Major water polo transfers 2021

The transfer window hasn’t closed yet, but most of the big European clubs have already composed their teams for the next season.
The most significant transfers have been completed before the Olympic Games. A few new pieces of information regarding transfers have come in recent days.

Several excellent players are still free agents, but it’s time to summarize the 2021 summer transfer market, and take a look at what the best clubs of the strongest European leagues, have done this summer.

Italy

Although several excellent players left Pro Recco (Dusan Mandic, Marko Bijac, Niksa Dobud), the reigning European champion will enter the new season with a very good squad. The most important reinforcements are Croatia’s center-forward Luka Loncar, Italy’s goalkeeper Marco Del Lungo, a left-handed Hungarian Gergo Zalanki. Sandro Sukno returns to Pro Recco, this time as a head coach to replace Gabriel Hernandez. The club extended the contract with captain Aleksandar Ivovic.

The list of departures from Brescia, which won the Italian Championship, is longer than the list of reinforcements. Experienced and excellent players left the club, but those who arrived are also high-class players. Young goalkeeper Petar Tesanovic, Stefano Luongo and Nicolas Constantin Bicari, and Boris Vapenski, who will replace Jokovc on the right side, are good reinforcements. Brescia Christian Presciutti was close to the exit doors, but he renewed a contract and stays at Brescia.

Pro Recco

Arrivals: Luka Loncar (Jug AO), Marco Del Lungo, Giacomo Canella (both Brescia), Gergo Zalanki (Ferencvaros), Zeno Bertoli (Posillipo), head coach Sandro Sukno (Primorac).

Departures: Niksa Dobud (Jadran S), Dusan Mandic (Novi Beograd), Marko Bijac (Olympiacos), Niccolo Figari (Iren Quinto), Stefano Luongo (Brescia), head coach Gabriel Hernandez.

Brescia

Arrivals: Filip Tesanovic (Jadran HN), Boris Vapenski (Dinamo Tbilisi), Stefano Luongo (Pro Recco), Nicolas Constantin Bicari (Ferencvaros).

Departures: Marco Del Lungo (Pro Recco), Angelos Vlachopoulos (Novi Beograd), Giacomo Canella (Pro Recco), Dimitris Nikolaidis (Spandau 04), Maro Jokovic (Jug Dubrovnik)

Savona

Arrivals: Niccolo Rocchi (Ortigia)

Telimar Palermo

Arrivals: Andrija Basic (Vouliagmeni), Maxwel Irving (Olympiacos)

Departures: Luca Damonte (Ferencvaros)

Ortigia

Arrivals: Filip Klikovac (Primorac Kotor)

Departures: Niccolo Rocchi (Savona), Massimo Giacoppo (retired)

Trieste

Arrivals: Mislav Vrlic (Mladost), Ivo Bego (Jadran S)
Departures: Nemanja Vico (Partizan), Kristijan Milakovic (Szolnok).

Hungary

Hungarian champion Szolnok, who won the LEN Euro Cup last season, left without four experienced players – three Serbs (Filipovic, Pijetlovic, Drasovic) and Viktor Nagy, who finished his career after winning bronze with Hungary at the Tokyo Olympics. Three Serbian players have been replaced by Dutch center-forward Bilal Gbadamassi and two Croats Ivan Domagoj Zovic and Kristijan Milakovic. A 35-year-old Andras Gardony, who came from Ferencvaros, is a new goalkeeper.

Ferencvaros rejuvenated the squad after several experienced players departed from the club. Three foreign players left (Jaksic, Fountoulis, Bicari), while three arrived: Serb Ubovic, Russian Merkulov, and Italian Damonte, along with two young Hungarian players. Ferencvaros did an important by signing a new contract with Denes Varga.

There haven’t been many changes on OSC’s roster, but Vasas has been becoming stronger and stronger. It renewed contracts with all foreigners (Olympic champions Branislav Mitrovic and Sava Randjelovic and Montenegro’s captain Drasko Brguljan), and brought six new players, including two winners of the Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo (Mezei and Erdelyi).

Szolnok

Arrivals: Bilal Gbadamassi (Schuurman), Attila Peto (KSI), Andras Gardony (Ferencvaros), Kristijan Milakovic (Trieste), Ivan Domagoj Zovic (Jadran S)

Departures: Dusko Pijetlovic (Novi Beograd), Radomir Drasovic (Novi Beograd), Filip Filipovic (Olympiacos), Viktor Nagy (retired).

Ferencvaros

Arrivals: Nemanja Ubovic (Sabadell), Daniil Merkulov (Jug AO), Luca Damonte (Palermo), Lorinc Gabor (KSI), Erik Molnar (UVSE).

Departures: Nikola Jaksic (Novi Beograd), Tamas Mezei (Vasas), Tamas Sedlmayer (Vasas), Ioannis Fountoulis (Olympiacos), Gergo Zalanki (Pro Recco), Nicolas Constantin-Bicari (Brescia), Andras Gardony (Szolnok)

Vasas

Arrivals: Tamas Sedlmayer (Ferencvaros), Tamas Mezei (Ferencvaros), Balazs Erdelyi (OSC), Roland Simon (Honved), Lorand Zerinvary (PVSK Pecs), Marton Miszei (Miskolc)

Departures:Balint Bobis , Kristof Csoma , Gabor Korbacs , Bende Pardi , Domonkos Sélley-Rauscher, Simon Henrik, Balint Takacs (retired)

OSC

Arrivals: Mate Aranyi (UVSE), Vince Vigvari (UVSE).

Departures: Balazs Erdelyi (Vasas), Kristof Toth (retired).

Spain

Barceloneta, the reigning champion, has a new head coach Elvis Fatovic and a rejuvenated team. Three experienced players didn’t renew contracts with Barceloneta – Milan Aleksic, Blai Mallarach, and Michael Bodegas. Besides them, goalkeeper Joao Pedro Coimbra left. Newcomers are three members of the Spanish U20 national team: goalkeeper Unai Aguirre (who played for Spain at the Tokyo Olympics), Albert Ponferrada, and Oscar Asensio.

Barcelona’s biggest reinforcement is Blai Mallarach. Montenegro’s Olympian Dusan Banicevic and Belarus Konstantin Averka moved from Jadran Herceg Novi to Sabadell.

Barceloneta

Arrivals: Unai Aguirre (Barcelona),Oscar Asensio (Sabadell),Albert Ponferrada (Catalunya), head coach Elvis Fatovic (Australia)

Departures: Milan Aleksic (Partizan), Blai Mallarach (Barcelona), Joao Pedro Coimbra Serra (Novi Beograd), Michael Bodegas, head coach Chus Martin.

Barcelona

Arrivals: Blai Mallarach (Barceloneta), Mario Lloret (Mediterrani), Guillem Garcia (Mediterrani)

Departutes: Unai Aguirre (Barceloneta),Victor Flores (Terrassa), Joel Esteller (retired), Nathan Power

Sabadell

Arrivals: Kanstantin Averka, Dusan Banicevic (both Jadran HN), Ramiro Veich (Mataro), Gerard Gil.

Departures: Nemanja Ubovic (Ferencvaros), Oscar Asensio (Barceloneta),Roberto Valera,

Terrassa

Arrivals: Victor Flores (Barcelona)

Departures: Agusti Pericas (Spandau 04), Fran Sanchez.

Greece

Olympiacos enters a new season with a clear objective – to win the Champions League. A series of news on Olympiacos’s great reinforcements have come in May and June. Superstars Filip Filipovic, Andro Buslje, Marko Bijac, Ioannis Fountoulis, Djuro Radovic arrived at the club. Most of the key players from the last season’s roster renewed contracts.

Seven of Olympiacos’ players battled for gold in the Olympic final in Tokyo. Filipovic won the title and said goodbye to the Serbian national team, while the other six and head coach Vlachos won the first-ever Olympic medal for the Greek male water polo.

It seems that Vouliagmeni, Olympiacos’s arch-rival, hasn’t finished composing the team for the next season.

Olympiacos

Arrivals: Filip Filipovic (Szolnok), Andro Buslje (Mladost), Marko Bijac (Pro Recco), Ioannis Fountoulis (Ferencvaros), Djuro Radovic (Jadran HN), Christodoulos Kolomvos (ENKA Istanbul), Konstantinos Gouvis (Vouliagmeni), Nikolas Gillas (Chios)

Departures: Konstantinos Kakaris, Stylianos Argyropoulos (both Jug AO Dubrovnik), Stefanos Galanopoulos (Apollon Smyrnis), Max Irving (Telimar), Dimitrios Skoumpakis, Marios Kapotsis, Hannes Daube.

Vouliagmeni

Arrivals: Lovro Paparic (Primorje Rijeka).

Departures: Andrija Basic (Telimar Palermo), Christos Afroudakis (retired), Konstantinos Gouvis (Olympiacos).

Apollon Smyrnis

Arrivals: Nikos Gardikas (Nice), Ante Viskovic (Mladost Zagreb), Stefanos Galanopoulos (Olympiacos), Konstantinos Chondrokoukis (Ethnikos), Ivan Gusarov (Vojvodina)

Departures: Alex Bowen (Partizan) Nikola Moskov (Panionios), Georgi Torakis (Peristeri), Costas Galanidis (Ydraikos), Dimos Dermitzakis, Konstantinos Vitellas (both Ethnikos), Marios Hatzykiriakakos, Stathis Papageorgiou (both Glyfada)

Peristeri

Arrivals: Nikolaos Papasifakis (Ydraikos), Georgi Torakis (Apollon Smyrnis), Matthaios Salteris (Panionios).

Departures: Charis Aivaliotis (PAOK).

Ydraikos

Arrivals: Costas Galanidis (Apollon), Marko Jankovic (Sabac), Danilo Adzic (Primorac).

Departures: Nikolaos Papasifakis (Peristeri), Panagiotis Papadogonas (Ethnikos).

France

Two players left French champion Marseille (Djurdjic and Camarasa), and only one has arrived so far. But, it’s rumored that Marseille is preparing a “transfer bomb” for the end of the transfer window…

Noisy-le-Sec, the runner-up in the last season, brought an experienced center of the French national team Remi Saudadier, who returns to the homeland, after six seasons in German Spandau 04.

Strasbourg has a new head coach – Marc Amardeilh, who coached Marseille until 2020 and won the LEN Euro Cup with this club a year before. Pays d’Aix has made several changes on the roster…

Marseille

Arrival: Alexandre Bouet (Douai)

Departures: Bogdan Djurdjic (Crvena Zvezda), Alexandre Camarasa (retired)

Noisy-le-Sec

Arrival: Remi Saudadier (Spandau 04)

Departures: Viktor Rasovic (Novi Beograd), Quentin Blary (Reims)

Montpellier

Arrival: Thomas Alfonso Pozo (Sete)

Departures: Billy Noyon (retired),Thomas Campedelli-Borges

Strasbourg

Arrivals: head coach Marc Amardeilh, Mathias Bachelier, Lorris Canovas (both Olympic Nice), Leo Vix (Reims)

Departures: Julien Ofner (Sete), Pavo Markovic, Kristijan Culina, head coach Igor Racunica.

Tourcoing Lille

Arrivals: Andro Gagulic (Pays d’Aix), Tom Cathudal (Bordeaux),

Departures: Goran Grgurevic (Pays d’Aix), Alexandre Coupleux (Mouscron), Boan Banicevic (Catania), Christos Papapostolou (Glyfada)

Pays d’Aix

Arrivals: Lucas Beteille (Sete), Goran Grgurevic (Tourcoing Lille), Nikola Giga (Budva), Kilian Etien (Saint-Jean d’Angély

Departures: Andro Gagulic (Tourcoing Lille), Louis Debiais (Sete) , Maroje Gluhaic (Salerno), Brody McKnight, Bogdan Djerkovic, Reuel D’Souza.

Serbia

The 2021 Serbian transfer market has been very interesting. Just a few years ago, many clubs were in big trouble. But, the situation is better now. The clubs have better financial backing than before, and some have become competitive with the best European teams.

There has been a lot of news and articles about Novi Beograd’s dream team. The club, which already qualified for the next two Champions League F8 tournaments, as a host, signed contracts with ten new players. Five of them (brothers Pijetlovic, Mandic, S.Rasovic and Jaksic) won the Olympic title as Novi Beograd’s players, while one took silver in Tokyo (Vlachopoulos).

Radnicki Kragujevac managed to keep almost all players who won the Serbian Championships and the Regional League last season and to bring experienced reinforcements (Milos Cuk, Josip Vrlic)

Partizan was on the edge of an abyss a year ago, but the seven-time European champion has started recovering. Six players, headed by Olympic champion Milan Aleksic, returned to Partizan in the past few months. USA’s Alex Bowen also arrived, Stefan Mitrovic who came back to Partizan in January renewed the contract.

To date, Crvena Zvezda has signed contracts with three Montenegrins (Djurdjic, Pjesivac,Gardasevic). Most of the other clubs will also have foreigners. A Hungarian will play in the Serbian League after a long period. Hungarian center-forward Simon Vogel replaced Slovak Marek Tkac in Sabac. Vojvodina switched Russians. Ivan Gusarov left, while Daniil Frolov joined the club. Frolov returns to Serbia. He played for Radnicki a few seasons ago. Vojvodina still hasn’t officially announced a name of a new coach.

Novi Beograd

Arrivals: Dusko Pijetlovic, Radomir Drasovic (both Szolnok), Dusan Mandic (Pro Recco), Angelos Vlachopoulos (Brescia), Nikola Jaksic (Ferencvaros), Gojko Pijetlovic (Oradea), Viktor Rasovic (Noisy-le-Sec), Strahinja Rasovic (Radnicki), Djordje Vucinic (Sabac), Joao Pedro Coimbra Serra (Barceloneta)

Departures: Djordje Filipovic (retired), Milos Cuk (Radnicki), Dimitrije Risticevic (Partizan), Aleksandar Radanovic, Nikola Nikolov, Nikola Bursac (all three Vojvodina), Filip Gardasevic (Crvena Zvezda), Marko Avramovc, Mateja Asanovic, Nikola Radulovic.

Radnicki Kragujevac

Arrivals: Milos Cuk (Novi Beograd), Josip Vrlic (Mladost)

Departures: Strahinja Rasovic (Novi Beograd)

Crvena Zvezda

Arrivals: Bogdan Djurdjic (Marseille),Stefan Pjesivac (Spandau 04), Filip Gardasevic (Novi Beograd)

Departures: Lazar Vicković (Partizan), Kristian Sulc (Sabac), Petar Kasum, Yusuke Shimizu

Partizan

Arrivals: Milan Aleksic (Barceloneta), Alex Bowen (Apollon Smyrnis), Nemanja Vico (Trieste), Dimitrije Risticevic (Novi Beograd), Filip Radojevic (PAOK), Petar Velkic (Sabac), Lazar Vickovic (Crvena Zvezda),

Sabac

Arrivals: Simon Vogel (Eger), Kristijan Sulc (Crvena Zvezda)

Departures: Djordje Vucinic (Novi Beograd), Petar Velkic (Partizan), Marek Tkac (Spandau 04), Marko Jankovic (Ydraikos),Stefan Ilic

Vojvodina

Arrivals: Dragoljub Rogac (Oradea), Nikola Nikolov (Novi Beograd), Nikola Bursac (Novi Beograd), Aleksandar Radanović (Novi Beograd), Daniil Frolov (Ydraikos), Nikola Bogdanovic.

Departures: Ivan Gusarov (Apollon Smyrnis), Milos Maksimovic, Marko Tubic, head coach Darko Bilic.

Croatia

Mladost won the “double crown” (Croatian League and the national Cup), but the club faced a mass departure of players after a very successful season. Eight players said goodbye.

As for Jug, three members of the Croatian national team – Loncar, Obradovic, Garcia – left the club, but Maro Jokovic returned to the Dubrovnik-based squad while two Greeks arrived. Jug probably still hasn’t finished its activities in the transfer market.

Jadran Split, the double European champion (1992 and 1993), hasn’t won a trophy since Croatia became an independent state. The team from Split has been very active in the transfer market this year. This summer, it signed several excellent players (Dobud, Bukic, Kharkov, Cagalj, goalkeeper Anic) and will be a serious contender for the national title and the Croatian Cup. Jadran has a team that can achieve success at the European stage, too.

HAVK Mladost

Arrivals: Dario Rakovac, Ivan Vrbnjak (both Primorje), Branimir Herceg (Solaris), Jakov Skiljic (Medvescak).

Departures: Andro Buslje (Olympiacos), Luka Bukic (Jadran S), Konstantin Kharkov (Jadran S), Cosmin Radu (retired), Josip Vrlic (Radnicki Kragujevac), Mislav Vrlic (Trieste), Ante Viskovic (Apollon Smyrnis), Lovre Milos.

Jug AO Dubrovnik

Arrivals: Konstantinos Kakaris, Stylianos Argyropulos (both Olympiacos), Maro Jokovic (Brescia).

Departures: Luka Loncar (Pro Recco), Daniil Merkulov (Ferencvaros), Paulo Obradovic (Enka Istanbul), Xavi Garcia (retired).

Jadran Split

Arrivals: Niksa Dobud (Pro Recco), Marino Cagalj (Spandau 04), Luka Bukic, Konstantin Kharkov (both Mladost), Mate Anic (Reims).

Departures: Ivan Domagoj Zovic (Szolnok), Nikola Milardovic (PAOK), Ivo Bego (Trieste).

Primorje

Departures: Lovro Paparic (Vouliagmeni), Dario Rakovac (Mladost), Fran Cubranic (Metanopoli), Ivan Vrbnjak (Mladost), Sven Augusti (Lazio), Marin Jovancevic.

Solaris

Departure: Branimir Herceg (Mladost).

Montenegro

Montenegrin clubs haven’t presented reinforcements yet, but there have been a lot of departures

Jadran HN

Departures: Djuro Radovic (Olympiacos), Dusan Banicevic (Sabadell), Kanstantin Averka (Sabadell), Petar Tesanović (Brescia)

Primorac

Departures: Filip Klikovac (Ortigia), Danilo Adzic (Ydraikos), Ash Molthen, Gabrel Sojo da Silva, head coach Sandro Sukno (Pro Recco).

Budva

Departure: Nikola Giga (Pays d’Aix)

Germany

Spandau 04 has been the most active in the transfer market in Germany. The Berliners continue without four experienced players, including Dutch-born Lucas Gielen, who plays for the German national team, Saudadier (France), but they brought four newcomers.

Spandau 04

Arrivals: Dimitris Nikolaidis (Brescia), Agusti Pericas (Terrassa), Zoran Bozic (Esslingen), Marek Tkac (Sabac)

Departures: Remi Saudadier (Noisy-le-Sec), Stefan Pjesivac (Crvena Zvezda), Marino Cagalj (Jadran Split), Luuk Gielen (UZSC Utrecht),

Netherlands

UZSC Utrecht

Arrivals: Luuk Gielen (Spandau 04), head coach Mike van den Brink

Departures: head coach Roeland Spijker

Schuurman

Departures: Bilal Gbadamassi (Szolnok)

Aplhen

Arrivals: head coach Tim van Gulik, Jesse Nispeling (Rotterdam), Lars Reuten (Amersfoort), Nigel Kombrink (Gouwenaren), Milos Filipovic (Rotterdam)

Departures: player/head coach Yuri Seles (retired)

All news about transfers you can find HERE