This year, Russian national teams and clubs will return to the international stage, following a decision by World Aquatics announced a few months ago.
The Russian national federation has invited a large group of Serbian water polo coaches and former players to work with the national teams, which were absent from the international stage for more than four years.
Filip Filipovic, a double Olympic champion and a legendary figure in the sport, will serve as the strategic leader of the entire project, which includes work with all age categories (from the youngest to the senior team) in a new format.
Dejan Stanojevic, who previously served as an assistant on the Serbian national team coaching staff and has held head-coach roles in Romania, Kazakhstan, and Georgia, is likely to be appointed head coach of the men’s senior national team.
Zivko Gocic, captain of the 2016 Olympic champions and former coach of Szolnok and Novi Beograd, will act as the technical consultant. Gocic is currently the head of the entire coaching staff in Partizan (the senior team and the age group categories).
Dejan Milakovic, who has experience as a technical director and coach of Iran’s and Singapore’s national teams, and as an assistant coach at Pro Recco, will be in charge of the junior and youth national teams.
Branislav Mitrovic, an Olympic gold medalist in 2016 and 2021, will work with the goalkeepers. He currently coaches the goalkeepers at Vasas.
Bojan Medjedovic will serve as the swimming coach for all national teams, while Filip Volsek will be in charge of physical training.
It’s expected that the Russian senior teams will compete in the World Cup Division 2 in April, aiming to advance to the final tournament, which serves as qualification for the 2027 World Championships.
