Serbia men's national water polo team
| 200px | |
| Nickname(s) | Delfini (The Dolphins) |
|---|---|
| Association | Water Polo Association of Serbia |
| Confederation | LEN (Europe) |
| Head coach | Dejan Savić |
| Asst coach | Žarko Petrović Uroš Stevanović |
| Captain | Živko Gocić |
| Most caps | Dejan Savić (444) |
| Top scorer | Aleksandar Šapić (981) |
| FINA code | SRB |
| Olympic Games | |
| Appearances | 17 (first in 1936) |
| Best result |  (1968, 1984, 1988) |
| World Championships | |
| Appearances | 14 (first in 1973) |
| Best result | (1986, 1991, 2005, 2009, 2015) |
| World League | |
| Appearances | 14 (first in 2003) |
| Best result | (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015) |
| World Cup | |
| Appearances | 12 (first in 1979) |
| Best result | (1987, 1989, 2006, 2010, 2014) |
| European Championship | |
| Appearances | 27 (first in 1927) |
| Best result | (1991, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2016) |
| Appearances | (first in 2009) |
| Best result | (1959, 1963, 1971, 1979, 1983, 1997, 2009) |
The Serbia men's national water polo team represents Serbia in international water polo competitions and is controlled by the Water Polo Association of Serbia. They are one of the world's best teams in the history of water polo, having won 11 Olympic, 11 World Championship, 21 European Championship, 11 FINA World League, 9 FINA World Cup, and 11 Mediterranean Games medals.
They are the best of all national sports teams of Serbia, having won more titles than any other team in Serbia's history.
Contents
European Championship
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2012 Eindhoven
On 16 January, Serbia water polo team beat Spain 8–5[1] in an excellent first game at the start of the European Championship. This was a match between two great rivals who played in the finals at the World Championships in Rome. On 17 January, Serbian water polo players as expected got the second triumph. "The Dolphins" selection won against Germany with a score 13–12 in a very hard match. Pijetlović was the man who made the difference scoring four goals for his team including the final for 13–11 which got Serbia the victory. On 19 January Serbs defeated the defending European champions Croatia with 15–12 in a third round game and made a decisive step towards direct placement in the semifinals. Udovičić was the top scorer for his team with three goals. This was a big and hard clash for bouth nations in which Serbs came out as winners. The clash will be also remembered for unsportsmanlike conduct of Dobud who struck Filipović from behind who instantly got the bruising under his eye. On 21 January, Serbia routinely came to the fourth victory at the European Championships in Eindhoven beating Romania 14–5. After the Montenegro and Spain 10–10 tie and Germans 10–9 victory over Croatia, Serbia has qualified for the semifinals. On 23 January, in the last round of group A where Milan Aleksić played his 100th official match for Serbia national team, Serbia lost to Montenegro with 11–7. In a match that in principle didn't mean much to Serbia, it was clear that the absence of motive may be crucial for the final result. On 27 January Serbia defeated the current world champion, Italy, with 12–8 and thus qualified for the finals. It was not revenge for defeat in the final of 2011 Shanghai, it was a simple lesson, which consisted of three phases – solid defense, a wise selection of moves in the attack and forceful implementation. On 29 January Serbia water polo team won its second European title since independence, and "dolphins" won the gold by beating Montenegro 9–8, paying them back for defeat in the 2008 European Championship finals played in Malaga.[2]
2014 Budapest
Serbia defended their title in the 2014 Championship held in Budapest 14–27 July 2014. After a bad start in the group, having lost to Hungary 6–8 and tied with Croatia 8–8, they secured the second place by defeating Spain 8–6. After a routine victory over Greece in the quarterfinals, the semifinal match with Montenegro was an uphill struggle: Serbia came from behind after losing 5–1 in the second quarter, to win by 10–9 in the end[3] and meet Hungary in the finals. By contrast, the domestic team had an easy path to the finals, having scored all victories thus far. However, in the finals they succumbed to the expectations and got crushed by increasingly self-confident Serbian team, who led by 7–2 by the halftime and securely brought the match to an end, with the final score of 12–7.[4] Gojko Pijetlović was elected the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
Team
Current squad
This squad represented Serbia at the 2016 Men's European Water Polo Championship.
| No. | Name | Date of birth | Position | L/R | Height | Weight | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gojko Pijetlović | 7 August 1983 | Goalkeeper | R | 194 cm (6 ft 4 in) | 92 kg (203 lb) |  CSM Oradea |
| 2 | Dušan Mandić | 16 June 1994 | L | 202 cm (6 ft 8 in) | 96 kg (212 lb) |  Pro Recco |
|
| 3 | Živko Gocić | 22 August 1982 | Wing | R | 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) | 91 kg (201 lb) |  Szolnok |
| 4 | Sava Ranđelović | 17 July 1993 | Point | R | 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) | 93 kg (205 lb) | AN Brescia |
| 5 | Miloš Ćuk | 21 December 1990 | Wing | R | 191 cm (6 ft 3 in) | 91 kg (201 lb) | Eger |
| 6 | Duško Pijetlović | 25 April 1985 | Centre Forward | R | 192 cm (6 ft 4 in) | 91 kg (201 lb) | Pro Recco |
| 7 | Slobodan Nikić | 25 January 1983 | Centre Forward | R | 197 cm (6 ft 6 in) | 96 kg (212 lb) |  Galatasaray |
| 8 | Milan Aleksić | 13 May 1986 | 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) | 93 kg (205 lb) | Szolnok |
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| 9 | Nikola Jakšić | 17 January 1997 | Driver | R | 197 cm (6 ft 6 in) | 90 kg (200 lb) |  Partizan |
| 10 | Filip Filipović | 2 May 1987 | Wing | L | 196 cm (6 ft 5 in) | 93 kg (205 lb) | Pro Recco |
| 11 | Andrija Prlainović | 28 April 1988 | Wing | R | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) | 91 kg (201 lb) | Pro Recco |
| 12 | Stefan Mitrović | 29 March 1988 | Wing | R | 195 cm (6 ft 5 in) | 91 kg (201 lb) | Szolnok |
| 13 | Branislav Mitrović | 30 January 1985 | Goalkeeper | R | 201 cm (6 ft 7 in) | 96 kg (212 lb) | Eger |
Coaches
- 1992–1999 Nikola Stamenić
- 1999–2004 Nenad Manojlović
- 2004–2006 Petar Porobić
- 2006–2012 Dejan Udovičić
- 2012–present Dejan Savić
Most appearances and goals
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Professional friendly and competitive matches only where Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro and now Serbia were represented.
| Name | Years | Matches | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dejan Savić | 1994–2008 | 444 | 405 |
| 2 | Aleksandar Šapić | 1997–2008 | 385 | 981 |
| 3 | Igor Milanović | 1984–1996 | 349 | 540 |
| 4 | Aleksandar Ćirić | 1997–2008 | 346 | 201 |
| 5 | Vladimir Vujasinović | 1990–2008 | 341 | 391 |
| 6 | Živko Gocić | 2003–present | 332 | 193 |
| 7 | Slobodan Nikić | 2003–present | 330 | 318 |
| 8 | Petar Trbojević | 1997–2006 | 306 | 231 |
| 9 | Danilo Ikodinović | 1997–2008 | 304 | 299 |
| 10 | Filip Filipović | 2003-present | 271 | 441 |
Statistics accurate as of matches played 8 August 2015
Honours
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Gold medals
- Olympic Games (3): 1968, 1984, 1988
- World Championship (5): 1986, 1991, 2005, 2009, 2015
- European Championship (7): 1991, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2016
- FINA World League (9): 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015
- World Cup (5): 1987, 1989, 2006, 2010, 2014
- Mediterranean Games (7): 1959, 1967, 1971, 1979, 1983, 1997, 2009
- Goodwill Games (1): 1990
Philanthropy
On 25 December 2011, Serbia's water polo team was included in a humanitarian action "Bitka za Bebe" ("the Battle for the Babies") playing an exhibition match with the team of the Faculty of Organizational Scihences (FON), in Belgrade. Before the Serbian water polo team had joined the action, many other athletes were included. Among them was the best tennis player in the world, Novak Đoković, football and basketball players of Red Star Belgrade, and many other's. Proceeds from the ticket sales went to fund "Bitka za Bebe" and the money was successfully collected to purchase one incubator.
References
External links
- Water polo Association of Serbia (Serbian)
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Water polo in Serbia |
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