Pro Recco are back where they belong – among Europe’s elite, competing once again for the most prestigious trophy in club water polo. After all the hardships the club endured in the summer of 2024, which forced them to compete in the Euro Cup – a competition they eventually won – Recco have launched another brilliant Champions League campaign.
Their historical record remains unmatched. They top the all-time rankings with 11 titles and have finished runners-up eight times. That runner-up tally alone exceeds the number of championships won by both Mladost and Partizan, who share second place on the wall of champions with seven titles apiece.
Recco’s current numbers are just as astonishing. At home, they have beaten every opponent they have faced so far, while on the European stage only title-holders FTC have managed to defeat them, doing so twice – first in the Super Cup and then in the Quarterfinal Stage.
Recco therefore arrive in Malta with a remarkable 40-2 win-loss record across all competitions.
They are also the only Final 4 participant yet to defend their domestic league title, as the Italian play-offs will resume after the Final 4, unlike in previous seasons.
In fact, between those two defeats, Recco beat FTC in Budapest in the opening round of the Quarterfinal Stage.
No other team managed such a dominant performance against the Hungarians as the Italians did that day.
It was a commanding four-goal victory, 9-13, and to place that result into an even stronger context, FTC played 138 matches over the last three seasons and lost only twice in regular time – first to Olympiacos in Piraeus in April 2024 and then to Recco this March.
Furthermore, in the second defeat to FTC on Day 4, Recco recovered from a six-goal deficit and had a chance to equalise with 15 seconds remaining.
Some outstanding defending denied them, before a long-range effort into the empty net by Szilard Jansik sealed a memorable contest.
Reflecting on those encounters, Giacomo Cannella said: “We’ve only lost one game at home against FTC-Telekom, but when you face teams of that calibre, one bad game over the course of a season can happen.
“The away win in Budapest by such a large margin gave us great confidence in our strength, but at the same time, the return match brought us back down to earth.
“A defeat hurts, but it also gives you motivation and plenty of things to work on and improve.”
To secure top spot in the group, Recco still had to overcome one final challenge in Zagreb against Mladost. It is telling that Francesco di Fulvio highlighted that victory when asked about the key moments of the season.
“The win in Zagreb against Mladost was an important one. Everyone saw us as favourites on paper, but both the players and the coaching staff knew it wouldn’t be that simple.
“We had to bounce back after the home defeat against FTC and, despite the absences of Condemi and Iocchi Gratta, two very important players for us, we delivered a great performance.”
What makes Recco’s journey even more impressive is the extent of the squad overhaul. Comparing the Euro Cup-winning side with the current roster, almost half of last season’s squad changed during the summer.
Head coach Sandro Sukno and President Maurizio Felugo spent a fortnight in Singapore attending World Championship matches to ensure they selected the right reinforcements.
Although it was a completely new mix, individual quality quickly began to make the difference before the team’s collective game fully came together.
As Sukno explained: “Our journey so far has been a positive one. We came through the first phase and then topped the quarterfinal group without ever really putting qualification in danger.
“It was our return to the Champions League after a year away, with many new players to integrate into the squad.
“The Champions League is a competition filled with top teams that are always highly competitive, so progressing to the next stage can never be taken for granted.”
Of course, when you add Alvaro Granados to a squad already featuring US sharpshooter Max Irving, alongside Francesco di Fulvio and Giacomo Cannella from the old guard, scoring goals is rarely a concern. That allows the focus to shift towards building a defensive identity.
And that is exactly what Sukno has done. Recco have once again established their trademark defensive approach, giving opponents nothing for free. Every goal must be earned.
They concede very few action goals, often preferring exclusion fouls to allowing clear shooting opportunities, and their compact man-down defence then completes the job.
They won all but one crucial match despite regularly facing 18-20 man-up opportunities from opponents.
Only FTC managed to outplay them on Day 4, when Recco went through a difficult spell defensively and their attack was unable to compensate, as it often does in domestic competition.
Di Fulvio acknowledged this reality.
“It’s true that there were a few games where we didn’t really shine, partly because of our preparation and partly because of our domestic league commitments, but there were also some excellent performances where we showed water polo of a very high level.”
Now those lessons belong to the past and all attention is focused on the Final 4.
“Preparation is going well,” Di Fulvio said. “We’re working hard both physically and tactically because we want to be extremely competitive.
“It will be two days of the highest level, with incredibly strong teams involved, and winning would be a statement of how strong and united this club is, both in and out of the pool.
“Now our focus is on Olympiacos, because it’s going to be a very tough match.”
That much can be taken for granted. Olympiacos have upset Recco more than once in the past. Most memorably in 2018, when Recco hosted the Final Six in Genova, only for the Greeks to produce a tactical masterclass that neutralised the tournament favourites and secured a 9-7 victory.
A year later they repeated the feat in the semifinals, further delaying Recco’s record-breaking ninth title.
Still, it seemed inevitable that success would return. It finally arrived in 2021 and was followed by two more triumphs, completing a remarkable three-peat – a feat previously achieved only by Mladost, half a century earlier.
Recco also reached the final in 2024, but a historic fourth consecutive title proved beyond reach. While they survived a four-minute exclusion in Belgrade in 2023 en route to victory against Novi Beograd, another four-minute exclusion against FTC in Malta a year later ultimately cost them the gold medal.
Now they return in pursuit of a 12th European crown, but it will be anything but straightforward in a field featuring three former champions, including the reigning title-holders.
As Cannella summed it up: “We miss this trophy. We miss the feeling of playing matches at that level. Last season we competed in and won the Euro Cup, but we know it’s not the same.
“Every year, the Champions League is the main goal for Pro Recco, it’s part of our tradition.
“I believe both the coaching staff and the team are preparing in the best possible way for such a prestigious event.”
Pro Recco – Route to Malta Final 4
2025/26 Results
Group Stage
(1st place, Group B)
VK Novi Beograd Tehnomanija 8-12 Pro Recco
Pro Recco 16-7 Jadran M:Tel Herceg Novi
Pro Recco 15-9 VK Jadran Split
Pro Recco 13-9 VK Novi Beograd Tehnomanija
Jadran M:Tel Herceg Novi 13-19 Pro Recco
VK Jadran Split 13-15 Pro Recco
Quarterfinal Stage
(1st Group B)
FTC Telekom Waterpolo 9-13 Pro Recco
Pro Recco 13-10 HAVK Mladost
Waspo 98 Hannover 14-20 Pro Recco
Pro Recco 14-16 FTC Telekom Waterpolo
HAVK Mladost 14-17 Pro Recco
Pro Recco 19-9 Waspo 98 Hannover
Best Champions League finishes
1st – 1965, 1984, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2021, 2022 & 2023
2nd – 1967, 1970, 1972, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2018 & 2024
3rd – 1966, 2005, 2017 & 2019
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
