Total Player 2020 by SwimSwam

December 7, 2020

TP2020 SwimSwam

SwimSwam is a global leader in aquatic news and training content, covering all 6 disciplines under the aquatics umbrella (swimming, water polo, open water swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, and high diving). Launched in 2012, SwimSwam is headquartered in the United States but has contributors in 7 languages located in 16 countries around the world.

Timless 7 - Women

"For me, the toughest choice was right side wingers. That position is so much deeper in my mind than the left side, and leaving Tania Di Mario out of my team was a challenging decision. For me, Betsy Armstrong was the first water star water polo player, male or female, I learned about in high school. If it had to be whittled down to one player, I believe that in the United States, she is the primary player responsible for cementing the perpetual juggernaut that is the US women's team. As a young, mediocre player outside of California in a country where the sport doesn't get much national attention, she was the player I knew most about. And, for me the captain is a no-brainer. Brenda Villa, FINA's player of the first decade, three World Championships, 4 Olympic medals, the absolute queen of the best women's program in the world. Absolutely unparalleled."

GOALKEEPER - Elizabeth Armstrong (USA)

CENTER BACK - Lauren Wenger (USA)

CENTER FORWARD - Alexandra Asimaki (GRE)

LEFT SIDE - Maggie Steffens (USA)

LEFT SIDE - Roser Tarrago (ESP)

RIGHT SIDE - Brenda Villa (USA) | Cpt.

RIGHT SIDE - Danielle de Bruijn (NED)

Timeless 7 - Men

"For me, the easiest pick on this team was Slobodan Soro in the cage. He had a stuffed resume before 2016, but all politics and nationalism aside, what he did in Brazil at the Rio Olympics seals the deal to me. Yes, the team only finished in 8th place, but without him (and Felipe Perrone to some extent), they were more like a 12th-place team. As for the captain, my only choice was Tony Azevedo. I don't know if he was the best player in the world of the last 20 years, but the results are clear: no player meant more to his program than did Tony Azevedo to the US National Team, as they now struggled to find their stride in the post-Azevedo era."