greece)
2003 Pro Recco (Italy)
2004 Honved (Hungary)
2005 Posillipo (Italy)
2006 Jug (Croatia)
2007 Pro Recco (Italy)
2008 Pro Recco (Italy)
2009 Primorac Kotor (Montenegro)
2010 Pro Recco (Italy)
2011 Partizan (Serbia)
2012 Pro Recco (Italy)
2013 Crvena zvezda (Serbia)
2014 Barceloneta (Spain)
2015 Pro Recco (Italy)
2016 Jug (Croatia)
2017 Szolnok (Hungary)
2018 Ferencvaros (Hungary)
2019 Ferencvaros (Hungary)
2020 season canceled
2021 Pro Recco (Italy)
2022 Pro Recco (Italy)
