It’s clutch time in Group B – most
probably, the top spot will be decided Tuesday evening in the giant clash of
Brescia and Novi Beograd.
There is a lot more at stake in
Brescia – the top spot offers a quarter-final match-up against the other
group’s 4th ranked side (most probably Vouliagmeni); a lot better perspective
than playing against Recco or Olympiacos in case. And the loser of the Brescia
v NBG encounter also needs to deal with the pressure coming from third-placed
Ferencvaros, provided the Hungarians could beat Jug in Dubrovnik.
As for the chances, the top match
takes place in a sensitive period for F8 host Novi Beograd, where in-house
affairs – most recently the suspension of double Olympic champion captain Dusan
Mandic – may have an impact on the team’s performance. This season, Brescia’s
only loss came in Beograd, so the Italians are keen to take a revenge.
In the other game Jug face off
Ferencvaros – the Croats upset NBG in the Regional League semis and clinched
the title, so they’ve already bounced back from their shocking loss on Day 10
in Sabadell. With the lower ranked sides routinely grabbing points from each
other, Jug still seem to be in safe with a six-point advantage, however, a win
would definitely give them more calm for the remaining three rounds. Teams
ranked 5-8th here will play matches against direct rivals – winners may still
have slim hopes to catch up Jug.
In Group A, Barceloneta just need to
cruise all the way after beating Recco and Olympiacos in back-to-back rounds.
It’s hard to see the Spaniards losing the first position, though their trip to
Kragujevac is a kind of last tough test on their road to Belgrade.
Olympiacos and Recco should not have
problems with bagging three points respectively, while Jadran must be on alert
while visiting Tbilisi where Radnicki fell two weeks ago. The Croats have some
chance to make the top four, though Vouliagmeni hold the advantage in case they
finish with equal points.
Day 11, Fixtures
Group B (Tuesday)
19.00 Jug Adriatic Osiguranje
Dubrovnik (CRO) v FTC-Telekom Budapest (HUN)
19.30 Astralpool Sabadell (ESP) v
Genesys OSC Budapest (HUN)
19.30 Spandau 04 Berlin (GER) v CN
Marseille (FRA)
20.30 AN Brescia (ITA) v VK Novi
Beograd (SRB)
Standings: 1. Novi Beograd 25, 2.
Brescia 25, 3. Ferencvaros 21, 4. Jug 14, 5. Spandau 8, 6. Sabadell 7, 7. OSC
7, 8. Marseille 7
Group A (Wednesday)
19.00 (16.00 CET) Dinamo Tbilisi
(GEO) v Jadran Split (CRO)
19.00 (18.00 CET) Olympiacos Piraeus
(GRE) v Waspo 98 Hannover (GER)
19.00 (18.00 CET) NC Vouliagmeni
(GRE) v Pro Recco (ITA)
20.30 VK Radnicki Kragujevac (SRB) v
Zodiac CNA Barceloneta (ESP)
Standings: 1. Barceloneta 27, 2.
Recco 24, 3. Olympiacos 22, 4. Vouliagmeni 14, 5. Jadran 11, 6. Radnicki 9, 7.
Dinamo 6, 8. Hannover 3
Pre-game quotes
Group B
Jug Adriatic Osiguranje Dubrovnik
(CRO) v FTC-Telekom Budapest (HUN)
Vjekoslav Kobescak, coach, Jug
"We are slowly getting in shape
after the defeat and a very bad game in Sabadell. Two victories in the final
tournament of the Regional League and a convincing victory in the semi-finals
of the Croatian Championship gave us the hope for a favourable outcome against
an excellent team like Ferencvaros. Three points would probably secure us a
spot in the F8, and we will do everything to achieve it.”
Toni Popadic, goalie, Jug
“Ferencvaros is one of the best teams
in the Champions League and one of the contenders for the title. In the first
match in Budapest, we were close, unfortunately not close enough. Tomorrow we
will do everything to claim three points, which would mean a lot to us in
achieving our ultimate goal, the Final 8.”
Zsolt Varga, coach, Ferencvaros
“Dubrovnik have two faces. They
played very good matches in this year, they won in the Regional League semis
against Novi Beograd with penalties. On the other hand, I saw some weaker
performance from them. Of course, a weaker performance from Jug would be good
news for us, but most of the time they play well. We are getting ready to face
them, and we want to win in Dubrovnik.”
Stylianos Argyropoulos, player,
Ferencvaros
“I am very excited, I am looking
forward to play there again. I hope a lot of people will come to the pool,
because I believe that it will be a good, tough game. This match is very
important for us. We need to play well as we need these three points. Also, it
is really important for Jug, but I believe we will win the game.”
Astralpool Sabadell (ESP) v Genesys
OSC Budapest (HUN)
Quim Colet, coach, Sabadell
"We face the match against OSC
BUdapest with a lot of desire to win again in our pool, as we did on the day of
Jadran. The team is growing day by day in this competition, and we are very
satisfied with the response from our fans who help us every game. OSC will be a
tough rival, but we are convinced that we will fight until the end for the
victory.”
Edu Lorrio, goalkeeper, Sabadell
“After the important victory last day
at home against Jadran, we also beat Barceloneta in the league game, which has
given us a lot of morale to face the next Champions League games we have. The
OSC game is very important because it is a direct rival and right now they have
the same number of points as us, so we take the game as a true final.”
Daniel Varga, coach, OSC
“Sabadell have been in top form as
they defeated recently Jug Dubrovnik and Barceloneta as well. In our first game
in Budapest we played a game with a lot of ups and downs, but at the end we
were be the happier ones with the three points. They have special tactics in
attack, since they play without lefties. We are preparing against a team
playing with a high intensity and diverse tactical solutions. And I think both
teams still have a slim chance for the Final 8.”
Gergely Burian, player, OSC
“Sabadell is a very unpleasant team
to play against – they have a really good defence with lots of young players.
They made it difficult for other teams to win at their home, so we need to give
100% to bring home all three points, and to keep our chance to get in to the
final 8. To achieve that, we must win. All in all, we are going to give the
best of ourselves, and win.”
Spandau 04 Berlin (GER) v CN
Marseille (FRA)
Peter Rohle, team manager, Spandau
“There are no weak teams in our
group. Over the course of the season, we have seen excellent matches with
surprising results time and again. Marseille is an excellent team, much better
than their current position in the rankings indicates. Spandau suffered a clear
defeat in Marseille. We want to take revenge for this, but we have to give 100
percent of our performance. We expect a
great crowd and with the support of our fans we will do everything to show a
strong game and keep the points in Berlin.”
Luca Marziali, player, Spandau
“This game is a tipping point for our
season, if we win, we can keep fighting to reach the final 8. Marseille is in
the same situation so it will be a very interesting game. They are one of the
best teams in Champions League, but they have to come to our house where it
hasn’t been easy for anyone this year.”
Milos Scepanovic, coach, Marseille
"We have four matches left in
the Champion’s League, it’s up to us to give our maximum to qualify for the
Final 8. Four teams are fighting like us to clinch a place. We are working for
it and time is with us. It’s up to us to give everything against this great
team from Spandau 04 Berlin who are having a great season. I have confidence in
my team, we have found a good dynamic."
Ugo Crousillat, player, Marseille
"It’s a crucial match which can
allow us by winning it to be still in the race for the Final 8 so we are
extremely motivated."
AN Brescia (ITA) v VK Novi Beograd (SRB)
Alessandro Bovo, coach, Brescia
“This is a key game for the first
place which is our goal. Let's play with one of the candidates for the title, a
team with a lot of quality. We are good, we are growing, we need a great match,
we need a great help from the public.”
Zivko Gocic, coach, Novi Beograd
“This will be one more very tough
game in a row for us. We are playing against Brescia, a great team which had
the most constant performance in the last three or four years in Europe. They
are playing on a very high level, but we know very well their qualities and
weaknesses and we will try to prepare in the best possible way. I believe that
we will be ready, and we will be able to play at maximum level. If we do that,
we can hope to have a chance for a good result. For sure, the game will be very
interesting.”
Djordje Vucinic, player, Novi Beograd
“Brescia is a very tough opponent.
They are one of the best teams in Europe at the moment. The fact is that we won
the first game at home, but we are expecting a hard battle. Brescia has quality
players, most of them are national team players and because of that we have a
huge respect for them. We will do our best to win this game in Italy, because
that win will give us a chance to be first in Group B at the end of the group
stage.”
Group A
Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO) v Jadran Split
(CRO)
Zuka Rurua, coach, Dinamo
“In the first game we looked very bad
against Split, so now we will certainly try to show a much better game. Our
last matches also prove that we can achieve success with such teams. It will be
very important to neutralize their leading players.”
Saba Tkheshelashvili, player, Dinamo
“After this last two successful games
in the Champions League we must maintain this level and continue winning streak
against Jadran and do our maximum.”
Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE) v Waspo 98
Hannover (GER)
Karsten Seehafer, coach, Hannover
“A victory against Spandau in the
German Cup is one thing, but our young players need the experience of games
like this. I hope we are able to play on level with them, we will try our
best.”
Marco Macan, player, Hannover
“Another chance to gain experience
against a top team from Athens. We try to make the best possible impression,
but our focus is definitely on the final of the German Championship.
NC Vouliagmeni (GRE) v Pro Recco
(ITA)
Vladimir Vujasinovic, coach,
Vouliagmeni
“There are still four games left in
the group stage and we have to use every match to make some progress. It is a
great honour for our club that we are in a situation to host and play with
teams like Recco and I hope that we will play a great game.”
Aristeidis Chalyvopoulos, player,
Vouliagmeni
“Our next game with Pro Recco is a
great challenge for us to test ourselves against the back-to-back champion. We
will face them without pressure, trying to perform at our best. We should start
the game like we played the second half in Italy and hope to have a great match
so that we and also the crowd will enjoy it.”
Sandro Sukno, coach, Pro Recco
"We face a team that is playing
very well and is a revelation from our group. For us, all matches are starting
to be decisive, the end of the season is coming, and we want to grow match by
match. There are four games left and we want to win all four starting on
Wednesday.”
VK Radnicki Kragujevac (SRB) v Zodiac
CNA Barceloneta (ESP)
Uros Stevanovic, coach, Radnicki
“We will try to do better than in our
previous three games against Barceloneta in the last two years. We were not
competitive in any moment of those games, and I hope we will correct that.”
Bogdan Gavrilovic, player, Radnicki
“After the unacceptable defeat in
Georgia, another difficult game awaits us, with one of the best European teams.
I hope that we will play a better game and give our fans the spectacle they
deserve.”
Elvis Fatovic, coach, Barceloneta
“They are a young team with a good
coach who played well against Olympiacos. They will surely be motivated because
they are playing in their own pool. We must play as well as we can because the
Final 8 is approaching. Every match is important.”
Unai Aguirre, goalkeeper, Barceloneta
“We will approach this game as if it
is a key game in the season. It’s the last tough game we play away from home.
It is obvious that this is not their best season in the competition, but we
know that they have players with great quality, Cuk, Ukropina and one of the
best centre-forwards in the world Vrlic. We go with maximum concentration and
desire.”
Miguel De Toro, player, Barceloneta
“In my opinion, they are a tough
team. They have a good centre, the best in the world, also good shooters. I
think for the moment, half of Europe know that they are having problems with
some players, but I think this only makes them more dangerous. We need to be so
concentrated and play as we did in recent weeks.”
Facts & Figures
Group B
Jug Adriatic Osiguranje Dubrovnik
(CRO) v FTC-Telekom Budapest (HUN)
Last five matches:
Jug: DWLWL – FTC: WWWLW
Last round:
Jug: 12-15 Sabadell (away) – FTC:
12-8 Spandau (home)
Recent encounters:
Day 4: 7-9. 2021-22, quarter-final:
13-14. 2018-19, quarter-final: 9-10
Astralpool Sabadell (ESP) v Genesys
OSC Budapest (HUN)
Last five matches:
Sabadell: WLLLW – OSC: DLLLD
Last round:
Sabadell: 15-12 Jug (h) – OSC: 14-14
Brescia (h)
Recent encounters:
Day 4: 8-9
Spandau 04 Berlin (GER) v CN
Marseille (FRA)
Last five matches:
Spandau: LLWLL – Marseille: LLLWL
Last round:
Spandau: 8-12 FTC (a) – Marseille:
4-11 NBG (a)
Recent encounters:
Day 4: 7-14. 2021-22: 7-12, 7-13.
2020-21: 5-8, 7-7
AN Brescia (ITA) v VK Novi Beograd
(SRB)
Last five matches:
Brescia: WWWWD – NBG: LWWWW
Last round:
Brescia: 14-14 OSC (a) – NBG: 11-4
Marseille (h)
Recent encounters:
Day 4: 9-11. 2021-22: 16-13, 11-11,
semi-final: 13-14
Group A
Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO) v Jadran Split
(CRO)
Last five matches:
Dinamo: LLLWW – Jadran: DLLWD
Last round:
Dinamo: 13-8 Radnicki (h) – Jadran:
10-10 Vouliagmeni (h)
Recent encounters:
Day 4: 7-21. 2021-22: 13-15, 12-11
Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE) v Waspo 98
Hannover (GER)
Last five matches:
Olympiacos: WWDWL – Hannover: WLLLL
Last round:
Olympiacos: 5-10 Barceloneta (a) –
Hannnover: 4-21 Recco (a)
Recent encounters:
Day 4: 16-7. 2018-19: 9-9, 17-7
NC Vouliagmeni (GRE) v Pro Recco
(ITA)
Last five matches:
Vouliagmeni: LWWLD – Recco: WWWLW
Last round:
Vouliagmeni: 10-10 Jadran (a) –
Recco: 21-4 Hannover (h)
Recent encounters:
Day 4: 7-14
VK Radnicki Kragujevac (SRB) v Zodiac
CNA Barceloneta (ESP)
Last five matches:
Radnicki: DLDLL – Barceloneta: LWWWW
Last round:
Radnicki: 8-13 Dinamo (a) –
Barceloneta: 10-5 Olympiacos (h)
Recent encounters:
Day 4: 9-18. 2021-22: 7-13, 3-9
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