Turkish champion Galatasaray has won the 2024/25 Nordic League.
The Nordic League, which was launched several years ago with participation from clubs in the Scandinavian and Baltic countries, has been expanding from season to season.
This season’s Final Eight took place in Tenerife, the biggest of Spain’s Canary Islands, located relatively near to the coast of Africa.
Alongside the host, Tenerife Echeyde (the 2024 Nordic League winner), and the Turkish team, clubs from Lithuania, Romania, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands also qualified for the final tournament.
The three-day tournament featured many exciting matches. In the final, Galatasaray defeated Tenerife (20:17), while White Sharks from Germany took home the bronze medal.
Tenerife Echeyde, the silver medal
Quarterfinals
The most thrilling match of the quarterfinal day featured an encounter between White Sharks Hannover (Germany) and Rapid Bucharest (Romania). The Romanians entered the final quarter with a 10:8 lead. Midway through the final period, Rapid extended its advantage to 12:8. However, the end of the match belonged to the Germans, who scored the last four goals in the regular time. Rotermund equalized with a man up at 12:12, just one second before the final buzzer, forcing the match into a shootout. White Sharks displayed nerves of steel during the shootout, making no mistakes in the first four rounds of shots. Meanwhile, their goalkeeper, Spittank, made two crucial saves, leading to a 16:14 victory for the Germans.
Rapid – White Sharks
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Galatasaray (Turkey) beat Sori (Italy) 19:11, with five goals from Milos Maksimovic, who joined Posillipo after the tournament in Tenerife.
EVK Zaibas (Lithuania), the runner-up in the 2025 Challenger Cup, was too strong for De Ham (Netherlands), recording a 17:9 win. Jan Bakulo was the top scorer with four goals.
Zaibas – De Ham
The duel between host Tenerife (Spain) and Neukolln Berlin (Germany) produced even 38 goals. Still, Tenerife, the 6th-placed team in the Spanish League, dominated and defeated the Germans 26:12. The second quarter, in which Tenerife scored nine, conceding two goals was crucial. Djordje Stanic led Tenerife’s attack with five goals from five attempts.
White Sharks – Rapid Bucharest 16:14 (1:2, 4:4, 3:4, 4:2, PSO 4:2)
Galatasaray – Rari Nantes Sori 19:11 (5:3, 6:2, 4:4, 4:2)
EVK Zaibas – De Ham 17:9 (4:2, 4:3, 6:2, 3:2)
Neukolln – Tenerife Echeyde 12:26 (4:5, 2:9, 3:7, 3:5)
Semifinals
The semifinal day offered a lot of excitement.
Galatasaray and EVK Zaibas faced off in the first semifinal. The Lithuanians started very well. They had a 4:2 lead after the first eight minutes. However, Galatasaray produced a remarkable comeback. The Turkish team went on a 8:0 run and took a 10:4 lead deep into the third period. However, EVK Zaibas didn’t surrender. The Lithuanians responded with a 3:0 rush. But they couldn’t come closer. In the 32nd minute, Arda Alpman scored from a counterattack, sealing Galatasaray’s 11:7 win. Selcuk Can Caner was the best scorer in the winning team (three goals), while Marko Jelaca scored two for EVK Zaibas.
Galatasaray – EVK Zaibas
The duel between White Sharks and Tenerife was an even contest from the first whistle until the final buzzer. Nothing separated the rivals after the first quarter (3:3). The Germans earned a 7:6 advantage in the following eight minutes. Still, Tenerife had a 9:8 lead before the final period. The fourth quarter turned into a scoring festival. Each side netted seven goals. Still, Tenerife was in front for most of the time. White Sharks leveled the score twice midway through the quarter (12:12 and 13:13). Then, American Ash Molten scored two quick goals to give Tenerife a 15:13 advantage. In the rest of the match, the teams traded the goals, and Tenerife advanced to the final with a 16:15 victory. Luis Carlos Araya scored a half of Tenerife’s goals – eight. Finn Rotermund (White Sharks) found the net seven times.
White Sharks – Tenerife
Sori beat De Ham 12:11, and Rapid defeated Neukolln 18:14 in the semifinals for 5th-8th place.
Semifinals
Galatasaray – EVK Zaibas 11:7 (2:4, 4:0, 4:1, 1:2)
White Sharks – Tenerife 15:16 (3:3, 4:3, 1:3, 7:7)
5th – 8th place semifinals
Sori – De Ham 12:11 (3:2, 1:3, 2:2, 6:4)
Rapid – Neukolln 18:14 (4:2, 7:3, 5:3, 2:6)
Final day
The final, Galatasaray – Tenerife, was another high-scoring match with a total of 37 goals. Still, Galatasaray controlled the game throughout. Tenerife held only an initial 1:0 lead. By the end of the first period, Galatasaray had built a 7:4 advantage. In the next 24 minutes, the Turks did not allow Tenerife to get back into the match.
Galatasaray – Tenerife
Early in the third quarter, Galatasaray increased its lead to six goals, standing at 14:8. Although the hosts made attempts to close the gap, they were unsuccessful, and their hopes of retaining the title vanished. The Istanbul-based team won the final by three goals – 20:17. Four players from Galatasaray—Acar, Caner, Alpman, and Naipoglu—each scored three goals, while Tenerife’s and the game’s top scorers were Araya with seven goals and Molten with six.
In the bronze medal match, White Sharks defeated EVK Zaibas 12:9. This match followed a similar pattern to the semifinal between Galatasaray and EVK Zaibas. The Lithuanians started strong but lost their momentum after the first break. The first quarter belonged to EVK Zaibas – 3:1. However, White Sharks scored five unanswered goals in the second quarter, ending the first half with a 6:3 lead. Zaibas narrowed the gap with two early goals in the third quarter (5:6), but the Germans responded with a crucial 4:0 run, bringing the score to 10:5. There was no way back for EVK Zaibas. The Lithuanians, who won silver last year, returned home empty-handed. Steffan Hulshoff from White Sharks and Marko Jelaca from EVK Zaibas were the top scorers, each netting four goals.
White Sharks, the bronze medalists
Rapid secured fifth place with a huge 16:5 victory over Sori, while Neukolln defeated De Hamm in the seventh-place match.
A League on the Rise
The Nordic League is growing in both quality and visibility. The 2024/25 season already features a record number of registered teams, with the league expanding beyond its traditional borders.
Among the newcomers is Elevate Waterpolo from South Africa, marking the first entry from the African continent and further emphasizing the league’s global ambition.
Interested clubs from around the world are welcome to contact the league via social media to join the movement. With momentum building and more high-level events on the horizon, the Nordic League continues to establish itself as one of the most innovative and inclusive projects in European (and now global) water polo.
Final
Galatasaray – Tenerife Echeyde 20:17 (7:4, 4:3, 5:5, 4:5).
Bronze-medal match
EVK Zaibas – White Sharks 9:12 (3:1, 0:5, 3:4, 3:2)
5th-place game
Rapid Bucharest – Sori 16:5 (5:2, 5:0, 2:1, 4:2)
7th-place game
De Ham – Neukolln 8:13 (0:4, 2:3, 2:2, 4:4)
