🛒 Shop the best Water Polo Gear now! →
🤑 10% off on selected briefs & merch 🤑
Support the Total Waterpolo mission!
TW-Brandmark-Whitex2
  • News
  • SINGAPORE 2025
    • Men’s tournament
    • Women’s tournament
  • Results

    National

    • Montenegro
      • Montenegrin League 2024/25
      • Montenegrin Cup 24/25
      • Montenegrin League 23/24
    • Nordic League
      • Nordic League Men 24/25
      • Nordic Trophy Men 2024/25
      • Nordic League Women 2024/25
      • Nordic League 23/24
      • Qualifications
    • Slovenia
      • Slovenian League 24/25
      • Slovenian League 23/24
    • Hong Kong
      • Hong Kong 24/25 – Women
      • Hong Kong 24/25 – Men
    • Austria
      • Austrian League 2025 – Men
      • Austrian League 23/24 – Women
      • Austrian League 23/24 – Men
    • Lithuania
      • Lithuanian League ’24
    • Latvia
      • Latvian Championship 2024
    • France
      • French League 23/24 – Men
    • Spain
      • Spanish League 23/24 – Men
    • Hungary
      • Hungarian League 23/24 – Men
    • Italy
      • Italian League 23/24 – Men

    International

    • SINGAPORE 2025
      • Women
      • Men
    • LEN Champions League
      • Men 24/25
      • Men 23/24
    • World Cup 2025
      • Men
    • AWL
      • Alpe Waterpolo League 2024/25
      • Alpe Waterpolo League 2023/24
      • Alpe Waterpolo League 2022/23
    • Nordic League
      • Nordic League Men 2024/25
      • Nordic Trophy Men 2024/25
      • Nordic League Women 2024/25
      • Nordic League 2023/24
      • Nordic Trophy 2023/24
    • NCAA
      • Men’s Finals 2024
      • Men’s Finals 2023
    • Oympic Games
      • Tokyo 2020
        • Women
        • Men
      • Paris 2024
        • Olympic Tournament – Men
        • Olympic Tournament – Women
    • World Championships
      • Doha 2024
        • Women
        • Men
      • Fukuoka 2023
        • Women
        • Men
      • Budapest 2022
        • Women
        • Men
    • European Championships
      • Eindhoven 2024 – Women
      • Zagreb / Dubrovnik 2024 – Men
      • Split 2022
        • Women
        • Men
      • Budapest 2020

    Amateur & Junior Divisions

    • Summer Cup 2025
    • Nordic League U16 2024/25
    • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U10
    • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U12
    • Masters Cup 2025

    Total Waterpolo Arena livescoring app: Stay in the game with real-time updates and stats for your next tournament.

    Contact Us
    • Champions League
      • Season 24/25
      • Season 23/24
      • Season 22/23
    • International
      • World Cup 2025 Men
      • European Championships
        • Eindhoven 2024 – Women
        • Croatia 2024 – Men
        • Split 2022
          • Women
          • Men
        • Budapest 2020
        • Barcelona 2018
      • World Championships
        • Doha 2024
          • Women
          • Men
        • Fukuoka 2023
          • Women
          • Men
        • Budapest 2022
          • Women
          • Men
      • Olympics
        • Tokyo 2020
          • Women
          • Men
        • Paris 2024
          • Women
          • Men
      • NCAA
        • NCAA Men’s Finals 2024
        • NCAA Men’s Finals 2023
      • Pacific Cup 2024
    • National
      • Montenegro
        • Montenegrin League 2024/25
        • Montenegrin Cup 2024/25
      • Austria
        • Austrian League 2025 – Men
        • Austrian League 2024 – Women
        • Austrian League 2024 – Men
      • Nordic League
        • Nordic League Men 2024/25
        • Nordic League Women 2024/25
        • Nordic League U16 2024/25
        • Nordic Trophy Men 2024/25
        • Nordic League 2023/24
        • Nordic Trophy 2023/24
      • Hong Kong
        • Hong Kong Women’s League 24/25
        • Hong Kong Men’s League 24/25
      • AWL
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2024/25
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2023/24
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2022/23
      • Slovenia
      • Lithuania
      • Latvia
      • Hungarian League 2023 – Men
      • French League 2023 – Men
      • Spanish League 2023 – Men
      • Italian League 2023 – Men
    • Masters
      • Masters Cup 2025
      • VAL League 2024/25
      • Sabac Masters 2024
      • Masters Cup 2024
      • Budva Masters 2024
    • Junior
      • DSV 98 Cup 2025
      • Summer Cup 2025
      • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U12
      • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U10
      • HaBaWaBa Spain Plus 2025
      • Next Generation 2024 – Men
      • Next Generation 2024 -Women
      • HaBaWaBa Easter 2024 (U10)
      • HaBaWaBa Easter 2024 (U12)
      • HabaWaba Spain Plus 2024
      • Plejade
      • Dobri Dupin
  • Transfers
  • Shop

    WearWaterpolo™ Webshop

    • Webshop
    • Men’s Briefs
    • Women’s Suits
    • Apparel
    • Game Balls
    • About

    Partner up with Total Waterpolo, the leading international water polo network worldwide and take your team gear to the next level. Our products are made to endure the harshest conditions from pro leagues around the world to your local squad rivalries. We can't wait to join your team!

    Get Total Waterpolo for your Team
  • Total Player
    • Total Player 2024
    • Total Player 2023
    • Total Player 2022
    • Total Player 2021
    • Total Player 2020
    • Total Player 2019
    • Total Player 2018
    • Total Player 2017
SINGAPORE 2025
Support Us

I don’t like making excuses, says France’s new coach

January 17, 2023

The new France boss accepts his team needs to "create and winning mentality and grow up" Photo: Orange Pictures

French water polo is poised to seize a historic opportunity.

The French will have waited patiently for well over a century (124 years) by the time the summer Olympiad returns to Paris, and as far as water polo is concerned, a little bit of history is set to be made for the hosts.  

While the French men’s national team has made eleven appearances at the Olympic games, most recently in 2016—a run that boasts a gold and two bronze medals—the women’s national team will be making its Olympic debut in Paris. 

There is a chance there will be other debutant nations too, but we know for certain that the women’s team of France will become the seventeenth nation to make their presence felt in Olympia. 

Everything pointed to Emilien Bugeaud being the man to lead Les Bleu at the upcoming Olympics. His work with junior national teams over the past decade has made him an ideal candidate to help a young and promising French team reach its full potential in Paris and beyond. After Bugeaud’s departure in December, however, there was an immediate need to fill the position.  

Emilien Bugeaud left the French national team last month. Photo: Total Waterpolo

The French federation created a shortlist of candidates to succeed Bugeaud, and the man they have ultimately opted for was Theodoros Lorantos.

It’s a huge appointment for the French, who need to make sure they don’t pass up a once in a lifetime opportunity. They believe that their man, Lorantos, is the right fit.

“I find it very flattering that a federation like this one, which represents France, would appoint and trust me to lead this project,” Lorantos told us.

“The specific project planned by the federation looks ambitious and well-founded, and the facilities and infrastructure offered are of a very high level.”

French officials had no qualms about hiring the 51-year-old, with a positive experience hiring from Greece.  Lorantos is the second from his country to lead the French women’s national team, with fellow-countryman, Filippos Sakellis, leading the side between 2013-2016. 

Lorantos certainly checks the boxes when it comes to Olympic experience. He represented Greece in the Olympic Games three times (1992, 1996, and 2000) as a player.

However, his Olympic coaching resume only includes a failed 2021 qualification attempt with the Greek women’s national team. France’s new head coach, though, believes his Olympic experiences, both positive and negative, continue to influence his water polo journey:

“Having participated as an athlete three times and as a coach once in the Olympic qualification tournament, I can definitely say it is something really difficult in terms of psychology and pressure for an athlete. A tournament with an extreme change of emotions, because in just a couple of minutes, a four-year preparation is being determined, four years’ worth of work from the federation, all the people involved in the project, and of course, the athletes. Coming out of those games, you emerge wiser and stronger, regardless of the results of the games.”

Ema Vernoux is one of France’s top young talents. Photo: Total Waterpolo

But for the players selected for the Olympic games, the pressure of representing your country at a home Olympic games is tenfold, something the incoming boss acknowledges as the biggest challenge for him to quell:

“Playing in the Olympic Games in your own country adds some extra pressure on you. When your goals are high, you need to prepare and train to be able to play under pressure. This is one of the challenges I believe I can turn in favour of our team.”

With a wealth of experience under his belt, Lorantos says that accountability and leading by example are pivotal elements to his coaching philosophy:

“As a coach, I am as strict with my players as I am with myself; I don’t like excuses. I demand athletic discipline, concentration, and competitiveness from my athletes, but at the same time, I believe that I can inspire them and provide them with a protective shield. I respect them 100% because they are the most important factors of the team. I’m as good a coach as my athletes.”

It’s not ideal timing for the French to be searching for a new coach with just over a year and a half until the big event. Even though the French national team has been making steady improvements, they are still a long way from dining at the top table of women’s water polo. Lorantos, however, is optimistic about the opportunity to improve that has fallen into his lap:

“Watching the games from the last two championships, I believe that the French team has big potential for improvement in many aspects of the game. This gives me great satisfaction because I know that with the work that we will put in, our game as a team will progress substantially”

Lousie Guillet was France captain under the last two national team coaches. Photo: Total Waterpolo 

The French might just be the only team that is content with the hugely congested fixture schedule over the next twelve months, as the several major tournaments pencilled in provide many opportunities for the French to test themselves without the pressure of qualifying for the Olympics. Lorantos tells us that this is a perfect chance to create a winning culture and build momentum:

“One of our main goals is to obtain a winning mentality and grow up as a team. This is something that can only be achieved through wins, so we need to be able to win as many consecutive matches as possible to obtain this mentality. This is a key aspect that will help us reach a higher placement during the Olympic games. And this is something we want to achieve through these tournaments.”

It goes without saying, and has been stated outright in some quarters, that France has earmarked a podium finish at the Paris Olympics. Lorantos’ predecessor was keen to emphasise that was the aim of his team. The former Glyfada and Vouliagmeni men’s coach, however, has been reticent to engage with any talk of France’s fanciful medal hopes:

“With the support of the federation and the organisation of this project, we want to achieve a result that will make the team, the players, and everyone else involved (technical staff, etc.) proud! This is something we want to be able to realise during the next tournaments preceding the Olympic Games.”

Anne Collas has recently cemented her place as France’s first choice keeper. Photo: Total Waterpolo

Something Lorantos was unremitting about was that he expects the highest standards from his players; his ‘non-negotiables’ are exactly that, and there is no place in his squad for those who fall short of his great demands: 

“Until we start the preparation with the team, I am keeping thorough notes on each separate player of the team by observing their individual tactics and in-game techniques. I also pay close attention to the physical condition of the athletes. I am closely following the games of the French teams, and I will also be present in the final four of the French Cup this week in Aix-en-Provence. 

I totally understand that all athletes competing at a high level have a dream to compete in the Olympic Games. All athletes who can follow my high standards will be able to be a part of the team. From my side, and knowing that participating in the games is a dream come true, I will try to be fair and objective in my choices.”

There is no doubt that Lorantos faces a huge challenge in getting a team like France in shape to compete for a medal in 18 months. For the coach as well as his players, this is finally a chance to compete at the biggest sporting event on the planet. The federation in France has invested much in state-of-the art facilities for their teams to prepare for these games, but it is now time for Theodoros Lorantos to give it his best shot to, in his words, “make everyone involved proud”.

Click here for more Exclusive Interviews

Read more about Women’s water polo

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

 

 

TW Press
TW Press

Related posts

Photo: Nikola Krstic/European Aquatics

July 13, 2025

Italy shines in final of European U16 Championships and wins gold with perfect record


Read more

Photo: Nikola Krstic/European Aquatics

July 12, 2025

Italian and Hungarian cadets to battle for European crown


Read more

Photo: Nikola Krstic/European Aquatics

July 11, 2025

Italy, Hungary, Croatia, and Montenegro reach semifinals in Istanbul


Read more

SUPPORT US ON PATREON

If you share our passion for water polo worldwide, consider becoming a cherished contributor to our cause, with as little as 5$/month.

SUPPORT US


Custom Team Gear

LEARN MORE

Shop Now

Looking for something?

✕
  • Many one-sided contests on Day 3 of women’s tournament in Singapore, favorites meet expectations
    July 15, 2025
  • Croatia and Italy take valuable points in thrillers
    July 14, 2025
  • Italy shines in final of European U16 Championships and wins gold with perfect record
    July 13, 2025
  • Home
  • Water Polo News
  • WearWaterpolo Shop
  • Contact Us
  • Project Superstar – TW Camp
  • BIWPA
  • Custom Team Equipment
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
© 2021 Total Waterpolo. All Rights Reserved.
✕
CroMasters '24
Support Us
  • News
  • SINGAPORE 2025
    • Men’s tournament
    • Women’s tournament
  • Results
    • Champions League
      • Season 24/25
      • Season 23/24
      • Season 22/23
    • International
      • World Cup 2025 Men
      • European Championships
        • Eindhoven 2024 – Women
        • Croatia 2024 – Men
        • Split 2022
          • Women
          • Men
        • Budapest 2020
        • Barcelona 2018
      • World Championships
        • Doha 2024
          • Women
          • Men
        • Fukuoka 2023
          • Women
          • Men
        • Budapest 2022
          • Women
          • Men
      • Olympics
        • Tokyo 2020
          • Women
          • Men
        • Paris 2024
          • Women
          • Men
      • NCAA
        • NCAA Men’s Finals 2024
        • NCAA Men’s Finals 2023
      • Pacific Cup 2024
    • National
      • Montenegro
        • Montenegrin League 2024/25
        • Montenegrin Cup 2024/25
      • Austria
        • Austrian League 2025 – Men
        • Austrian League 2024 – Women
        • Austrian League 2024 – Men
      • Nordic League
        • Nordic League Men 2024/25
        • Nordic League Women 2024/25
        • Nordic League U16 2024/25
        • Nordic Trophy Men 2024/25
        • Nordic League 2023/24
        • Nordic Trophy 2023/24
      • Hong Kong
        • Hong Kong Women’s League 24/25
        • Hong Kong Men’s League 24/25
      • AWL
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2024/25
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2023/24
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2022/23
      • Slovenia
      • Lithuania
      • Latvia
      • Hungarian League 2023 – Men
      • French League 2023 – Men
      • Spanish League 2023 – Men
      • Italian League 2023 – Men
    • Masters
      • Masters Cup 2025
      • VAL League 2024/25
      • Sabac Masters 2024
      • Masters Cup 2024
      • Budva Masters 2024
    • Junior
      • DSV 98 Cup 2025
      • Summer Cup 2025
      • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U12
      • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U10
      • HaBaWaBa Spain Plus 2025
      • Next Generation 2024 – Men
      • Next Generation 2024 -Women
      • HaBaWaBa Easter 2024 (U10)
      • HaBaWaBa Easter 2024 (U12)
      • HabaWaba Spain Plus 2024
      • Plejade
      • Dobri Dupin
  • Transfers
  • Shop
  • Total Player
    • Total Player 2024
    • Total Player 2023
    • Total Player 2022
    • Total Player 2021
    • Total Player 2020
    • Total Player 2019
    • Total Player 2018
    • Total Player 2017

We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience and provide personalized content. By clicking "Accept All Cookies" or continuing to browse this website, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT