1. Fran Fernandez’s first season at the helm of Zodiac CNAB couldn’t have played out any better. He swept every domestic title in Spain before leading his side to Champions League glory, all while overseeing a remarkable 34-game winning streak that stretches back to November.

Malta seems to be a lucky charm for newly appointed head coaches. Two years ago, Balazs Nyeki achieved exactly the same feat with FTC-Telekom. What makes the comparison even more astonishing is how closely their paths mirrored one another.

In 2024, FTC secured a shootout victory over Novi Beograd in the semifinals before defeating Recco 12-11 in the title match. This year, CNAB also claimed a shootout win against Fradi before edging past Recco in the final, 17-16.

Remarkably, they achieved this without Vince Vigvari, who still finished as the competition’s top scorer with 43 goals despite playing two fewer matches than the other leading marksmen. All in all, the next challenge for Fernandez and Barceloneta is clear – retaining the title.

Fernandez also became the 11th member of an exclusive club of winners who have tasted Champions League success as a player and coach – he was a member of CNAB’s triumphant team in 2014 and has now also coached them to the title.

He joins Ivo Trumbic, Dusko Antunovic, Ozren Bonacic, Paolo de Crescenzo, Veselin Djuho, Marco Baldineti, Igor Milanovic, Giuseppe Porzio, Vjekoslav Kobescak and Sandro Sukno.

2. One number captures Recco’s greatness better than any other – this was their 20th Champions League final, including the round-robin tournaments in the competition’s early years, when they either won the title or finished runners-up.

That is almost twice as many appearances as the teams ranked second and third on the all-time list – Partizan Beograd with 11 finals and seven titles, and Mladost Zagreb with 10 finals and seven titles.

Recco’s overall record in finals now stands at 11 wins and nine defeats, while this marked the first time they have lost back-to-back Champions League finals, following their defeat in 2024.

Scoring 35 goals across two matches at a Final Four tournament is an all-time record, yet they still had to settle for silver.

In both the semifinal and final, they made blistering starts, scoring 13 against Olympiacos and 12 against CNAB across the opening two periods.

However, their output dipped sharply after half-time. While that was understandable in the semis, given their substantial lead, in the gold medal game it was alarming to see them score just two goals in the third and fourth periods after producing six per quarter in the first half.

Of course, CNAB’s defence improved significantly. While Recco converted all eight of their man-ups before the middle break, they managed just three goals from 10 attempts afterwards, which proved to be a key factor in their defeat.

3. Several records were set during the Final Four weekend in Malta. Recco and Barceloneta produced the highest-scoring final in competition history with 33 goals, but perhaps the most remarkable achievement belonged to two outstanding players – Alberto Munarriz and Gonzalo Echenique.

Both were part of Barceloneta’s title-winning side in 2014 and, 12 years later, lifted the trophy once again. While Echenique only returned to CNAB for this season, Munarriz fought through those long years with Barceloneta before leading his team back to the summit and claiming the MVP Award.

At the same time, it remains somewhat astonishing that the Champions League trophy – and European club glory – continues to elude Spain’s brightest star, Alvaro Granados. He has won gold medals at major international tournaments with the national team and played a leading role in many of his country’s greatest triumphs.

At club level, however, his journey has been far more frustrating. After a series of semifinal defeats with Barceloneta, he joined Novi Beograd but could only secure silver in 2023 and bronze in 2024. He was due to play for Recco in 2024/25, but because of the club’s financial hardships, he opted to return to CNAB, where he claimed another Champions League bronze, while Recco lifted the Euro Cup trophy. With the financial situation back on track, Granados finally joined the Italian giants, only to finish as runner-up and watch from the pool deck as his former club Barceloneta celebrated the biggest victory of all on the grand stage.

4. Fradi were just one man-up goal away from reaching another final and challenging for a historic three-peat. CNAB, trailing 8-9 and facing that crucial man-down situation, defended superbly to deny the Hungarians the goal that would have sealed the semifinal.

The Spaniards then equalised and won the shootout after suffering penalty defeats in 2023 and 2025, while Ferencvaros had to settle for the bronze medal match.

This was unfamiliar territory for the Hungarian side. Since Balazs Nyeki took over as head coach in the summer of 2023, they had reached 10 consecutive finals across the Hungarian league and cup, Champions League and Super Cup – winning all 10.

At the 11th attempt, they finally fell short and had to regroup to secure the bronze.

They did exactly that. While the result may feel like a setback, one astonishing statistic highlights the levels FTC-Telekom have reached over the past three seasons. Across all competitions, they have played 140 matches and lost only two in regular time – to Olympiacos in April 2024 and Recco in March 2026.

A truly formidable side, as defeating them within 32 minutes has been virtually impossible for 98.5 per cent of their opponents.

5. Despite boasting an outstanding line-up and welcoming an excellent coach for this season, Olympiacos were never regarded as genuine title contenders heading into the Final Four.

Elvis Fatovic has always prioritised defensive excellence – no one could question the work he did over the previous two years, which ultimately contributed to CNAB’s triumph on Saturday – but Olympiacos’ defensive unit remained more vulnerable than those of the other three Final Four participants.

Indeed, their overall Champions League campaign had already reflected that before the tournament began. While Recco, CNAB and FTC all arrived in Malta with identical 11-1 records across the Group Stage and Quarter Final Stage, the Greeks posted an 8-4 set of results and managed only two victories in regular time during the second phase.

They then conceded 35 goals in Malta, making a fourth-place finish almost inevitable, even though they scored 13 goals in each of their matches.

Goalkeeping proved to be their weakest area once again. Three saves in the semifinal against Recco represented the low point, and there was never the sense of assured backing from the red caps that is so often essential for Champions League success.

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Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics