2020–21 LEN Champions League

2020–21 LEN Champions League
League	LEN Champions League
Sport	Water Polo
Duration	11 November 2020 – 5 June 2021
Number of teams	28 (from 13 countries) Qualification round: 18 Preliminary round: 10
Season MVP	Dusan Mandic (Pro Recco)
Top scorer	Angelos Vlachopoulos (AN Brescia) 41 goals
Final 8
Champions	Pro Recco (9th title)
Runners-up	FTC Telekom Budapest
Finals MVP	Dusan Mandic (Pro Recco)

The 2020–21 LEN Champions League was the 58th edition of LEN's premier competition for men's water polo clubs.

Teams

Preliminary round

Jug CO Dubrovnik	Spandau 04	FTC Telekom	Jadran Herceg Novi
CN Marseille	Waspo 98 Hannover	Pro Recco	Zodiac CNA Barceloneta
Dinamo Tbilisi	Olympiacos

Qualification round

Mladost Zagreb	Ydraikos	Primorac Kotor	Radnički Kragujevac
Jadran Split	OSC Budapest	Steaua Bucharest	CN Barcelona
Pays d’Aix Natation	Szolnok	Digi Oradea	CN Terrassa
Tourcoing	AN Brescia	Sintez Kazan	Enka Istanbul
Vouliagmeni	Ortigia Siracusa

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows.^[1]

Phase	Round	Date
Qualification round		11–15 November 2020
Preliminary round	Round 1	14–18 December 2020
	Round 2	1–5 March 2021
	Round 3	19–23 April 2021
Final 8		3–5 June 2021

Qualification round

Main article: 2020–21 LEN Champions League qualifying round

The qualification round is scheduled for 11–15 November 2020.^[2]

Group A

A1

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		CCO	CNB	JST	PRI	STE
1	Ortigia Siracusa (H)	4	3	1	0	33	21	+12	10	Final		—	5–3	11–7	8–8	9–3
2	CN Barcelona	4	2	1	1	34	20	+14	7			—	—	8–8	12–3	11–4
3	Jadran Split	4	2	1	1	45	42	+3	7			—	—	—	16–11	14–12
4	Primorac Kotor	4	1	1	2	33	44	−11	4			—	—	—	—	11–8
5	Steaua Bucharest	4	0	0	4	27	45	−18	0			—	—	—	—	—

Source: LEN
(H) Hosts

A2

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		MZG	SZO	AIX	YDR
1	Mladost Zagreb	3	2	1	0	44	31	+13	7	Final		—	18–18	16–13	10–0
2	Szolnok	3	2	1	0	39	27	+12	7			—	—	11–9	10–0
3	Pays d’Aix Natation	3	1	0	2	32	27	+5	3			—	—	—	10–0
4	Ydraikos	3	0	0	3	0	30	−30	0	Disqualified		—	—	—	—

Source: LEN

Final

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Ortigia Siracusa	9–8	Mladost Zagreb

Group B

B1

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		RKG	OSC	SIN	CNT	ENT
1	Radnički Kragujevac	4	2	2	0	45	38	+7	8	Final		—	9–9	16–14	13–8	—
2	OSC Budapest (H)	4	2	1	1	48	45	+3	7			—	—	—	15–16	12–9
3	Sintez Kazan	4	2	0	2	54	47	+7	6			—	11–12	—	—	—
4	CN Terrassa	4	1	1	2	45	56	−11	4			—	—	12–9	—	11–11
5	Tourcoing	4	0	2	2	36	42	−6	2			7–7	—	9–12	—	—

Source: LEN
(H) Hosts

B2

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		BRE	NCV	ORA	ESK
1	AN Brescia	3	3	0	0	38	7	+31	9	Final		—	10–6	—	10–0
2	Vouliagmeni	3	2	0	1	32	19	+13	6			—	—	16–9	—
3	Digi Oradea	3	1	0	2	20	34	−14	3			1–18	—	—	10–0
4	Enka Istanbul	3	0	0	3	0	30	−30	0	Disqualified		—	0–10	—	—

Source: LEN

Final

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Radnički Kragujevac	9–13	AN Brescia

Preliminary round

Jug

Marseille

Dinamo

Spandau 04

Hannover

Olympiacos

FTC

Pro Recco

Jadran HN

Barceloneta

Brescia

Ortigia

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Location of teams of the 2020–21 LEN Champions League preliminary round.

Main article: 2020–21 LEN Champions League preliminary round

LEN decided to play the 10 match-days of the 2020–21 LEN Champions League preliminary round in bubble format in three rounds, using two venues at each occasion. The ten match-days will be played in three rounds at two venues each time. Teams of the same group will contest three match-days, one time four, where the participants will be isolated for the entire duration of event because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The draw for the group phase took place in Rome on 19 October 2020.

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		REC	JUG	OLY	CNM	S04	CCO
1	Pro Recco	10	10	0	0	127	68	+59	30	Final 8		—	18–3	13–6	11–9	19–6	10–3
2	Jug CO Dubrovnik	10	6	1	3	102	106	−4	19			11–12	—	11–11	11–10	12–10	8–6
3	Olympiacos	10	4	2	4	89	92	−3	14			8–14	8–9	—	11–7	8–8	6–4
4	CN Marseille	10	4	1	5	93	94	−1	13			8–10	15–13	9–8	—	8–5	10–11
5	Spandau 04	10	1	3	6	79	104	−25	6			7–10	7–13	9–13	7–7	—	12–6
6	Ortigia Siracusa	10	1	1	8	69	95	−26	4			7–10	9–11	8–10	7–10	8–8	—

Source: LEN

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		FTC	BAR	BRE	HAN	DTB	JHN
1	FTC Telekom	10	8	0	2	113	73	+40	24	Final 8		—	11–10	7–10	13–9	15–11	12–5
2	Zodiac CNA Barceloneta	10	8	0	2	119	81	+38	24			7–8	—	10–9	12–8	17–5	13–11
3	AN Brescia	10	7	0	3	117	80	+37	21			9–6	6–8	—	19–11	14–6	6–7
4	Waspo 98 Hannover	10	3	0	7	89	122	−33	9			6–19	8–16	10–18	—	10–3	9–4
5	Dinamo Tbilisi	10	2	0	8	74	121	−47	6			4–11	6–14	9–15	6–7	—	11–8
6	Jadran Herceg Novi	10	2	0	8	74	109	−35	6			2–11	9–12	6–11	12–11	10–13	—

Source: LEN

Final 8

3–5 June 2021, Belgrade, Serbia.^[3][4]

Belgrade

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Location of the 2020–21 LEN Champions League Final 8

Qualified teams

Group	Winners	Runners-up	Third	Fourth
A	Pro Recco	Jug AO Dubrovnik	Olympiacos	CN Marseille
B	FTC Telekom	Zodiac CNAB	AN Brescia	Waspo 98 Hannover

Bracket

	Quarterfinals				Semifinals				Final
	3 June
	Pro Recco	16
					4 June
	Waspo 98 Hannover	9
					Pro Recco	12
	3 June
					Zodiac CNAB	10
	Zodiac CNAB	22
									5 June
	Olympiacos	9
									Pro Recco	9
	3 June
									FTC Telekom	6
	FTC Telekom	14
					4 June
	CN Marseille	6
					FTC Telekom	14
	3 June
					AN Brescia	12			Third place game
	Jug AO Dubrovnik	10
									5 June
	AN Brescia	12
									Zodiac CNAB	7
									AN Brescia	13

5th–8th place bracket

	5th–8th place semifinals				Fifth place game
	4 June
	Waspo 98 Hannover	10
					5 June
	Olympiacos	8
					Waspo 98 Hannover	11
	4 June
					Jug AO Dubrovnik	16
	CN Marseille	13
	Jug AO Dubrovnik	16
					Seventh place game
					5 June
					Olympiacos	13
					CN Marseille	12

All times are local (UTC+2).

Quarterfinals

3 June 2021 13:00	Report	Pro Recco	16–9	Waspo 98 Hannover	Sports Centre April 11th, Belgrade Referees: Kun Schwartz
		Score by quarters: 5–2, 4–3, 1–2, 6–2
		Ivović 5	Goals	Brguljan 3

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3 June 2021 15:30	Report	FTC Telekom	14–6	CN Marseille	Sports Centre April 11th, Belgrade Referees: Alexandrescu Voevodin
		Score by quarters: 3–0, 4–1, 3–3, 4–2
		Fountoulis 4	Goals	Vukičević 2

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3 June 2021 18:00	Report	Jug AO Dubrovnik	10–12	AN Brescia	Sports Centre April 11th, Belgrade Referees: Stavridis Zwart
		Score by quarters: 2–3, 3–3, 3–3, 2–3
		Fatović 4	Goals	Alesiani 3

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3 June 2021 20:30	Report	Zodiac CNA Barceloneta	22–9	Olympiacos	Sports Centre April 11th, Belgrade Referees: Margeta Putniković
		Score by quarters: 6–0, 7–2, 6–3, 3–4
		three players 4	Goals	Genidounias 3

5th–8th place semifinals

4 June 2021 13:00	Report	Waspo 98 Hannover	10–8	Olympiacos	Sports Centre April 11th, Belgrade Referees: Putniković Ivanovski
		Score by quarters: 2–1, 4–2, 3–3, 1–2
		Radović 6	Goals	Genidounias 3

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4 June 2021 15:30	Report	CN Marseille	13–16	Jug AO Dubrovnik	Sports Centre April 11th, Belgrade Referees: Zwart Kun
		Score by quarters: 1–1, 4–6, 5–5, 3–4
		Crousillat 4	Goals	Papanastasiou 5

Semifinals

4 June 2021 18:00	Report	Pro Recco	12–10	Zodiac CNA Barceloneta	Sports Centre April 11th, Belgrade Referees: Alexandrescu Stavridis
		Score by quarters: 2–4, 4–3, 4–1, 2–2
		Mandić 4	Goals	Perrone 3

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4 June 2021 20:30	Report	FTC Telekom	14–12	AN Brescia	Sports Centre April 11th, Belgrade Referees: Martega Voevodin
		Score by quarters: 4–0, 4–6, 3–5, 3–1
		Vámos, Varga 4	Goals	Joković, Vlachopoulos 3

Seventh place game

5 June 2021 13:00	Report	Olympiacos	13–12	CN Marseille	Sports Centre April 11th, Belgrade Referees: Schwartz Ivanovski
		Score by quarters: 5–2, 2–4, 4–4, 2–2
		Chrysospathis, Genidounias 3	Goals	three players 2

Fifth place game

5 June 2021 15:30	Report	Waspo 98 Hannover	11–16	Jug AO Dubrovnik	Sports Centre April 11th, Belgrade Referees: Stavridis Kun
		Score by quarters: 2–3, 1–6, 4–5, 4–2
		Macan, Nagaev 3	Goals	Merkulov 5

Third place game

5 June 2021 18:00	Report	Zodiac CNA Barceloneta	7–13	AN Brescia	Sports Centre April 11th, Belgrade Referees: Zwart Putniković
		Score by quarters: 1–3, 2–6, 2–2, 2–2
		Granados 3	Goals	Vlachopoulos 4

Final

5 June 2021 20:30	Report	Pro Recco	9–6	FTC Telekom	Sports Centre April 11th, Belgrade Referees: Margeta Alexandrescu
		Score by quarters: 3–2, 2–3, 2–0, 2–1
		Mandić 3	Goals	Constantin-Bicari, Vigvari 2

2020–21 LEN Champions League Champions
Pro Recco 9th title

Marko Bijač, Francesco Di Fulvio, Dušan Mandić, Pietro Figlioli, Aaron Younger, Alessandro Velotto, Nicholas Presciutti, Gonzalo Echenique, Aleksandar Ivović, Benjamin Thomas, Matteo Aicardi, Stefano Luongo, Tommaso Negri

Head coach

Gabriel Hernández

Final ranking

	Team
	Pro Recco
	FTC Telekom Budapest
	AN Brescia
4	Zodiac CNA Barceloneta
5	Jug AO Dubrovnik
6	Waspo 98 Hannover
7	Olympiacos
8	CN Marseille

Awards

Season MVP	Top Scorer	Final Eight MVP	Final Eight Best Goalkeeper
Dušan Mandić (Pro Recco)	Angelos Vlachopoulos[5] (AN Brescia) 31 goals	Dusan Mandic[6] (Pro Recco)	Marko Bijac (Pro Recco)

Total 7 of the Season
[7]	LW	Dénes Varga (Ferecvaros)	CF	Ben Hallock (Pro Recco)	RW	Gergő Zalánki (Ferecvaros)
	LD	Angelos Vlachopoulos (AN Brescia)	CB	Nikola Jakšić (Ferecvaros)	RD	Dušan Mandić (Pro Recco)
	GK	Marko Bijač (Pro Recco)

See also

• 2020–21 LEN Euro Cup

References

1. "LEN club competition programme season 2020–2021" (PDF). LEN.com.
2. "Champions League, Qualification Draw". LEN.com.
3. Ivan Curcic (24 March 2021). "Confirmed: Champions League F8 will be held in Belgrade in 2021, 2022, and 2023". total-waterpolo.com. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
4. "Belgrade hosts the Final Eight in 2021-2023". len.eu. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
5. "LEN Champions League 2020/2021 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
6. "PRO REKO JE PRVAK EVROPE, DUŠAN MANDIĆ MVP! Ferencvaroš nije uspeo da odbrani tron u Beogradu! (VIDEO)". espreso.co.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 2022-03-08.
7. Curcic, Ivan (2023-06-05). "LEN Champions League "Team of the Tournament"". Total Waterpolo. Retrieved 2023-06-05.

Notes

External links

• Official website, len.microplustiming.com