Olympiacos celebrated their centennial year in 2025, but their water polo teams, to put it mildly, did not contribute in the way they had hoped. The women’s side hosted the Champions League Final 4 but failed to overcome the tough semifinal challenge posed by Sabadell and had to settle for the bronze medal before later falling to Vouliagmeni in the domestic final. The men’s side at least swept the domestic titles, but that offered only limited consolation after missing the cut for Malta.
A year later, the picture looks much brighter. Domestic supremacy has been restored on the women’s side as well, and the Greek giants now have two opportunities to achieve something special on the European stage, with both teams reaching the Champions League Final 4.
The men’s road was somewhat bumpier, but whenever they needed to rise to the occasion, they did so in commanding fashion.
After changing head coaches in the middle of last spring – a rarity in the club’s history – Olympiacos brought another Croatian to Piraeus in Elvis Fatovic, whose impact at Barceloneta had been significant.
He inherited an excellent blend of talented young Greeks and experienced veterans, including captain Konstantinos Genidounias and Ioannis Fountoulis, the last two Mohicans from the golden Olympiacos side that produced one of the biggest upsets in Champions League history by beating Recco in the 2018 final in Genova.
During that era, the Greeks enjoyed several outstanding campaigns, reaching three finals in four editions, although they fell short in 2016 and 2019.
In a way, it mirrored their first breakthrough on the European stage. They were beaten by Jug in 2001 but lifted the trophy for the first time in club history a year later.
Then, after Jug defeated them again in 2016, Olympiacos returned to the summit two years later.
However, since that successful spell, European success has been much harder to come by.
They suffered a heavy quarterfinal defeat to CNAB in 2021, failed to qualify for the Final 8 the following season and then fell again in the quarterfinals, this time to hosts Novi Beograd, in 2023.
There was some improvement in 2024 when they secured the bronze medal, but last season was considered disappointing by Olympiacos standards.
Then came the new season and a return to the right path under Fatovic, which was anything but a coincidence.
His philosophy, built around discipline at every level, began producing results early on. Olympiacos finished first in the Group Stage despite facing demanding challenges from Mladost, Radnicki and Vasas.
They lost only once, in Zagreb, under circumstances many considered debatable.
The Quarterfinal Stage provided even more drama. Olympiacos opened with a somewhat surprising defeat away to an in-form Novi Beograd side, despite having beaten the stronger Serbians Radnicki twice in the previous stage.
That loss placed them under immediate pressure and, after a heavy defeat in Barceloneta – reminiscent of their difficult quarterfinal against CNAB in 2021, as they conceded 20 goals, something rarely associated with a Fatovic-coached team – their situation began to resemble that of the previous season.
This time, however, they responded. A strong home performance against Novi Beograd revived their hopes, followed by another thriller in Brescia, with the eventual shootout victory securing their place in the Final 4.
Summing up their journey so far, Elvis Fatovic said: “I would say the first part of the season, during the group stage, was when we played really well.
“It was probably the toughest group, with Radnicki, Mladost and Vasas, and we performed at a very high level during that period.
“We struggled a little after the European Championship because we had to jump straight into the quarterfinal stage.
“That was especially true in the first game in Belgrade, which we played just two days after the Greek Cup final.
“However, I personally believe we’ve improved as the season progressed and that we’ve played our best water polo when it’s mattered most.
“At the beginning of the season, we had three main goals and so far we’ve achieved them all – winning the Cup, winning the National League and qualifying for the Final 4.
“And winning our domestic league was not easy this year.
“Now, our objective is not just to participate in the Final 4 in Malta, but to compete for the title. We will try to win it, just like the other three teams in the competition.”
On paper, Olympiacos’ Quarterfinal Stage record differs from those of the other Final 4 contenders.
They managed only two victories in regular time, while CNAB posted a perfect record and both Recco and FTC finished with five wins.
Nevertheless, Olympiacos, built around the core of the Greek national team and featuring two world-class centre-forwards in Konstantinos Kakaris and Dimitrios Nikolaidis, as well as Hungarian world champions Daniel Angyal and Gergo Zalanki, cannot be regarded as underdogs when everything is decided in a single match.
Zalanki echoed that sentiment heading into Malta.
“We had a very hard road to the Final 4,” he said. “Sometimes we made it more difficult when we couldn’t finish the games how we wanted. So we had to fight till the end to make it to Malta.
“We had a few very good games, but I think we never showed the full capabilities of this team.
“We had two very hard groups that we had to overcome, and we also passed some teams that absolutely deserve to play in the Final 4.
“We’ve been busy preparing for our first game against Recco, and hopefully we’ve done enough to make some plays that can be a surprise for them.
“It would be amazing, of course, to win the title, but we have a very hard route to the trophy. First, to beat Pro Recco, and that’s not an easy job.
“It could be a very good moment for Olympiacos, because both our men’s and women’s teams will be there and there will be lots of fans. The atmosphere will be amazing.”
Goalkeeper Emmanouil Zerdevas shared a similar view.
“I think our Champions League campaign has had its ups and downs. There were periods throughout the season when we played very good water polo and despite the fact we’ve not yet reached our maximum levels, we managed to qualify and put ourselves in a position to compete for the title.
“Like every year, the team faced do-or-die matches and had to demonstrate its quality in difficult moments.
“However, no one can overlook the injury setbacks the team has had to deal with, nor the fact there were matches that didn’t unfold the way we’d planned.
“Nevertheless, our initial objective for the season has been achieved, and all that remains now is for us to give everything we have in the final two matches of the season.
“Preparations have begun with great enthusiasm and a strong desire to achieve success.
“Winning a European title is extremely important for each of us individually, as well as for the club itself.
“It’s something the team has not accomplished since 2018 and it remains the ultimate goal of the season, so everyone is highly motivated and eager to make this happen.”
Genidounias and Fountoulis can certainly share with their younger team-mates the recipe for upsetting Recco.
Fatovic also knows a thing or two about it, having guided Barceloneta to a rare away victory over the Italians in 2024.
The semifinal duel between two Croatian masterminds – Fatovic and Sukno – promises to be one of the highlights of this week’s Final 4.
“For us, the most important thing is to take it one game at a time,” Fatovic said. “If we can organise our defence and play the way we did, especially during the first half of our recent National League playoff games, then I believe we can be very competitive against anyone.”
Olympiacos SFP – Route to Malta Final 4
2025/26 Results
Group Stage
(1st place, Group A)
Olympiacos SFP 13-9 HAVK Mladost
Vasas Plaket 5-15 Olympiacos SFP
SPD Radnicki 12-13 Olympiacos SFP
HAVK Mladost 14-13 Olympiacos SFP
Olympiacos SFP 20-8 Vasas Plaket
Olympiacos SFP 16-14* SPD Radnicki (11-11 FT)
Quarterfinal Stage
(2nd place, Group A)
VK Novi Beograd Tehnomanija 12-10 Olympiacos SFP
Olympiacos SFP 14-11 AN Brescia
Zodiac CNAB 20-13 Olympiacos SFP
Olympiacos SFP 16-15 VK Novi Beograd Tehnomanija
AN Brescia 16-17* Olympiacos SFP (11-11 FT)
Olympiacos SFP 9-12 Zodiac CNAB
Best Champions League finishes
1st – 2002, 2018
2nd – 2001, 2016, 2019
3rd – 2024
2026 Final 4 Fixtures
Semifinals
Thursday 11 June
(Local times shown)
19:00: Zodiac CNAB (ESP) v FTC Telekom Waterpolo (HUN)
21:00: Pro Recco (ITA) v Olympiacos SFP (GRE)
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Gergely Csurka for European Aquatics
