Total Player 2023 by Dance

November 5, 2023

Dance, a Croatian website dedicated to water polo, derives its name from “Dance” cove in Dubrovnik, where Water Polo Club Jug was founded 100 years ago.

Known for its engaging columns and insightful critiques of events in water polo, the website has gained popularity in Croatia and abroad.

History is written by the winners, so this year, we chose the following 5 players as the best of the best:

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+1 Pts | Alvaro Granados (ESP)

Spanish National Team Player. Club: Novi Beograd. Position: Driver.

imposed himself as the first name of Novi Beograd, where he had no chance in the final against Pro Recco despite scoring 5 goals because a team cannot parry if every opponent's shot ends up in the goal. At the World Championships, we are used to him being at the very top of the scorers' list, but this time, he was the best "ball stealer" and the second-best blocker of the opponent's shots in addition to his attacking contribution. In the last final match of the Serbian Championship, he scored as many as 10 goals (from 11 shots if we remember correctly) in a 14:7 victory of NBG, an incredible performance!
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+2 Pts | Francesco Di Fulvio (ITA)

Italian National Team Player. Club: Pro Recco. Position: Driver.

He was right next to Zalanki in the contribution to the club's results. He holds the left side of the team not only in terms of scoring goals but also in terms of organization, swimming and defense. Italy achieved less than expected in Fukuoka, but not because of him, who, according to statistical data, was in the top 5 players of the World Championships.
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+3 Pt | Felipe Perrone (ESP)

Spanish National Team player. Club: Barceloneta. Position: Driver.

It's incredible how he plays with 37 years on his back. Being without Granados, he also took a role of the goal getter at the club. With a little more of the referee's honesty already mentioned, he would also play in the final of the Champions League. With two third places in the season, both in the Champions League and the World Championships, and with all his outstanding moves, leading the team, and incredible energy in every possible sense, he takes third place in this selection as well.
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+4 Pts | Ben Hallock(USA)

Team USA Player. Club: Pro Recco. Position: Centre-forward

The European champion with Pro Recco, where he played a very, very important role. At the World Championships, he forced even 40 opponents' exclusions, the most of all players, with the handicap of an unjustified exclusion midway through the quarter-final match and a suspension in the next one. Also, if the referees had not played a significant role in the USA's 13:12 defeat against the future champion, we are sure that the standings in this selection, not only for us, but also for many, would have been significantly different.

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+5 Pts | Gergo Zalanki (HUN)

Hungary National Team Player. Club: Pro Recco. Position: Wing

The world champion with Hungary and European champion with Pro Recco. In both competitions, he was the best and most important player of his team. He has fully matured in the last 2 seasons since Sandro Sukno has been leading him at the club. He took that small, but essentially the biggest and most difficult step, from being an excellent player to becoming the best in the world.