October 20, 2019 - Croatian water polo clubs Jug, Jadran, and Mladost played their second-round LEN Champions League games over the weekend. 

HRT reports that Jug AO registered their second win in the second round of Group A after topping Spain's Barceloneta 13-15 (2-4, 3-3, 6-3, 4-3) in Dubrovnik. Paulo Obradovic was massive for Jug with six goals. 

Barceloneta led 3-2 two minutes before the end of the first quarter and held the lead for a long time - and on two occasions, they were up by three goals. But in the third quarter, Jug scored six consecutive goals, coming from 5-8 to an 11-8 lead.

Barceloneta scored two goals in the last minute of the third quarter and Jug entered the final quarter with a minimal lead of 11-10. A minute and a half into the last quarter, goals by Paul Obradovic and Loren Fatovic pushed Jug to 13-10, and by the end of the match, Jug’s victory was no longer in question.

Paulo Obradovic was the best for Jug with six goals, while Loren Fatovic scored three. Alvaro Ortega led Barceloneta with four goals.

The second Croatian representative in Group A, Jadran Split, won their first point against Berlin club Spandau 04 with a 12-12 (4-5, 2-3, 4-3, 2-1) result in Split.

At no point in the game did the Jadran have an advantage. The German side also led by three goals during the second and third quarters - and Jadran’s first equalizer only came thanks to Buric's goal for 11-11 in the middle of the final quarter. 

Spandau led again, though Buric equalized with a goal with just over 3 minutes to go to make it 12-12. By the end of the match, both teams missed several chances to win, the last of which was Jadran’s Butic, though his last-second shot was defended by Spandau's goalkeeper.

Zvonimir Butic scored three goals for Jadran, with two added by Rino Burić, Nathan Power, and Antonio Dužević. Tiberiu Negrean was the best for Spandau with four goals.

After two rounds in Group A, Jug, the Olympiacos, and Szolnoki have the maximum six points.

Mladost met Dinamo Tbilisi 21:11 (8: 2, 3: 1, 6: 4, 4: 4) in the 2nd round of the Champions League Group B on Saturday in Zagreb.

Cosmin Radu was the best for Mladost with five goals, while Lovre Milos, Josip Vrlic, Milos Cuk, and Konstantin Kharkov each scored three.

Zagreb-born Marko Jelaca was the best for Dinamo with four goals.

Recall, Mladost lost to OSC in Budapest at the start of the Champions League 10:13. 

In Group B, Ferencvaros leads with six points, while Mladost, Pro Recco, Terrassa, and OSC Budapest have three, though Mladost has one match more. 

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September 26, 2019 - Jadran Split will compete in the LEN Champions League for the second consecutive season after defeating French club Strasbourg 12:29 overall in the third round of the qualifiers.

HRT reports that the Jadran Split water polo team have booked another Champions League appearance with one more convincing victory against French club Strasbourg, who they defeated away 16:7 (3:2, 5:2, 3:2, 5:1) in the return match of the 3rd qualification round. Recall, in the first match in Split, Jadran won 13:5. Thus, Jadran joins Dubrovnik's Jug and Zagreb's Mladost in the group stage of elite club competition. This is also the second consecutive season Jadran Split is among the top 16 teams in Europe.

Zvonimir Butic was the most efficient player for the Split team with three goals, while Rino Buric, Marin Vrdoljak, Marin Delic and Antonio Duzević scored twice. Strasbourg was led by Dubrovnik native Pavo Markovic who scored three goals.

Jadran Split will play in Group A of the Champions League alongside Jug AO from Dubrovnik, Sintez Kazan from Russia, Szolnoki from Hungary, Jug Herceg Novi from Montenegro, Barceloneta from Spain, Spandau 04 from Germany and Olympiacos from Greece.

Split will host Olympiacos, which is the current Champions League finalist, in the first round on October 8th, while Jug will host Herceg Novi.

In Group B, Mladost will compete against European champions Ferencvaros from Hungary, Hanover from Germany, Pro Recco from Italy, Dinamo Tbilisi from Georgia, Marseille from France, OSC Budapest from Hungary and Terrassa from Spain. 

Mladost will open their competition on October 9th with a visit to OSC in Budapest.

LEN Champions League qualifications - 3rd round

Strasbourg - Jadran ST 7-16 (total 12-29)

Sintez Kazan - Brescia 10-7  (22-20)

Digi Oradea - Terrassa 5-6   (12-16)        

Vouliagmeni - OSC Budapest 6-7  (9-18)

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September 15,  2019 - Water polo club Jadran Split swept their group with three victories in Belgrade this weekend in the second round of the LEN Champions League qualifications, thus securing a spot in the Champions League play-off round next weekend. 

Dalmatinski Portal reports that in the last round on Sunday, Jadran convincingly defeated French club Pays d'Aix Natation. In the first and second round, Jadran topped Greek club Vouliagmeni and hometown heroes Crvena Zvezda. 

The first quarter was off to an unusual start, which saw Pays d'Aix Natation receive three five-meter penalties, all of which they scored. Thus, a 4:4 result after eight minutes of play was excellent for the Split club. In the second quarter, Jadran scored four goals for 4:1, despite the elimination of Nathan Power. A result of 8:5 for Jadran at the half was promising.

The French club no longer had the strength or the ability to get back in the match, and Jadran dominated in the third quarter, which was closed with a goal by Ante Visković for 13:7. Jadran kept their composure until the end of the match, and with a result of 16:9, they secured their second consecutive year in the Champions League play-off round. 

Last season, Jadran’s opponent in the play-off round was Jadran Herceg Novi, who they defeated for a spot in Champions League Group B, where they finished fifth among eight clubs. A job well done in Belgrade gives the Spit club the right to believe that this year, they again have the quality to repeat last year's place among the 16 best teams in Europe. 

The play-off round draw is scheduled for Tuesday. Four pairs will play home and away, and the four winners will then be split into two Champions League groups, with Jug CO and Mladost already qualified from the Croatian clubs.

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As Suzana Varosanec/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 25th of March, 2019, under its new administration and new owners, the popular Jadran hotel group from Crikvenica is expanding rapidly and after taking over Club Adriatic, it is continuing to introduce new facilities in Baško Polje, and is now expanding to the Kvarner region.

Based on the ten-year lease of the Hotel Delfin in Omišalj, business for Jadran is beginning on the island of Krk. The offer was favourable, as can unofficially be revealed. The Crikvenica-based hotel group also signed a long-term lease for three pavilions in Crikvenica. Owing to these business moves, Jadran's accommodation capacities will increase by a significant 139 accommodation units, in Baško Polje there are about 440 new units, and this season Jadran will be able to boast about having a 36 percent higher capacity compared to last year.

And while Hotel Delfin can't be renewed this season for various reasons, this is thankfully not the case for the three pavilions that were once owned by Jadran. Since they are situated at the location of a common entity whose renewal is already in full swing, a makeover awaits.

Namely, from the Adriatic highway to the coast, Jadran's property in Crikvenica is having works carried out at Hotel Ad Turres and on thirteen pavilions, each with 27 rooms as well as works at Hotel Omorika, which will be completed in ten days.

Last year, this hotel group grew by 10 percent more than it did back during 2017, and realised an impressive 416,000 overnight stays, in 2019 they're planning for 437,000 overnight stays, marking an increase of about 6.6 percent. Slovenian guests and Croatian guests have primarily been the main group to stay in Jadran's numerous accommodation facilities, followed by those from Austria and Germany, and a similar tourist structure is expected this season as well.

Congress tourism is still being developed, and after the completion of the welcome renovation of the Omorika and Katarina hotels, Jadran is expecting an increase in those niches, too. In the health sector, however, Jadran has some big plans in synergy with some local health institutions.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for much more.

Click here for the original artice by Suzana Varosanec for Poslovni Dnevnik

March 10, 2019 - Mladen Drnasin’s entire life has been in water polo; he is a child of Jadran, and now, the president of the Croatian Water Polo Federation. As a member of the board of directors of Jadran, he returned the club to the European elite as they compete in the Champions League this season. Under Drnasin’s leadership, the European Water Polo Championships will also be hosted by Croatia, in Split, in 2020. 

Slobodna Dalmacija sat down with Drnasin for an interview about the Croatia national water polo team and what we can expect for the 2022 European Championships spectacle in Split.

Water polo is one of the sports where Croatia is recognized internationally, with the national team usually finding their way to a medal. What do you expect from the national team in the years ahead?

“We already set the pace long ago in 2004, with the tendency to win a medal in every major competition. It is hard to guarantee that in a sport, and sometimes luck is a crucial factor. But we are moving forward with dedicated work, reflection, and by selecting the correct strategy and good planning, have brought it into a position where the impact of luck becomes minimal. For the past ten years, we have succeeded, and I believe that we will continue with the same success.”

Do you believe in Croatia national team coach Ivica Tucak?

“Tucak is a great coach, and we have excellent players and staff. This year, the central event is surely the World Cup in South Korea in July, and next year, along with the European Championships in Budapest, the Olympic Games in Tokyo follow.

It is up to us to prepare in the Federation and create the best situation possible for our young players to get into a position to win a medal, and with that, the coach is to give the maximum.”

Specific to your mandate is certainly hosting the European Championships in Split in 2022. How many people will be involved in this project?

“As many as necessary. It's nice that we are hosting the European Championships. In addition to the support of the City of Split, the County, HOO, SDUŠ, and HTV, the support and concrete assistance of Prime Minister Plenković and the Government of the Republic of Croatia was crucial; I would like to thank all of them sincerely. Split is a city of sports, eager for great sporting events, full of former and current athletes, outstanding sportspeople. It has proved the excellent organization of significant sporting events.

We have already completed preliminary meetings with Mayor of Split Andro Krstulović-Opara, made the initial plans, met with representatives of Spaladium Arena regarding the technical possibilities. In the City of Split, we have the right partner, and we all want to organize this competition flawlessly. I'm confident we will succeed.”

Is Spaladium Arena technically too demanding to organize?

“The European Championships is demanding in itself. Certainly, it would be easier to organize this competition in an already adequate swimming pool, but the Spaladium Arena offers the ambiance, the capacity of the auditorium, the stands, and the accompanying contents within the building itself. We intend to set up two swimming pools inside the hall, one for the competition and the other for warmups, create a new floor level and stay within the capacity of 9,000-10,000 seats, set up video projections, and more.”

Do you believe that the stands will be full?

“I believe they will. The matches of our national team will certainly be well-attended, and apart from a number of foreign water polo fans who accompany their teams to such competitions, we intend, in cooperation with the Tourist Board, to promote the event to foreign tourists who will be in Split at the time and will have the opportunity to watch their national teams in the competition.”

What will remain in Split after the Euro?

“I believe that an outstandingly organized competition and the beautiful impressions of Croatia and Split will remain, and that Split will be further promoted as a destination of beauty, gastronomy, content, and hospitality.”

You can read the full interview on Slobodna Dalmacija here. 

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