Amidst picturesque settings, a joint men’s and women’s press conference highlighted the historic event in Malta where the 2026 Champions League Final 4 tournaments will be held together this week. The grand water polo spectacle kicks off with the women’s semis on Wednesday.
Two trophies on the table, with the sea and the sunset in the background – Malta is ready to offer another outstanding edition of the Champions League Final 4, and this time, not only with the men’s teams gathering on the wonderful Mediterranean island but the top women’s sides too.
To highlight the historic milestone European water polo is witnessing, a joint press conference was held on the eve of the great showcase, featuring both the men’s and women’s Final 4 participants.
Honouring the golden rule of ‘Ladies first’ – and the schedule too, as Wednesday will see the two women’s semis – representatives of the women’s Final 4 lined up to share their expectations before the start.
Javier Aznar, the coach of title-holders CN Sant Andreu, said they were ready, “and well prepared to fight with the best teams in the finals”.
Fellow Spanish boss Dani Ballart, in charge of Mataro, insisted: “We trust in our style, the way we play. Claiming the Spanish title gave us great confidence and we are sure we will try to give our best against Olympiacos in our semfinal.”
Georgios Ntoskas commented, “I think all the teams are equal here and all have every chance to grab the title,” the Olympiacos head coach said.
Mark Matajsz, coach of FTC, is feeling some good vibes in and around his team. “Last year, when the event was held earlier, we were still ahead of our championship finals, where we were supposed to win for the very first time.
“That made all of us a bit anxious, and we were newcomers as well. But now it’s different – we claimed all the domestic titles, our thoughts and focus are solely here, on these last two matches. And it would be really nice to celebrate together with our men’s team at the end.”
Fradi’s captain Greta Gurisatti offered a very telling image, “Last season, we were a small, new fish in the big sea. It was already a huge thing for us to be in the Final 4.
“This year, I hope, we’re getting ready to be a shark and win a medal.”
Mataro’s Clara Cambray, reflecting on their previous campaigns, which ended with second and fourth-place finishes, said, “Our team is more balanced this year. We’re approaching the Olympiacos game like it’s a big final, where we need to come up with our best performance.”
The Greeks’ captain Vasiliki Plevritou was on the same page. “I think we’ll have very intense and high-quality games here.
“We know each other very well and we’re all aware that we need to play at the highest level to achieve something special.”
The men’s finals will welcome back the all-time record holders Pro Recco. After being away last season – after overcoming some financial difficulties, they entered only the Euro Cup, which they lifted at the end – the 11-time champions are here again, ready to rock once more.
“We are satisfied with our season so far and expecting a really exciting tournament,” Recco’s coach Sandro Sukno said. “Our semifinal opponents Olympiacos are a really well-organised team, just as all teams here are, so I think both semis will be really interesting.”
Olympiacos coach Elvis Fatovic thinks there aren’t many secrets between the teams. “I don’t think we can cause a big surprise to the others. With the exception of Recco, which is yet to finish its national league, all the other sides won their domestic titles quite dominantly and that shows the strength these teams represent.”
Asked about the good old days when he became the first senior coach of a very young Sandro Sukno back in Dubrovnik, Fatovic responded with a smile. “Coming from the same place, we know each other very well. I have full respect for him and Recco, but we’ll try to do our best to win this semifinal.”
Fran Fernandez was part of many Final 4s as a player and as an assistant coach, but this is going to be his debut as head coach of Zodiac CNAB.
The Spaniards are looking to end a 12-year trophy Champions League drought. “We want to win, though we know we’re playing against the champions of the last two seasons.
“We’ve played well throughout the season and we’re confident we can ruin FTC’s plans.”
Asked about the possible solution to replace injured Vince Vigvari, Fernandez gave this reply, “We cannot replace Vince, it’s not possible. What we can do is believe in our team effort.”
CNAB’s captain Alberto Munarriz put the emphasis on the mental part. “We try to remain focused for these last two matches.
“This is something we’ve prepared for during the season, but we all know everything we’ve achieved so far doesn’t matter now. What matters is the game in front of us, and we’ll try to bring our best effort to the pool.”
As last season’s champions were still travelling to Malta, FTC coach Balazs Nyeki sent this statement to European Aquatics ahead of the press conference, “As we got closer to the Final 4, naturally everyone started thinking more and more about the possibility the team and the club could achieve something great.
“I think no matter how much the pressure of defending the title might weigh on the players, we feel it would be an incredible achievement to join the narrow elite represented by Pro Recco and Mladost Zagreb, by winning the Champions League three times in a row.
“We’d like to belong to that group as well, and if things go our way, we’d like to continue writing our success story.
“At this moment, however, we’re only focused on finding deep inside ourselves that feeling, that hunger for success, which led us to our first Champions League title together.
“We have to jump into the water with the same motivation and fire.”
Olympiacos’ goalie Panagiotis Tzortzatos offered this comment at the press conference: “All of us have been preparing for the whole year to play these two matches and we’re quite excited now.”
Hearing the question that it’s going to be hard to face Recco’s shooters, the goalie hit back with a smile: “It’s going to be hard for them, too.”
Recco’s seasoned captain Francesco Di Fulvio was happy to return to Malta. “Unlike the others, we still have two more titles to play for, but we’re taking it step by step and are now focusing solely on Olympiacos.
“We need to be here 100% mentally. We are talking about three other teams on a very high level, so even if we showed how we could play, we need to give our best to prove that again.”
LOC chair Karl Izzo was also present at the press conference and had this to say: “This year is bigger than the ones before, with the women’s tournament also coming to Malta.
“It’s a great honour for such a small country and association to host such a big event. And it’s not the first one, as we had the World Cup Division Two tournaments here.
“I think this means that European Aquatics and World Aquatics have faith in us, in our organising team. Now, everything is ready to welcome the crème de la crème of water polo to Malta.”
European Aquatics Vice-President Kyriakos Giannopoulos praised the hosts’ efforts.
“Everybody knows that Malta is a very popular destination and that the people here are in love with water polo.
“Now it’s the third year the Final 4 is being held here, and there is a new challenge in hosting the women’s event too, but Malta always has great answers to these challenges.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to see the best players, both men and women, in one place, playing for the biggest prizes.
“We have to give a big thank you to all the players and coaches, as they provide their very best year after year.”
The grand bonanza starts with the women’s semifinals on Wednesday, followed by the men’s semis the following day.
The women’s bronze-medal game and the Champions League Final will be played on Friday, while the medal clashes in the men’s competition are scheduled for Saturday.
For the full Champions League Final 4 fixtures in Malta, click here
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Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics
