Group A
Waspo 98 Hannover (GER) v Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE)
Karsten Seehafer, coach, Hannover
“With Olympiacos, the next heavyweight is our opponent. We have to keep working with our young team, develop and stay calm. Shortly before Christmas our spectators get to see great water polo players again, we will sell ourselves as well as we can.”
Mark Gansen, player, Hannover
“After the game in Barcelona, we definitely have something to make up for. We know what we can do, but it only works with fighting spirit and emotions. Although it will be difficult to reward themselves with three points in the last game of the year, the Greeks should watch out for us.”
Hrvoje Benic, player, Hannover
“Olympiacos is perhaps the top candidate to win the Champions League this season. A team which is covered in every position with two top players, and on the bench one of the greatest players ever, Milanovic. It’s up to us to give our best, and use this match to grow as a team, and then, I believe, it will look much better than it did against Barceloneta.”
Igor Milanovic, coach, Olympiacos
“As I have said in the past, every team must prove its quality and value in the water in every match. At this level, point difference does not matter. We have to get in the game with full concentration and show the hard work we do every day in our training sessions. We want the win, we want to extend our winning streak and stay at the top of the group. I believe in my players, and I believe that against Hannover they will give 100% of their energy!”
Kostas Mourikis, player, Olympiacos
“It’s an away game, where our target is to win, so that we can maintain our series of wins in the group. Then comes the break, which offers us some rest, after three consecutive trips. We have put together a pretty strong programme. After the break, we have three home games, so the team will show up ready tomorrow, because we have worked a lot for this game. Let’s go for the win! I hope that the desired result will come, so that we will be first in the group as we turn onto 2021.”
Jadran Split (CRO) v Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO)
Jure Marelja, coach, Jadran
“Dinamo Tbilisi is a serious team with a mix of home players ad experienced international players. We tried to use a couple of days to prepare, since I’ve just come to Jadran’s bench as a new coach. We are going for the win as we always do and what this team always must do.”
Mate Anic, goalie, Jadran
“I had a finger injury but now I’m back. Our other goalkeeper Ivan Marcelić was ill for a few days, I hope he is going to be ready, if not, I’m ready to do my part. Dinamo is a respectable team, but we want three points out of this game.”
Zodiac CNA Barceloneta (ESP) v Radnicki Kragujevac (SRB)
Elvis Fatovic, coach, Barceloneta
“Our next game is really important. Radnicki is a good team, they gained a year of experience in this competition. We will focus on our defence and try to imply our rhythm of the game right away from the first minute.”
Unai Aguirre, player, Barceloneta
“We expect a good game on Tuesday. We consider this game as a key one of the season. For sure, it will be more complicated than the last game (v Hannover). Radnicki is a good team with experienced players and young ones. It’s a complete team with a good centre-forward and a good coach who unites the team to play well. We will focus on our defence as always. We encourage all the people to come and support us.”
Marc Larumbe, player, Barceloneta
“Radnicki is one of the physically strong teams that play with a lot of contact like all Serbians teams. We must be smarter than them and avoid this type of game. On the other side, they have the best centre in the world next to Roger (Tahull). We must be focused and try to stop him. It will be a hard game and we need to try to keep the three points in home.”
Uros Stevanovic, coach, Radnicki
“The level of our performance against Pro Recco was not good. We conceded 21 goals. That’s not good when you play against any opponent, especially against a great team like Pro Recco. Above all, I want us to make a step forward, especially in defence. We have to reduce the goals conceded by two thirds in order to be competitive in Barcelona.”
Nemanja Stanojevic, player, Radnicki
“Our goal for the season is to qualify for the F8 and that is why points from all games are very important to us, even from difficult away games, which is definitely the case in Barcelona. We will try to correct the mistakes from the previous games and play the best we can, in order to take points.”
Pro Recco (ITA) v NC Vouliagmeni (GRE)
Sandro Sukno, coach, Pro Recco
“Our last game in 2022 is against an opponent who will certainly challenge us, but we want to take three points in front of our fans and then rest for a few days.”
Ben Hallock, player, Pro Recco
“We challenge a young team, trained by a coach with great international experience, who will have a strong desire to show off againt the title holders. We know that, as in every Champions League match, we will have to make the difference in defence, with attention and concentration throughout the match. We want to impose our game and take the three points to end a fantastic 2022”.
Vladimir Vujasinovic, coach, Vouliagmeni
“For us, this is one of the easiest games this season, because we have to play against such a strong opponent as Pro Recco. We don’t have result pressure, but we want to play the best we can.”
Dimitrios Nikolaidis, player, Vouliagmeni
“We know that this will be a tough game as they are the European champions and one of the best teams, but we will play with concentration, and we will try to achieve the best for us and for the future in the Champions League.”
Group B
Genesys OSC Budapest (HUN) v Astralpool Sabadell (ESP)
Daniel Varga, coach, OSC
“Another quality team will arrive to our pool. Sabadell is a well-prepared team with good individual young players and special characteristics. We will need to keep focus on our own playing style while controlling their tactical moves.”
Vince Vigvári, player, OSC
“Sabadell is a very strong team with a unique game style. It’s not easy to stay 100% focused three days before Christmas but it doesn’t matter at all. We will prepare for them. I expect a very intense match, and the goal is to take three points.”
VK Novi Beograd (SRB) v AN Brescia (ITA)
Zivko Gocic, coach, NBG
“This will be the last game for us this year. Our opponent will be Brescia, a great Italian team who are playing on a very high level this season. They are very aggressive, so I am pretty sure that we face a very hard task. We will try to prepare our team in the best possible way, and we will give our best to win three more points in this competition. I believe in my players, I strongly believe in our work which we had in the last couple of months and I hope that we will win in the end”.
Dusko Pijetlovic, player, NBG
“A very interesting game awaits us because we are scoring a lot of goals and they are very tough in defence. I hope that we will control the match from the beginning, and we will create a system of play which will allow us to stay in our rhythm. Brescia is the leader in our group, they won all previous games and after the draw against Jug our desire to win is even higher.”
Alessandro Bovo, coach, Brescia
“We are facing a very strong team like Beograd. It will very tough defensively, but it’s a good chance to play games of this level. We are looking forward to playing against them.”
CN Marseille (FRA) v Spandau 04 Berlin (GER)
Milos Scepanovic, coach, Marseille
“Another great challenge for the end of the year against Spandau 04 Berlin. We must erase the memories of our defeat in Budapest and focus on this encounter. Our game against FTC-Telekom was very encouraging, as is the score. Spandau 04 Berlin are a great team that only lost one home game against VK Novi Beograd, they are much stronger compared to last year. It’s going to be an intense game because these two teams always give their all.”
Alexandre Bouet, player, Marseille
“We are disappointed with that very frustrating narrow defeat in Budapest. At the same time, it motivates us even more to get our first Champions League victory of the year at home and end the year on a positive note.”
Athanasios Kechagias, coach, Spandau
„We had to play a demanding series of difficult matches in the shortest time in December. To make matters worse, we did not always have all the players available due to illness. Playing in Marseille just before Christmas is a difficult task. Marseille is a strong team that has not yet been able to live up to its claims. They will do everything to achieve the first victory in the last home game of the year. We will try to be a demanding opponent.”
Mateo Cuk, player, Spandau
„Our team has matured this season and has been able to achieve decent results so far, though we are still waiting for our first victory in the Champions League. Marseille is a strong opponent. However, they will have to perform very well if they want to win against Spandau. We are ready for a challenging game.”
FTC-Telekom Budapest (HUN) v Jug Adriatic Osiguranje Dubrovnik (CRO)
Zsolt Varga, coach, FTC
“Jug has changed a lot since last year, I have seen all the games they played this season. They play really tough and high-level water polo. I hope it will be an exciting last game for this year.”
Daniil Merkulov, player, FTC
“I’m expecting a hard game against Jug Dubrovnik. Their defensive gameplay is great, I know they will prepare well from us. This year they have a younger team, they are fast, and both of their centre-forwards are strong and dangerous. We need to be focused on our defence and attack, and we have to shoot a lot and accurately to be able to win.”
Vjekoslav Kobescak, coach, Jug
“Ferencvaros is a team with whom we have had unpleasant experiences in recent seasons and the statistics are not in our favour. I hope for an exciting and uncertain game on Wednesday. I believe in the strength of my team, and I expect us to repeat the game we played in Belgrade last week.”
Toni Popadic, goalie, Jug
“We face one of the most difficult away games this season against a team that rightfully has aspirations for a high ranking. It’s always difficult to play in Hungary, so I expect the same this time. I think that with a good game in defence, we have the right to expect a positive result.”
