Zodiac CNAB completed a magnificent run by extending their winning streak to 34 matches, a sequence that culminated in the Champions League trophy after a long 12-year wait. After defeating title-holders FTC in the semis, they edged Pro Recco 17-16 in the highest-scoring final in history, battling back from a three-goal deficit. In the space of 48 hours, they brought down the winners of the previous six editions, making their triumph thoroughly deserved. Earlier, the bronze medal went to FTC, who also showed great resilience. They fought back from two goals down and finished strongly, producing a 7-2 run to overcome Olympiacos.
2025/26 Champions League Men
Final 4, Finals
Saturday 13 June
Gold Medal Game
Zodiac CNAB (ESP) 17-16 Pro Recco (ITA)
(6-6, 5-6, 3-2, 3-2)
Bronze Medal Game
FTC Telekom Waterpolo (HUN) 16-13 Olympiacos SFP (GRE)
(5-4, 4-5, 2-2, 5-2)
Gold Medal Game
Zodiac CNAB (ESP) 17-16 Pro Recco (ITA)
(6-6, 5-6, 3-2, 3-2)
When CNAB’s Unai Aguirre made his first save in the opening few seconds of the final, experience suggested Recco would find it difficult to beat the Spanish goalkeeper – especially after his team-mates raced into a 2-0 lead.
Alberto Munarriz made his first attempt count with a superb lob, before Biel Gomila added a fine goal from the centre.
Mateo Iocchi Gratta then found the net after an exclusion and that kick-started Recco’s offence. From that point on, they gave Aguirre little chance, as pinpoint shots repeatedly found their target.
The Spaniards managed to keep pace throughout the first period, however, as their own sharpshooters answered with a barrage of goals to produce the highest-scoring opening quarter in a Champions League final, with six goals apiece.
It felt as though the first team to string together a couple of saves might gain a decisive advantage.
A loose ball during a man-up certainly didn’t help CNAB’s cause as Recco struck twice in 84 seconds to move two goals clear for the first time.
Midway through the second period, they had already stretched their lead to three at 7-10 before Marc Valls converted his second man-up opportunity.
Fellow Spaniard Alvaro Granados then beat Aguirre on extra to make it 8-11.
Still, Barceloneta kept fighting. Gergo Burian and Alessandro Velotto netted back-to-back action goals to cut the deficit to a single goal.
Yet CNAB’s defence had no answer to Recco’s six-on-fives, with Francesco Cassia’s strike maintaining their perfect conversion rate at 8-for-8.
A fine move and Roger Tahull’s finish from the post brought Barceloneta back to 11-12 by half-time.
Even so, this was a very different story for the Spaniards, who had conceded only nine goals against FTC in the semifinals two days earlier.
CNAB drew level just 36 seconds into the third period as Unai Biel converted a man-up from the wing for 12-12.
What followed was a complete departure from the script. Aguirre produced a save on Rino Buric’s effort from the centre and that gave the Spaniards a huge lift.
At the same time, Recco’s confidence began to fade and they failed to score for more than four minutes.
Barceloneta took full advantage. Although Gianmarco Nicosia stopped Munarriz’s penalty, a well-worked move found Roger Tahull on the two-metre line during a man-up and he put his side ahead for the first time since 6-5.
Condemi ended the Italians’ six-minute scoring drought with a fine finish in a man-up, but CNAB executed their next six-on-five perfectly, with Alejandro Bustos tipping the ball in for 14-13.
The Spaniards then killed off a man-down and had an opportunity to double their lead, but Nicosia came up with a big save before Francesco Cassia produced a moment of magic from the centre, a position he rarely occupies.
CNAB survived a clear three-on-two situation while a player down and their defensive heroics kept the score locked at 14-14 heading into the final eight minutes.
Recco’s shots continued to find blocks and posts in the fourth, while a patient Barceloneta attack earned a penalty.
Nicosia saved it, but the rebound fell kindly for the Spaniards, who retained possession, earned a man-up and Biel flashed the ball in for 15-14.
Aguirre delivered a crucial stop in the next man-down and CNAB went straight down the other end and earned an exclusion. Following a time-out, they had a chance to move two goals ahead, and after the play developed into a six-on-four, Biel was on target once again.
Condemi’s shot then bounced in off Aguirre’s hands during the following man-up, adding another twist to an already gripping contest.
CNAB survived the next man-down, but a block also denied the Spaniards in their own six-on-five.
Recco attempted to drag the game into a battle of extreme physicality as the Barceloneta players increasingly showed signs of fatigue.
Their shots began to lose some sharpness, but through sheer determination they survived another man-down before forcing one of their own.
Following a time-out, Burian produced a trademark finish from a near-impossible angle to restore a two-goal lead with 1:39 remaining.
Recco responded with full force and Iocchi Gratta’s blistering strike brought them back to 17-16.
Then came a turnover foul and a man-up for Recco with 57 seconds left, which also led to the exclusion of CNAB’s Fran Fernandez after a heated reaction to the sequence of calls.
However, the Spanish defence produced an enormous effort to end the man-up with a steal. They then had 38 seconds to manage the clock and Valls did everything he could, forcing a corner with 11 seconds remaining.
That was all CNAB needed as they closed out the game and completed an outstanding season, extending their winning streak to 34 matches and securing the Champions League trophy for the first time in 12 years.
Defeating FTC and Recco, the winners of the previous six editions, within 48 hours is an extraordinary achievement and one that makes this triumph thoroughly deserved.
Bronze Medal Game
FTC Telekom Waterpolo (HUN) 16-13 Olympiacos SFP (GRE)
(5-4, 4-5, 2-2, 5-2)
FTC’s current team are not really used to playing for bronze medals. Since Balazs Nyeki took over the side in the summer of 2023, he’s led Fradi to finals in every competition and won every gold medal on offer, claiming 10 titles in a row.
Falling to beat CNAB in the shootout two days ago in Malta was a painful blow, so this match was a great test of character for them.
At the same time, Olympiacos were never really in their semifinal against Recco, and unlike FTC, they didn’t come close to reaching another Champions League final, or adding to the three appearances they achieved across four years between 2016 and 2019 (winning in 2018 before falling to Fradi in 2019).
When the bronze medal game got underway on Saturday evening in front of a packed arena, it looked like one team was still in mourning, with two lazy attacks, while the Greeks forced a penalty through Konstantinos Kakaris.
Alexandros Papanastasiou buried it before Evangelos Pouros tipped the ball in from the post on man-up to double their lead.
That second strike prompted an immediate response from Nyeki – a full-scale substitution.
Those coming in from the Fradi bench quickly changed the course of the game as Zsombor Vismeg and Gergo Fekete struck in the space of 35 seconds to make it 2-2.
Fekete missed Fradi’s first man-up attempt, then Soma Vogel – who almost got a hand to Papanastasiou’s earlier penalty – this time saved compatriot Gergo Zalanki’s shot from the 5m line.
Akos Nagy then hammered in a third from distance to highlight the Greeks’ recent woes in goal.
A fortunate rebound helped Olympiacos draw level as Ioannis Alafragkis tipped the ball in during a six-on-five.
Marton Vamos replied instantly, also on extra, for 4-3. Vogel produced another big stop in a man-down, denying a close-range effort, but Ioannis Fountoulis’ shot was precise enough to make it 4-4 with 30 seconds remaining.
There was still enough time for Fradi to regain the lead, however. Dusan Mandic sent the ball home from a six-on-five with 0.8 seconds left on the clock, making it clear that whenever their shots were on target, they were finding the net as the saves tally stood at 4-0 at that stage.
Panagiotis Tzortzatoz then came up with a denial straight away in the second quarter, making his first save to keep out Marton Vamos’ 6m blast, but Vendel Vigvari beat him from the next man-up.
Just when Fradi thought things might become easier, they suddenly found themselves trailing 6-8 within four minutes.
They missed three extras in a row as the Greeks repeatedly came up with crucial blocks, while at the other end they found shooting lanes from both man-ups and action.
Daniel Angyal also netted a fine counterattack after an excellent steal.
This time a time-out followed, along with another long-range rocket from Fekete, but Zalanki answered from the perimeter to make it 7-9.
Olympiacos then had a great chance to move three goals clear, only for Fountoulis to hit the bar from a penalty.
It proved a crucial miss as Fradi quickly drew level again, with the two left-handers, Marton Vamos and Akos Nagy, scoring from the perimeter within a span of 43 seconds.
Fradi killed a man-down shortly before the middle break, though the level of their defence remained somewhat telling.
The half-time score of 9-9 was exactly the same as it was at full-time in Thursday’s semifinal against CNAB.
And even though they had survived the scare of trailing by three, they soon found themselves two goals behind again in similar fashion.
Missed man-ups were followed by clinical Greek finishing. This time Dimitrios Nikolaidis scored back-to-back goals, first converting an extra before producing a brilliant finish from the centre to make it 9-11.
Fradi continued to struggle. Stylianos Argyropoulos hit the post from an extra, but they recovered the rebound and Dusan Mandic produced an outstanding lob.
Tzortzatoz made another fine stop in a man-down, but this time the Greeks were unable to capitalise on their defensive work as they missed their next two extras.
Szilard Jansik’s excellent action goal then levelled matters once again at 11-11 with 2:25 remaining.
The defences stepped up from there, while both offences also showed signs of fatigue, and no further goals arrived before the final break.
A man-up in the first minute of the fourth period ended the Greeks’ scoreless run after more than six minutes as Alafragkis converted from the post.
Argyropoulos then hit the post from a man-up, but shortly afterwards Krisztian Manhercz managed to force the ball into the net through a crowd of arms from action.
Olympiacos’ offence wasn’t clicking as effectively this time, while Fradi earned a six-on-four.
Argyropoulos, who had been well below his usual standards, buried the chance to put Fradi ahead for the first time in a long while, and they doubled their advantage soon afterwards as Mandic took care of business from the perimeter.
Still, there was 3:46 left to play and Zalanki pulled one back from a six-on-five for 14-13.
However, fellow left-hander Vamos had a clean look in a man-up to restore the two-goal cushion.
The next Greek extra fell victim to a moment of minor turmoil as the defenders reacted well to the quick pass, though it was difficult to judge whether everyone was fully in line with the rules…
Fradi called a time-out after earning a man-up and, even though their shots were off target, the rebounds twice fell kindly for them before the third phase finally paid off with Vendel Vigvari sealing the contest at 16-13 with 51 seconds remaining.
After back-to-back titles, Fradi claimed the bronze medal, repeating their achievement from 2022, while Olympiacos had to settle for fourth place.
Elvis Fatovic’s players produced an excellent performance in this final match, but Fradi outpaced them in the second half.
The Greek club can still leave Malta with plenty of satisfaction, however, as their ladies are bringing the women’s trophy home.
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Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics
