Champions League Quarter Final Stage Day 5 – Five Talking Points

1. Just like last season, all four spots for the Final Four have been booked on Day 5, and only the semi-final pairings will be determined on the last day.

Title-holders FTC-Telekom and last season’s fourth-placed Novi Beograd will return to Malta, while Barceloneta will appear on the grand stage after missing the cut last season and Marseille wrote history by advancing to the Final Four.

The French were part of the show in 2021 and 2022, but lost in the quarters on both occasions, while now they are among the top four European teams – this achievement may even surpass their previous top result, their Euro Cup triumph in 2019.

For Fradi, this is going to be their sixth straight participation in the finals – their journey took a dream start in 2019 when they lifted the trophy right away, followed by silver and bronze, then a sixth place finish before clinching the title again a year ago.

Novi Beograd played back-to-back finals when they enjoyed a guaranteed berth as the host of the F8 in 2022 and 2023, then the Serbs earned the F4 spot on their own last season and now did it again.

In contrast, Barceloneta fell disappointingly in the Quarter Final Stage a year ago – which was only the second time since their first big march to the gold medal bout in 2013.

Indeed, in the past 11 seasons, Barceloneta missed the finals only twice (2017 and 2022) and missed the top four on two more occasions (in 2016 and in 2021) – so they are back where they kind of belong, in the top-flight of European club water polo.

2. Last year, it was Barceloneta that had to wave a painful goodbye to the finals – now it’s Olympiacos’ turn to swallow the bitter pill of losing out. Perhaps it’s even more dramatic for the Greeks as record-winners Recco skipped the Champions League campaign this season and it seemed that FTC, CNAB, NBG and Olympiacos would enjoy an easy ride to Malta.

While the other three passed their respective tests with flying colours, the Greeks already had some ups and downs in the Group Stage. What had once been a fearful place for all teams, the Papastrateio Pool in Piraeus, it became a grab-and-go venue, as visiting teams grabbed points and left smiling.

Olympiacos managed to win only one match in regular time in the previous phase, and in the Quarter Final Stage they’ve earned a single point at home so far, in two matches.

While they could counterbalance that by winning all three away ties a round earlier, this time they lost both. The last one in Belgrade, despite some great efforts in the fourth period, knocked them out from the hunt for the F4 berth. With the line-up they have, it’s can be classed as a failure.

3. It was quite interesting to see in Group B, how the two favourites, Ferencvaros and Barceloneta, were going through some really tough periods, let alone suffering, before staging great finishes and winning their respective matches on the penultimate day.

In Budapest, during the third period and with 1:35 to go, Savona scored and trailed only 9-8 in the home of the title-holders.

Meanwhile, in Oradea, also in the third period, with 1:24 to go, Oradea scored and trailed only 8-9 in their pool against the mighty Spaniards.

Still, both giants responded as great teams usually do – no panicking, as both Fradi and CNAB netted a goal in their next possession.

Szilard Jansik managed to push one in from close after a lucky rebound, while Alvaro Granados put the ball away in a man-up – so both sides led 10-8 before the final period where they never let their rivals any closer.

It was more proof that in the Champions League, no win can be taken for granted, especially not at this stage – but it was also a clear message from the two strong teams that they could keep their calm under pressure and deliver when it mattered the most.

Their reward is a hassle-free final round, as these victories secured their respective tickets to the Final Four.

4. Taking over Recco’s spot on behalf of Italy came as a surprise for Savona last summer, but the Italian side stepped up and tried to fill their shoes – which was quite a challenge.

Indeed, the Italians managed to clear the first hurdle, including a couple of spectacular wins, with their brilliant victory in Piraeus the pick of the bunch.

Then, in the Quarter Final Stage, they were running out of miracles. They delivered the mandatory victories over Oradea, but could only push Barceloneta and Fradi to the limits before falling short.

Those losses were somewhat similar, as Savona could stay close for three periods – first at home against CNAB, then, somewhat surprisingly, in Budapest against FTC in this last round.

However, the favourites prevailed in the fourth, thanks to the inevitable difference between the quality of the respective line-ups.

5. This is the second year the Quarter Final Stage is taking place and Jadran Split have experienced nothing but misery in this phase so far.

At least they had a positive result in the previous round when they upset Olympiacos in Piraeus by claiming a shootout victory, and only a late equaliser prevented them from taking all three points.

Some may have thought they would cause some headaches for Marseille too, but their performance at home fell well short of their high standards, as no Croatian champion should lose 6-18 at home to any team.

But it happened this week against Marseille, as the French side thrashed them and it was clear Jadran’s gigantic struggles in the Quarter Final Stage were back.

Until 2023, Jug Dubrovnik made the finals every year – Jadran then started to reign at home, but finished the quarters with 0-6 a year ago.

Well, after the national team’s heroics at the Europeans (silver in January) and at the Worlds (gold in February), it was somewhat understandable that the core of Jadran’s team were possibly worn out as the Champions League matches came in the spring.

This time, it was just an ordinary season, but Jadran kicked off this stage with three straight losses, so their great comeback in Piraeus ultimately meant little.

The Champions League Men Quarter Final Stage concludes on Wednesday 14th May and you can catch all the action live on www.euroaquaticstv.com and stay up-to-date with live results/tables and real-time updates through the European Aquatics App. Download it here: Google Play.

Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics

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