October 2, 2020 - The Croatian Water Polo Championships return this weekend for the 20th season!

Dalmacija Danas reports that the smell of chlorine will once again fill the air this weekend as Croatian water polo clubs embark on a new journey to become champion. In the 19 championships so far, the most successful club with 16 titles is Jug Dubrovnik, which has also dominated Croatian pools in recent years.

Mladost was at its peak in the nineties and boasts 10 national championships. Primorje has won the championship twice in recent history, while only one Split club has managed to do so, and that is the Zenta club in 1998. A year later, the water polo club Posk became the European champion under the name Slobodna Dalmacija.

Last season, Mladost took the title of Adriatic League champions, and Jug once again became the champions of Croatia. Jug and Mladost should stay at the top this season as well.

The first part of the championship will be played in one round, and the second part in two groups before the teams meet in a"playoff" round.

This year, Jadran celebrated its 100th anniversary. Modestly, however, with only thirty people at dinner at Zvoncac. Last year, they played in the Champions League, which was interrupted and never resumed, as if it never happened. Jadran usually always sits behind Jug and Mladost in Croatia. 

At the end of last season, they had many departures and instead brought in several players from the younger categories, as the youth generation of the club is improving. Two, maybe three juniors will compete for the first team. After Ivan Asic, the first team is led by Mile Smodlaka (44) and sports director Dejan Savicevic. They are hoping for the Champions League this year as well, but first, they will have to do well at the qualifying tournament in Sicily, in Syracuse, in November. Their first-round match will be played in Split, on Saturday against Zadar at 7:30 pm.

Mornar celebrated 70 years last year and has their own story, though it was much better when Brodospas sponsored the club. But that was a long time ago. The first team coach is still Danijel Buric, who managed to keep only the center Buzdovacic for this season, who is a veteran in the team at the age of 29. Marin Vrdoljak, who is 21, has returned from Jadran, while the remaining team members are very young. The first round will also be played on Saturday at Poljud, the start of the match is at 6 pm, against Galeb.

Posk has a rejuvenated team. The coach remains Mirsad Zajmovic, who, along with Skolnekovic's son, will try to keep the club alive. The first round will be played in Rijeka against Primorje this Saturday at 8 pm.

The Croatian league has 11 clubs this season, and after 35 years, KPK returns to the elite Croatian competition. KPK is a Korcula club with a long tradition and rich water polo history. They have a new pool, old fame, and a lot of enthusiasm.

The regional league will be played sometime next year, according to the tournament system. Unfortunately, fans are not yet allowed to watch from the stands. 

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September 27, 2020 - From Monday, September 28, the citizens of Split will have the opportunity to see the exhibition '100 Years of Jadran'.

As Slobodna Dalmacija reports, the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of this water polo and swimming club, an exhibition that chronologically follows the tradition of the swimming and water polo club Jadran will be opened in the Photo Gallery of the Photo Club Split at 7 pm, from the very beginning until today.

"The photos will remind us of the days of the founding of Jadran, the construction of homes, swimming pools on Zvončac, the two biggest sporting successes of the water polo club, two European titles and swimming legends of Jadran, well-known male and female faces who marked Jadran swimming feats. The photos will remind us of recent history, of two Olympian swimmers thanks to whom Jadran is writing a new history today and renovating its 'home' ", it is stated in the announcement.

By the way, Jadran was founded on September 23, 1920, in Baluni Bay on the west side of the port of Split.

"The initiative was launched at the constituent session of the Maritime Sports Association Baluni. The first president was Frane Aljinović, and on July 24, 1921, the club officially opened the doors of its 'home'. The first public match after the First World War was played on July 30, 1922, at the first Sub-Federal Championship in water polo and swimming in which the Baluni team defeated Firule 5: 1", they recall from the Photo Club Split.

Not everything went smoothly for Jadran. Their home was destroyed in a fire twice, the first time in 1925 and again exactly ten years later.

"On the night between April 20 and 21, 1935, the clubhouse burned down again and it was decided to build a new one in the neighboring Zvončac bay. During 1936, eight cabins were built, a swimming pool was excavated, a wall was erected towards the cemetery, showers were installed, a water installation was arranged, and temporary grandstands were built. With coach Neven Kovačević, the Jadran team became the champion of Yugoslavia in 1991, at the last championship in which Croatian clubs participated", it is stated in the announcement.

Jadran has twice won the title of European champion, and as many as nineteen times they have been national champions.

An exhibition '100 years of Jadran' on the club’s rich history will remain open until October 7th.

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Tuesday, 8 September 2020 – Beyonce and Jay Z might be the biggest stars to visit Croatia this summer, but they're certainly not the biggest in size. In this stunning video, a huge whale visits Croatia

Croatia is never short of celebrity guests. This summer alone, the country's Adriatic shores and islands have been visited by Owen Wilson, Beyonce and Jay Z, and Lepa Brena and Lily Allen. But, such stars are dwarfed in comparison to the latest visitor.

A huge whale visits Croatia this week and its movements have been captured spectacularly by drone footage. In the video from the Blue World Institute, you can see the epic creature side-by-side with a fishing vessel. The boat is not small, yet it looks tiny next to this beast.

Video: A huge whale visits Croatia © Blue World Institute

Shots of this huge whale visits Croatia were taken by drone above the Velebit Channel in Dalmatia. It is not the first visitor of its kind this year. Earlier in the summer, the same Blue World Institute managed to grab some footage of a fin whale in the Adriatic (pictured below). Only last time, they didn't have their drone.


© Blue World Institute

The video was taken by the researchers on Saturday 5 September at the entrance to Novsko ždrilo. They followed the whale for about two hours, up to the Maslenica bridge where he turned back into the Velebit Channel and swam in the direction of Vinjerac.

The researchers took the video of this huge whale visits Croatia to analyze the size and health of the mammal. The footage allowed the researchers to determine that this was not the same animal they filmed in the same area in mid-August. When the whale swam close to their boat, researchers managed to obtain a small skin sample in order to perform a biopsy. They monitored the whale's progress and saw it again on the morning of Sunday 6 September, north of Novsko ždrilo.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes on the 14th of August, 2020, in the first seven months of 2020, the hotel company Jadran from Crikvenica reached 53 percent of last year's turnover in the same period. Given the current state of booking, and in the event that there are no major "shocks", Jadran's management expects that the company's annual realisation will amount to more than 60 percent of last year's turnover.

This is obviously the result of Jadran's investment cycle, although the President of the Adriatic Management Board Goran Fabris notes that it must not be forgotten that this is a very difficult tourist season, which in other words means that the overall results will be significantly worse than expected at the beginning of the year. According to Fabris, this will inevitably lead to a slowdown in the investment cycle.

However, in spite of the unfavourable tourist season accompanied by the enforced epidemiological measures, with intensive preparations and completed investments, the company did very well in July. This privatised company, majority owned by the pension funds PBZ CO and Erste Plavi, has been waking up more and more over the last three years due to an investment cycle, meaning that all renovated accommodation facilities - especially those with three or four stars - have better results than last year. Such an example is the Esplanade Hotel (39 rooms) in Crikvenica, which is an investment from back in 2017, before the company's privatisation and its new investment cycle.

This year is also the first in which investments made since Jadran was privatised are starting to return, and the data on the share of Croatian guests is very interesting, as it showed that they are more significant than initially expected, not only in Crikvenica, but also in Baska. When it comes to the structure of guests, Jadran says that along with Croats, the most numerous guests are Austrians, Germans, Slovenes, Czechs and Hungarians, but the share of Slovenes and Croats is 15 percent higher than it was during previous years.

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July 2, 2020 - The semifinal round of the Croatian Water Polo Championships kicked off on Wednesday in Dubrovnik and Zagreb. Jug met Solaris, while Mladost met Jadran. 

Dubrovnik's Jug AO and Zagreb's Mladost achieved victories in the first matches of the semifinals of the Croatian Championship on Wednesday, July 1, 2020.

The famous Dubrovnik side topped Solaris Sibenik 17-6 at the Gruz swimming pool, while Mladost was better than Jadran Split 13-12 at the Mladost outdoor swimming pool along the Sava.

Interestingly, Solaris took a 2-0 lead, but Jug equalized to 2-2 by the end of the first quarter, and then won the second and third quarters 10-2. The Dubrovnik side was convincing in the last period with 5-2, for the final score of 17-6.

Jug AO was led to victory by Obradovic, who scored six goals, and Fatovic, who scored three goals. Solaris, on the other hand, had six players who scored one goal each. The second match of this semifinal meeting will be played on Friday, July 3, in Sibenik.

In the second semifinal match on Wednesday, Jadran met Mladost in Zagreb. 

Mladost led 4-0 lead, and at the beginning of the last quarter, they were up by five goals (10-5). However, a rocky ending gave the Zagreb club a narrow victory. Jadran managed a score of 7-3 in the last quarter, threatening Mladost's secure celebration.

Mladost was led to victory by Cuk, who scored four goals, while Harkov scored three goals, and Milos and Bukic scored two goals each. Setka was the best for Jadran with four goals, and Krapic followed with three goals to be the most efficient among the visiting team.

The second semifinal match is on Saturday in Split.

Recall, two victories are needed in the semifinal round to secure a spot in the final. Thus, a third semifinal game is theoretically possible.

Source: HRT

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March 5, 2020 - Jadran Split, Jug Dubrovnik, and Mladost Zagreb featured in the LEN Champions League 10th round this week. 

Mladost opened the LEN Champions League 10th round for Croatian clubs in Group B with a win against Waspo Hannover (18-12) on Tuesday and is one step closer to reaching the Final Eight.

Luka Bukic and Lovre Milos were the best for Mladost with four goals each, while Hanover was led by Aleksandar Radovic, also with four goals.

OSC Budapest leads Group B with 22 points, Ferencvaros and Pro Recco have 20 points each and a match less, while Mladost is fourth with 19 points.

These clubs are followed by Terrassa with 13 points, Marseille with 10, Waspo Hannover with six, and in the last place is Dinamo Tbilisi with three points.

In Group A, Jadran Split defeated Hungarian club Szolnoki 13-9 (3-1, 5-2, 2-4, 3-2) at Poljud on Tuesday

Jadran Split was led by Nathan Power with three goals, while Duje Pejkovic and Ivan Krapic scored two each. Radomir Drasovic was the best for Szolnoki with four goals.

The second representative in Group A, Jug Dubrovnik, beat Sintez Kazan 14-10 and at least temporarily takes the top spot in the standings. 

Jug led from the first minute and never lost an advantage against the weakest team in the group.

Vjekoslav Kobescak’s team was up by four goals on several occasions, with the visitors having the greatest lead at the beginning of the last quarter when it was 10-5.

Jug was led by Loren Fatovic with five goals, while Javier Garcia and Hrvoje Benic scored two goals each. The most efficient for Sintez was Adel Latipov, Sergei Lisunov and Nikolai Lazarev with three goals each.

Jug leads Group A with 24 points, followed by Barceloneta with 22 points, who also has a game less, while Olympiacos is in third with 19 points and the match is less.

The 11th round of the LEN Champions League will be played from April 10-11.

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February 23, 2020 - Mladost Zagreb, Jug Dubrovnik, and Jadran Split played in the 9th round of the LEN Champions League this week.

Mladost Zagreb lost to current European champion Ferencvaros 6-9 (0-2, 1-2, 3-3, 2-2) in the LEN Champions League 9th round game in Group B, played at the Sava Pool on Thursday.

Lovre Milos and Konstantin Kharkov scored two goals for Mladost, while Marton Vamos and Nicolas Constantin-Bicari scored two each for Ferencvaros.

Mladost missed the opportunity to increase the score in the first two quarters when they scored just one goal. On the other hand, the Budapest club scored the first two goals of the game at the very end of the first quarter and took control of the match.

Thanks to goals by Kharkov and Milos at the very beginning of the third quarter, Mladost was down by one (3-4), but Ferencvaros responded via Constantin-Bicari and Varga and returned to a three-goal advantage.

In the final quarter, after Bukic's goal for 5-7, there was a confrontation between Biljaka and Jansik. After long deliberation, the referees decided to punish Mladost with a player less for four minutes. The game thus ended 6-9.

With the away win against Szolnok 16:12 (4:4, 5:3, 5:3, 2:2), Jug Dubrovnik returned to second place in Group A. Recall, Jug was behind the leading Barceloneta, who beat Olympiakos away 15-9.

Jug dominated from the beginning of the match and started with a 3-0 lead. Szolnok was in trouble early. Still, by the end of the first quarter, Szolnok recovered and equalized at 4-4.

Jug did not allow the Hungarian club to get ahead at any point in the game - and was up 8-5 with a 3-0 series. From that point on, Jug had an easy finish for the 16-12 result.

Toni Popadic made 13 saves for Jug, while Loren Fatovic and Hrvoje Benic scored four goals each. Daniel Angyal, Gavril Subotic, David Jansik, and Radomir Drasovic scored two goals each for Szolnok.

With this victory, Jug directly helped Jadran Herceg Novi, who is now fourth place in Group A. That win came against Jadran Split (14-11).

Namely, Jadran Herceg Novi achieved a crucial victory against Jadran Split. With a 14-11 score, they continue the fight for the final eight.

Jadran Split held their own until the final quarter, in what was otherwise a fair fight. The Montenegrin club eventually celebrated in the end.

Petar Tesanovic led Jadran Herceg Novi with 15 saves, while Uros Vucurovic scored five goals and Konstantin Averka scored three. For Jadran Split, Andelo Setka scored three goals, while van Domagoj Zovic, Duje Pejkovic and Ante Viskovic scored two.

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February 6, 2020 - The eighth round of the LEN Champions League was held on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, featuring Croatian clubs Jug, Jadran, and Mladost.

The Jug Adriatic water polo team has made a big step towards the final eight after defeating Olympiacos 13:9 in the eighth round of Group A of the Champions League group stage, beating the Greek champions for the first time.

The Dubrovnik squad booked a decisive victory against the 2019 European finalist, and the key was the second quarter, which Jug won 5:1.

Olympiakos led 3:1, but Jug woke up and scored six goals in a row to lead 7:3. At half time, Vjekoslav Kobešćak's team had a five-goal advantage (9:4) and, in the continuation of the match, managed to maintain their edge.

Paulo Obradovic, Loren Fatovic and Luka Loncar each contributed to the win with three goals, while Toni Popadic was excellent in goal. The most efficient for Olympiacos was Maro Jokovic and Stefan Mitrovic with two goals each.

In the second match of this group, Jadran lost to Barceloneta 12:16 away and recorded their sixth defeat. The Split team held up well in the first three quarters and were losing 10:11 in the final eight minutes. However, Barceloneta was better 5:2 in the last quarter.

Alvaro Granados was the most efficient for Barceloneta with five goals and Alexandre Bodegas scored four goals, while Rino Buric, Ivan Domagoj Zovic, and Nathan Power were the best for Jadran with two goals each.

Barceloneta and Olympiacos are tied for the top spot in Group A with 19 points, while Jug is in second place with 18 points.

The third Croatian representative in the Champions League, Mladost Zagreb, defeated Marseille 14:11 as a guest in the 8th round of Group B of the Champions League.

Mladost is fourth in the rankings with 16 points, the same number of points as OSC in third, while Marseille is in sixth with nine points. At the top is Pro Recco with 20 points and Ferencvaros with 17 points.

You can see the full LEN Champions League table here.

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November 10,  2019 - Jadran Split gave favorites Jug their first loss of the Champions League this season, while Mladost celebrated in Spain against CN Terrassa. 

On Friday night, Jadran Split celebrated one of their biggest victories in recent years. In the fourth round of the LEN Champions League, they defeated Dubrovnik’s Jug AO 12:11 to the delight of five hundred fans at the Poljud pool.

Already three minutes into the game, Loren Fatovic scored for 1:3 Jug, and it seemed that each of their attacks ended in a goal. However, Jadran then closed the pathways to Mate Anic’s goal, blocked a few shots and managed to reduce the score to 2:3 - and in the last second of the first quarter, Jug scored their 4th goal thanks to Paolo Obradovic who hit the net at the sound of the siren.

Ante Viskovic, a former Jug player, scored at the start of the second quarter for 3:5 and then reduced to score to 4:5. Marin Delic then made it to 5:6 and Jadran entered the second half of the game with a very promising 5:6.

The result looked even more promising when Delic equalized for 6:6 just eight seconds into the third quarter. Jug missed on two extra-man occasions though Loncar scored to give Jug back the lead at 6:7. Jadran, however, was still in the game. Zovic stole the ball in defense, played the counter, and Duzevic equalized with a player up at 7:7. Zovic then hit a penalty for Jadran, which Popadic defended. Jug managed a new lead thanks to Merkulov and Zhuvel for 7:9.

Duzevic, reduced the score to 8:9, then with another fantastic goal for the 9:9 equalizer. Buric gave Jadran their first lead of the game at 10:9, and off Delic's assist, Buric increased the lead to 11:9 with less than three minutes to go.

Jug made it 11:10  with 2.14 minutes to go, and in the next attack, managed to equalize. With a minute and a half to go, it was 11:11. The dramatic final minute saw Viskovic give Jadran the lead at 12:11. Anic defended Garcia’s shot, and Jadran had given Jug their first Champions League loss of the season. 

In the 5th round, Jug welcomes Sintez Kazan, while Jadran visits Szolnoki. 

Mladost recorded a win in the 4th round of Champions League Group B held in Spain against CN Terrassa 14:11 (3: 3, 4: 2, 6: 4, 1: 2).

Josip Vrlic was the best for Mladost with three goals, while Lovre Milos, Cosmin Radu, Franko Lazic and Alex Bowen each scored two. Bernat Sanahuja (3) led the hosts. Ivan Marcelic achieved a respectable 10 saves for Mladost.

In Group B, Ferencvaros leads with a maximum of 12 points, Pro Recco has 10, OSC Budapest 9 and Mladost 7 points.

In the 5th round, Mladost welcomes Hanover. 

Source: LEN Champions League

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October 31, 2019 - Jadran Split, Jug Dubrovnik, and Mladost Zagreb all appeared in the third round of the LEN Champions League this week. 

Jadran Split suffered their second defeat in the Champions League on Tuesday. In the third round of Group A, Jadran lost in Kazan to Sintez 16:11 (4:3, 4:4, 5:2, 3:2).

The Russian side scored two goals in the first two minutes to lead 2:0. Jadran quickly responded, and Rino Buric scored twice to equalize 2:2. Jadran’s first and only lead of the match came in the 11th minute when Zovic scored for 6:5.

Sintez answered with three consecutive goals, but before the end of the second quarter, Delic reduced their lead to 8:7. The third quarter was crucial, in which Sintez scored five goals for 13:9. The game ended 16:11. 

Jug AO played right after Jadran on Tuesday and defeated German club Spandau 04 12:7 (2:4, 2:2, 3:0, 5:1) in the third round of Champions League, thus topping Group A.

Jug did not enter the game well, with Spandau 04 leading 4:2 after the first quarter - and they even maintained their two-goal lead after halftime (6:4). Jug, however, showed their worth in the second half. 

The third quarter saw a turnaround, and with goals by Loren Fatovic, Luka Lozina, and Filip Krzic, the Dubrovnik side reached their first lead of the game (7:6). After three and a half minutes in the last quarter, they increased their lead to 10:6, and their victory was all but confirmed. Jug went on to win 12:7.

Loren Fatovic was great for Jug with six goals, while Lozina and Alexandros Papanastasiou added two. 

In the fourth round on November 8, Jadran and Jug will meet in Split. 

In the 3rd round of Group B on Wednesday, Mladost played 11:11 against the mighty Pro Recco, led by former Croatia national team coach Ratko Rudic, and managed the draw in the last second of the match.

Mladen deservedly scored a point against the most expensive team in the world to record 24 wins in their last 24 Champions League games.

Mladost led 2:1 after the first quarter, at halftime, they were up 6:5, and in the middle of the third quarter, they were up by two (7:5). However, Pro Recco led 8:7 by the end of the third quarter, then 10:9 and 11:10 in the last leg. The Italian side scored for 11:10 with three seconds to go, and it seemed that would be the end. However, Mladost managed to equalize in the time remaining, and the hero of the match became Cosmin Radu, who scored for 11:11. 

The best player for Mladost was Luka Bukic, who scored three goals and Milos Cuk, who scored two goals, while Ivan Marcelic had eight saves. For Pro Recco, Filip Filipovic, Francesco di Fulvio, Dusan Mandic were the most efficient with two goals. 

It was a collision of the teams that together have the most European Championship titles - Pro Recco 8, Mladost 7. Pro Recco, however, has been waiting for the European title since 2015, while Mladost hasn’t been the best in Europe since 1996.

Mladost currently sits in 4th place of Group B and will visit the Spanish team Terrassa on November 9. 

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