Today in the Total Player Male Category, we’re introducing Paul Martin – the head coach of the South African Team.
Martin began his international coaching career by taking the South African Youth Women (2012) and Junior Men (2013) to their respective World Championships. During this time he was the assistant coach to the National Men’s team at the Shanghai and Barcelona World Championships.
Paul took over as the head coach for the Men’s National Team in 2014, which included South Africa attending the FINA World Cup, Almaty, for the first time in recent history. The team enjoyed success at the 2015 FINA World Championships by finishing in 12th place overall, the country’s highest finish at this world event. Recent international events included the 2017 World Championships in Budapest and the recent FINA World Cup in Berlin.
Paul Martin’s Total 5 of 2018
1st – Dušan Mandić
Serbian National Player | Club: Pro Recco | Position: Wing
“The best left-handed player in the world at the moment. His goal scoring performances at the European Championships helped Serbia win the gold. He confidently led a young Serbian Team to win the bronze medal at the 2018 FINA World Cup.”
2nd – Aaron Younger
Australian National Player | Club: Szolnoki VSC | Position: Driver
“An outstanding Captain of the Australian National Team who is improving every season. This is especially evident with the Australian National Team making the final of the FINA World Cup 2018. He leads by example with his superior fitness and has the ability to score very important goals at the international as well as the club level.”
3rd – Felipe Perrone
Spanish National Player | Club: Barceloneta | Position: Field Player
“His leadership and water polo intelligence were crucial for the success of the Spanish National Team. Most notably, it was the silver medal at the European Championships where Spain narrowly missed out to Serbia. After moving from VK Jug to Barceloneta, his influence at the club was evident with them getting a medal in the Champions League.”
4th – Ioannis Fountoulis
Greek National Player | Club: Olympiacos Piraeus | Position: Centre Forward, Wing
“Greek water polo has always had skillful outside shooters and Ioannis is a great example of this. His performances in the Champions League was key to the Olympiacos’s success.”
5th – Andro Bušlje
Croatian National Player | Club: Olympiacos Piraeus | Position: Centre Back
“He seems to have gotten stronger, fitter and more mobile as he has gotten older. A very calm presence running the Croatian defense as well as being a threat on the attack with his counter-attacking abilities and powerful outside shot.”
