December 10, 2019 - In Group A of the LEN Champions League on Monday, Jug AO lost 6:5 to Olympiacos in Piraeus (0:2, 2:1, 2:2, 1:1), while in Group B, Mladost recorded a victory in Zagreb against Marseille 12:11 (4:0, 3:5, 3:1, 2:5).

HRT writes that with this Olympiacos win against Jug in the 7th round, the Greek club remains undefeated in Group A, while Vjekoslav Kobescak’s team recorded their second defeat in the Champions League this season and now have four points less than Olympiacos in first. 

Jug conceded just six goals during the match and Toni Popadic made many as 14 saves. However, that was not enough for the Croatian champion to score at least a point in Piraeus.

The home side entered the game better and after the first quarter, they led 2:0. Olympiacos scored their third goal in the second quarter, and Jug scored their first goal after 12 minutes, reducing the lead to 3:1. In the middle of the third quarter, Jug equalized to 4:4, but it didn’t take long for Olympiacos to lead 6:4. Jug was able to narrow the final score down to 6:5.

Jug had a last-minute attack with an extra man, but failed to equalize.

Konstantinos Mourikis led Olympiacos with two goals and Maro Jokovic, Ivan Buljubasic, Emmanouil Mylonakis and Konstantinos Genidounias also scored.

Jug saw five different shooters, with goals scored by Daniil Mekulov, Alex Papanastasiou, Hrvoje Benic, Paulo Obradovic and Loren Fatovic.

This final Champions League game is followed by an almost two-month break due to representative commitments (Junior World Championships and Senior European Championships).  The next Champions League round will be played on February 4, 2020, when Olympiakos arrives in Dubrovnik.

The second Croatian representative in Group A, Split Jadran, will play their 7th round game on December 13 at home against Barceloneta.

In Group B, Mladost achieved a huge victory by defeating Marseille. Mladost tops the French club by four points with this victory, gaining a considerable advantage over the direct competitor to qualify for the final tournament.

Mladost opened the game brilliantly and led 4:0 after the first quarter. Marseille reduced their lead to 4:2 in the second leg, and at the end of that stretch, it was 6:5. The Zagreb club scored two for 7:5, and Marseille managed to reduce the score again to -1 (7:6). 

With three goals, Mladost led 10:6, and at the start of the last quarter, with two more goals, they reached a massive advantage of 12:6. While the winner nearly seemed settled then, the French club returned with five goals to bring the result down to 12:11.

Mladost was led by Cosmin Radu, Luka Bukic and Konstantin Kharkov with three goals each, while Ugo Crousillat with three goals was most effective for Marseille. 

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December 5, 2019 - Jug AO, Jadran Split, and Mladost Zagreb played in the 6th round of the LEN Champions League on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. 

Jug AO opened the sixth round of the LEN Champions League in Group A against Hungarian club Szolnoki, winning 14:11 (4:4, 4:3, 3:1, 3:3).

After a precarious start on both sides where the defenses were far from their best, Jug and Szolnoki went goal for goal. Jug was the first to get their act together and towards the end of the second quarter, they were up by two goals. Szolnoki, however, managed to reduce Jug's lead to one. 

In the third quarter, Jug was steadily ahead, with a crucial moment in the last minute when Daniil Merkulov scored three goals (11-8), which turned out to be unattainable for Szolnoki.

Daniil Merkulov was the best for Jug with four goals. Alex Papanastasiou and Paulo Obradovic each scored three goals, Loren Fatovic scored two, while Xavi Garcia and Luka Lozina scored one. 

Jug’s final Champions League game this year is played on Monday, December 9, in Piraeus against the leaders of Group A, Olympiacos.

Jadran Split lost to Jadran Herceg Novi in the sixth round of Group A in the LEN Champions League 6:12. 

Jadran led 1:0 and 2:1, though the Montenegrin club came back for 3:5. At the beginning of the third quarter, Viskovic equalized for 5:5, though Jadran was unable to score more than one more goal for the remainder of the game. Herceg Novi, on the other hand, scored another seven for a final score of 6:12. 

Ante Viskovic was the best for Jadran with two goals, while Buric, Zovic and Delic scored one. 

Jadran will play their final Champions League game this year on Friday, December 13, against Barceloneta.

In the sixth round of the LEN Champions League Group B, Mladost lost to current European champion Ferencvaros in Budapest 5:14 (1:5, 3:2, 0:4, 1:3).

The Hungarian side was up by four goals already after the first quarter (5:1), and at the beginning of the second, it was 6:1. In the third quarter, Ferencvaros also led 11:4, and in the end, the host celebrated 14:5 and registered their fifth victory in Group B, while Mladost suffered their second defeat.

Ferencvaros was led by Marton Gyorgy Vasmos with three goals, while Josip Vrlic scored three goals for Mladost, and Milos Cuk and Cosmin Radu scored one. Mladost goalkeeper Ivan Marcelic recorded 13 saves. 

Mladost plays the final game of Champions League this year on December 9 in Zagreb against Marseille.

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November 21, 2019 - The 5th round of the LEN Champions League was held on Tuesday and Wednesday, which featured Croatian clubs Jadran Split, Jug AO, and Mladost Zagreb.

Jadran Split played an excellent match in the 5th round of Group A against Szolnok in Hungary on Tuesday, though in the end, they lost 5:4. The Split side played with superb defense, goalkeeper Mate Anic had a memorable night, and the brilliant Zvonimir Butic scored all four goals for Jadran.

In the first quarter, only one goal was scored by the home side, and only in the 13th minute did we see the second goal, when Butic equalized for 1:1. Szolnok finished the second quarter with a 3:1 lead, and then in the third led 4:1. Butic reduced the lead to 4:2, and the Hungarian club scored once more in the last eight minutes of the match for 5:2.

Butic again reduced the result to 5:4 in less than two minutes to go. Jadran arrived in Hungary without Setka and Krapic, Pejkovic and Butic,and Zovic. 

Jug AO defeated Russian club Sintez Kazan 18:10 (7:0, 4:2, 4:3, 3:5) at home in the 5th round of Group A. Loren Fatovic was the best for Jug with five goals and Paulo Obradovic scored three. Alexei Bugaychuk was the best for Sintez with three goals.

In the remaining games of Group A,  Olympiacos celebrated at home against Spandau 13:8, and Barceloneta celebrated away against Jadran Herceg Novi 13:12.

Olympiacos has a maximum of 15 points, Jug and Barceloneta follow with 12 points each, Szolnok has nine points and Jadran Split has four points. Sintez follows with three points, Spandau 04 has two,and Jadran Herceg Novi has one.

On Wednesday in the 5th round of Group B, Mladost defeated Hannover 15:13 (4:3, 4:4, 2:3, 5:3) in Zagreb, registering their third victory in the group.

Mladost had a hard but well-deserved victory over the German squad, who recorded their fifth defeat. Hanover only led once in the match (2:1), but the result was equal eight times. The key was brilliantly opening the last quarter, in which Mladost scored three goals for 13:10. Hanover reduced the lead to 13:12, but the home side scored two goals in a row for 15:12 and confirmed the victory.

Milos Cuk was most efficient for Mladost with six goals, Alexander Brant Bowen scored three goals, and Cosmin Radu and Aljosa Kunac scored two goals each, while Ivan Marcelic had seven saves in goal. For Hanover, Aleksandar Radovic scored four goals and Darko Brguljan scored three goals.

In Bologna, Pro Recco went 13:13 against Ferencvaros, breaking their winning streak in Champions League home games, which lasted 33 games.

The last time Pro Recco, led by former Croatia coach Ratko Rudic, did not celebrate at home in Europe was six years ago when Rijeka's Primorje won 8:6.

Ferencvaros leads Group B with 13 points, Hungary's OSC is in second with 12 points, Pro Recco fell to third with 11 points, and Mladost is fourth with 10 points. They are followed by Marseille (9), Terrassa (3), Hanover (0) and Dinamo (0).

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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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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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Jug lost to home-team Szolnoki 10-5

Jug beat the “water-polo dream team” 10-9 in the semi-final match of the LEN Champions League for the second year in a row