As all 16 teams prepare for the start of the new men’s Euro Cup season, European Aquatics spoke to several of the coaches and players to get their views ahead of this week’s opening clashes.
2025/26 Euro Cup Men
Group Stage, Day 1
Thursday 16 October
(Local times shown)
Group A
19:00: VK Jug AO (CRO) v CN Terrassa (ESP)
19:30: VK Solaris Sibenik (CRO) v ASC Duisburg (GER)
Group B
20:30: CS Dinamo Bucresti (ROU) v Szolnoki Dozsa Praktiker (HUN)
20:00: Pallanuoto Trieste (ITA) v CN Barcelona (ESP)
Group C
21:00: Panathinaikos AC (GRE) v PVK Buducnost Podgorica (MNE)
17:00: Vouliagmeni NC (GRE) v BVSC Manna ABC (HUN)
Group D
19:00: Spandau 04 Berlin (GER) v RN Savona (ITA)
20:00: VK Sabac Elixir (SRB) v CSA Steaua Bucharest (ROU)
Group A
19:00: VK Jug AO (CRO) v CN Terrassa (ESP)
The 2024 Euro Cup champions VK Jug AO remain a squad that mixes experience (goalkeeper Toni Popadic, Maro Jokovic and Andro Buslje) with talented youth, and the balance appears to have improved over the summer following hometown favourite Buslje’s return from Olympiacos.
CN Terrassa have entered a new era under Sergi Mora, promoted from assistant after Didier Cobacho’s departure. Meanwhile, Jug have hit the ground running in the Croatian Prva Liga, topping the table after three emphatic wins.
Head coach Vjekoslav Kobešćak will no doubt have been pleased to see his side racking up more than 20 goals in each of those victories – 24-8 against Medveščak, 23-13 away to Zadar, and 22-11 over VK KPK.
Terrassa have played just once in Spain’s División de Honor this season, dismantling Rubí 22-13 on Saturday. They also breezed through qualification, winning all three of their matches by margins of five goals or more.
“Our group is honestly a tough one,” said Terrassa coach Mora. “Our main rivals are likely to be Jug, a club with a lot of history and a very strong team. Then there’s Šibenik, who had a great first round of the Euro Cup and beat some strong opponents – they’ll also be a very tough rival. And finally, Duisburg from Germany, a team that has strengthened a lot this year.
“These will be very difficult matches that we’ll need to prepare well for, especially since they’re midweek games while we’re also competing in the league. It’s a tough group, but we’ll face it with great enthusiasm and try to compete at the highest level in every match. We want these Euro Cup games to help us take things up a gear – to be extra matches that push us further.”
Group A
19:30: VK Solaris Sibenik (CRO) v ASC Duisburg (GER)
Solaris booked their place in the Euro Cup Group Stage in style with three straight qualifying victories – capped by a hard-fought 13-12 triumph against Steaua Bucharest – and they’ve also bounced back in the Croatian Prva Liga with back-to-back wins since their shock opening-day defeat to Mornar in late September.
Buoyed by several new arrivals, including Niko Čubranić from Dinamo București, Solaris have high hopes for the season ahead. Their German opponents, however, could be short of match sharpness on Thursday, as the Bundesliga Pro A is yet to kick off, but they did finish third in the domestic Super Cup recently, even taking Spandau 04 to penalties in the semi-finals.
“It will be an extremely tough match,” said Duisburg coach Vuk Vuksanovic. “The Solaris team is very strong, physically powerful, and I expect them to try to cause us problems by playing with two centers. They have the experienced Andrija Vlahović, who is the organiser and driving force of the team, so we will try to neutralize him. In addition, they have two very good left-handed players who can create a lot of trouble. We will give our best to show our true face and play at the same level we showed during the German Super Cup last weekend.“
“Duisburg only losing on penalties to Spandau shows they are a very serious team that cannot be underestimated,” said Solaris’ Vlahović. “However, we are playing in our pool and we will give everything to win this match, and to continue our positive streak in this competition.”
Group B
20:30: CS Dinamo Bucresti (ROU) v Szolnoki Dozsa Praktiker (HUN)
Szolnok will be looking to improve on their relatively poor start to the season, which has included a heavy 14-3 defeat to Terrassa in the Qualification Round.
“We took the most important step and qualified,” said Szolnok coach Zoltán Hangay. “However, we left with a big sense of disappointment about that loss, but thankfully we’ll have a chance to prove ourselves this week. Against Dinamo, we will aim to secure a victory. It’s an important three points, but we’ll only have a chance if we play with more precision, correct our mistakes, and start believing in ourselves and each other again. That’s our goal.”
The 2017 Champions League winners, Szolnok, will also be looking to recreate the Euro Cup triumph they enjoyed in the 2020/21 season when they went all the way to the final and beat fellow Hungarians OSC Budapest on penalties to lift the trophy.
“We’re expecting a really tough game on Thursday as the Romanian team will be playing at home,’ said Szolnok’s András Teleki. “We know Cosmin Radu plays for them. He’s an extremely strong and experienced center forward, so I anticipate a lot of man-down situations during the match. In my opinion, as long as we can stick to our own style of water polo, we’ll have a good chance to secure the three points and that’s our goal.”
Group B
20:00: Pallanuoto Trieste (ITA) v CN Barcelona (ESP)
Trieste went unbeaten in regular time during the Qualification Round, with their only blemish being a shootout defeat to Vouliagmeni, but that result was still good enough to send both teams through to the Group Stage.
“Our game against Barcelona will be a tough match,” stated Trieste head coach Maurizio Mirarchi. “We’re facing a team that’s used to playing on the international stage. We’re very eager to do well, and we know that earning a positive result right away would be important to set the tone for the group standings.”
The Italians have started their domestic A1 campaign with a win (18-15 at home to De Akker) and a defeat (18-11 away to Pro Recco), while Barcelona – who were eliminated by Vasas in the Euro Cup Eight Finals last season – began their Spanish league campaign with a 21-6 victory against Boadilla last weekend.
Group C
21:00: Panathinaikos AC (GRE) v PVK Buducnost Podgorica (MNE)
Panathinaikos are starting this campaign like they have most of their others – looking to end their long search for a domestic or European trophy.
To assist in their efforts, the team have recruited well in the summer, signing among others, Dimitrios Skoumpakis from Novi Beograd and Aristeidis Chalyvopoulos from Vouliagmeni.
The Greeks have also strengthened in goal by bringing in American star stopper Adrian Weinberg, who helped guide his nation to the Olympic bronze last summer in Paris.
“The team is ready for the start of the EuroCup,” said Panathinaikos’ Nikolaos Alvertis. “We have worked hard throughout the preparation period and we are eager to begin the competition, knowing the importance of the first game both in terms of standings and team psychology.
“We are facing a strong opponent whom we fully respect, but we have confidence in our game plan, and, with the support of our fans, we hope to achieve a positive result and defend our home pool.”
The relatively newly-formed Buducnost are entering fresh waters this season, but with players such as Montenegro’s Darko Brguljan, plus several exciting youngsters, including Marko Boskovic and Pavle Jovanovic, among their ranks, they’re likely to cause plenty of teams problems.
Group C
17:00: Vouliagmeni NC (GRE) v BVSC Manna ABC (HUN)
“We’re at home, so we want to get the first three points,” said Vouliagmeni head coach Vladimir Vujasinovic, as he prepares to lead out his young lions against BVSC on Thursday night. “We know our opponents well because we played three games with them last season. They are a very good team and in order to beat them, each of our players will need to give their best.”
In those three clashes, two in the Euro Cup and one in the Champions League, BVSC came out on top on each occasion, 15-14, 12-10 and 17-9.
“We are playing against a very good team,” added Vouliagmeni captain Nemanja Ubovic. “We know what to expect. Most of their team is made up of Hungarian youngsters, so it will be a good test for our young players to see where we are. We’re very motivated to start our European journey, and we are ready to prove ourselves. We’re playing at home, so I am expecting a full tribune and to give our fans a good water polo game.”
Despite the three victories against their Greek opponents last season, BVSC head coach Daniel Varga is only looking towards the future.
“It’s a new season, new challenges,” he said. “This year, I think the Euro Cup is a very high level, with good quality teams. My team is ready for these challenges, we have improved a lot since we are together, and we are looking forward. Our goal is to improve game by game and qualify from the group stage. Every game is a chance for us to be a better team, and for the players to grow individually as well.”
“The team is in a good condition and my expectations are very high,” added BVSC’s David Tatrai. “We have to play very good, and I am sure we will. In a few weeks we will also play here in our own pool, and I am expecting very high-quality games. We’ve got a very hard group, but I think we will manage to get to the next stage.”
Group D
19:00: Spandau 04 Berlin (GER) v RN Savona (ITA)
Spandau 04’s domestic league is yet to start, but they showed their strength in the Qualification Round, winning all three games by four goals or more in a group that included a strong-looking Apollon Smyrnis.
They also impressed – but just fell short – in the Champions League qualifiers, losing by a single goal twice, to Vasas 16-17 and Sabadell 11-12.
Spandau recently reached the German Super Cup final as well, after beating a young Duisburg side on penalties in the semis, but lost in the final to Waspo 98 Hannover.
Savona caused waves last season by making the Champions League Quarter Final Group Stage and will now look to rediscover the form that saw them win the Euro Cup three times in 2005, 2011 and 2012.
The Italians also finished as runners-up just two years ago, when they lost 23-15 over two legs to Vasas in the final.
Group D
20:00: VK Sabac Elixir (SRB) v CSA Steaua Bucharest (ROU)
Steaua were one of the three best runners-up in the Qualification Round and will be hoping to finish in at least the same position in this group.
Their chances have been bolstered by two arrivals from Novi Beograd – head coach Djordje Filipovic and star player Djordje Vucinic, who scored 11 goals in their three qualifying games.
Meanwhile, Serbia’s VK Sabac will start their campaign fully aware of the difficulties ahead.“We can safely say we are playing in the toughest group,” said head coach Nemanja Ličanin. “All three opponents are clubs with great tradition and are recent participants in the Champions League.
“We’re aware it won’t be easy, but we will give our maximum effort in every match and believe in advancing past the group stage. We have already shown in the Regional League games that we can successfully compete against favoured teams. Our expectations are to advance through the group stage and make a step forward in the Euro Cup compared to last season.”
“In this group, anyone can beat anyone,” added VK Sabac’s Petar Mićanović. “However, I believe we’re the best team in it, and it’s up to us to prove that. This season will be quite challenging, but our goal is to reach a higher stage of the competition compared to last year.”
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Andy Rollé for European Aquatics
