Wikipedia

2023–24 LEN Champions League

For the equivalent women's tournament, see 2023–24 LEN Women's Champions League.

The 2023–24 LEN Champions League is the 61st edition of LEN's premier competition for men's water polo clubs. Because of the congested schedule, there's a new format this year.[1] Pro Recco are the three time defending champions.

2023–24 LEN Champions League
LeagueLEN Champions League
SportWater polo
Duration7 September 2023 – 7 June 2024
Season MVPSerbia Dusan Mandic (FTC-Telekom)
Top scorerSpain Alvaro Granados 39 goals (Novi Beograd)
Finals championsHungary FTC-Telekom (2nd title)
  Runners-upItaly Pro Recco
Finals MVPSerbia Dusan Mandic (FTC-Telekom)
Champions League seasons
2024–25 →

FTC-Telekom won their second title after triumphing over Pro Recco in the final.[2]

Format edit

This season, the format has undergone some changes. After one qualification round (instead of three), sixteen teams will qualify for the group stage. Because of the congested schedule, four groups of four will be played instead of two groups of eight. The top two in each group will make the quarter-finals round (also a group stage). The team that finish third and fourth will compete in the 2023–24 LEN Euro Cup knockout stage. The remaining eight teams in the quarter-finals round will play a further six matches, with the top two in each group making the final four, which makes a return.[3]

Rankings edit

Starting this season, LEN also started a club rankings. The top 11 best ranked countries in the new rankings are allowed to have their national champion go directly into the main round, as long as they meet requirements.[1][4]

Teams edit

Alongside the 11 domestic champions, the defending champions also get a spot in the main round. In the event that the Champions League defending champions won their national league, the runners-up of the national league will take the vacant spot. Although, the Italian runners-up, AN Brescia, declined the spot because they didn't want to pay the wildcard fee (which was 25,000 Euros), their spot went to the Spanish runners-up, Astrapool Sabadell).

Main round
  Jadran Split (1st)   CN Marseille (1st)   Dinamo Tbilisi (1st)   Spandau 04 Berlin (1st)
  Olympiacos Piraeus (1st)   FTC-Telekom (1st)   Pro Recco CL (1st)   Jadran Herceg Novi (1st)
  Steaua București (1st)   Novi Beograd (1st)   Zodiac Atlètic-Barceloneta (1st)   Astrapool Sabadell (2nd)
Qualification round
  Jug AO Dubrovnik (2nd)   Primorje Erste Bank Rijeka (3rd)   CN Noisy-le-Sec (2nd)   EN Tourcoing (3rd)
  Waspo'98 Hannover (2nd)   ASC Duisburg (3rd)   NC Vouliagmeni (2nd)   GS Apollon Smyrnis (3rd)
  OSC Budapest (2nd)   Endo Plus Service Honvéd (3rd)   AN Brescia (2nd)   CC Ortigia (3rd)
  Primorac Kotor (2nd)   CSM Oradea (2nd)   Dinamo București (3rd)   Crvena zvezda (2nd)
  Radnički Kragujevac (3rd)   CN Barcelona (3rd)

Round and draw dates edit

Schedule edit

Phase Round Round date[5]
Qualification round 7–10 September 2023
Main round Matchday 1 26–27 September 2023
Matchday 2 6–7 October 2023
Matchday 3 17–18 October 2023
Matchday 4 31 October/1 November 2023
Matchday 5 21–22 November 2023
Matchday 6 5–6 December 2023
Quarter-finals round Matchday 1 8–9 March 2024
Matchday 2 19–20 March 2024
Matchday 3 2–3 April 2024
Matchday 4 23–24 April 2024
Matchday 5 3–4 May 2024
Matchday 6 14–15 May 2024
Final Four Semifinals 5 June 2024
Final 7 June 2024

Qualification round edit

The group winners qualify for the main round, while everyone else drops down to the Euro Cup qualifiers.

Draw edit

The draw was on 10 August 2023.[6] The seeding was decided by the new LEN club rankings.[7] H indicates which club is hosting the groups. Teams in bold advanced to the main round.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4

  AN Brescia
  Jug AO Dubrovnik (H)
  Waspo'98 Hannover (H)
  NC Vouliagmeni

  OSC Budapest
  CC Ortigia
  Radnički Kragujevac (H)
  CN Barcelona

  Crvena zvezda
  Primorac Kotor
  EN Tourcoing
  CSM Oradea (H)

  CN Noisy-le-Sec
  GS Apollon Smyrnis
  Endo Plus Service Honvéd
  ASC Duisburg
  Primorje Erste Bank Rijeka
  Dinamo București

Group A edit

7–10 September 2023, Hannover, Germany

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification   CRV   BAR   HAN   APO   HON
1   Crvena zvezda 4 4 0 0 0 50 32 +18 12 Main round — — — 12–10 —
2   CN Barcelona 4 3 0 0 1 41 42 −1 9 9–14 — — 12–11 9–8
3   Waspo'98 Hannover (H) 4 2 0 0 2 39 47 −8 6 6–14 9–11 — 11–10 13–12
4   GS Apollon Smyrnis 4 1 0 0 3 42 45 −3 3 — — — — 11–10
5   Endo Plus Service Honvéd 4 0 0 0 4 37 43 −6 0 7–10 — — — —
Source: LEN
(H) Host

Group B edit

7–10 September 2023, Kragujevac, Serbia

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification   BRE   RAD   NOI   KOT   DUI
1   AN Brescia 4 4 0 0 0 47 24 +23 12 Main round — — — 11–3 11–4
2   Radnički Kragujevac (H) 4 2 1 0 1 46 45 +1 8 8–15 — 13–10 17–16[a] —
3   CN Noisy-le-Sec 4 2 0 0 2 52 41 +11 6 9–10 — — — —
4   Primorac Kotor 4 1 0 1 2 41 49 −8 4 — — 10–16 — 16–10
5   ASC Duisburg 4 0 0 0 4 30 57 −27 0 — 8–13 8–17 — —
Source: LEN
(H) Host
  1. ^ Match ended 12–12, Radnički Kragujevac won 5–4 on penalties

Group C edit

8–10 September 2023, Oradea, Romania

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification   VOU   ORT   RIJ   ORA
1   NC Vouliagmeni 3 3 0 0 0 40 25 +15 9 Main round — 12–8 — —
2   CC Ortigia 3 2 0 0 1 38 33 +5 6 — — 16–14 —
3   Primorje Erste Bank Rijeka 3 1 0 0 2 36 37 −1 3 12–14 — — —
4   CSM Oradea (H) 3 0 0 0 3 19 38 −19 0 5–14 7–14 7–10 —
Source: LEN
(H) Host

Group D edit

8–10 September 2023, Dubrovnik, Croatia

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification   JUG   TOU   OSC   DIN
1   Jug AO Dubrovnik (H) 3 3 0 0 0 47 22 +25 9 Main round — 17–8 14–10 16–4
2   EN Tourcoing 3 2 0 0 1 32 30 +2 6 — — — —
3   OSC Budapest 3 1 0 0 2 35 33 +2 3 — 5–10 — 20–9
4   Dinamo București 3 0 0 0 3 21 50 −29 0 — 8–14 — —
Source: LEN
(H) Host

Main round edit

class=notpageimage|
Location of teams of the 2023–24 LEN Champions League group stage.
  Red: Group A;   Blue: Group B;   Yellow: Group C;   Green: Group D

The top two from each group make the quarter-finals round. The bottom two from each group drops down to the Euro Cup eighth-finals.

Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 2 points for a penalty shootout win, 1 point for a penalty shootout loss, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:


  • Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  • Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  • Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  • Goal difference in all group matches;
  • Goals scored in all group matches.


Among the teams, 13 return from last season. Steaua București and Crvena zvezda return after a one season absence, while Jadran Herceg Novi return after a two-season absence. They all replaced Waspo'98 Hannover, Radnički Kragujevac and Genesys OSC-Budapest.

In regards to countries, all 9 from last season return, with the inclusion of Romania and Montenegro after one and two-season absences, bringing the number up to 11.

Group A edit

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification   NOV   BRE   SAB   STE
1   Novi Beograd 6 5 0 0 1 78 44 +34 15 Advance to quarter-finals — 13–5 10–12 19–7
2   AN Brescia 6 3 1 0 2 62 56 +6 11 8–13 — 11–10 16–7
3   Astralpool Sabadell 6 3 0 1 2 58 51 +7 10 Transfer to Euro Cup 7–11 9–10[a] — 13–6
4   Steaua București 6 0 0 0 6 41 88 −47 0 5–12 8–17 8–11 —
Source: LEN Champions League
  1. ^ Match ended 5–5, AN Brescia won 5–4 on penalties

Group B edit

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification   PRO   OLY   JUG   TBI
1   Pro Recco 6 6 0 0 0 81 52 +29 18 Advance to quarter-finals — 12–11 13–9 15–6
2   Olympiacos Piraeus 6 3 1 0 2 83 54 +29 11 10–11 — 16–15[a] 16–8
3   Jug AO Dubrovnik 6 2 0 1 3 64 72 −8 7 Transfer to Euro Cup 7–14 5–15 — 19–13
4   Dinamo Tbilisi 6 0 0 0 6 47 97 −50 0 9–16 6–19 5–12 —
Source: LEN Champions League
  1. ^ Match ended 12–12, Olympiacos Piraeus won 4–3 on penalties

Group C edit

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification   FTC   SPI   CRV   JAD
1   FTC-Telekom 6 5 1 0 0 91 56 +35 17 Advance to quarter-finals — 13–11 20–6 9–7
2   Jadran Split 6 3 0 1 2 81 78 +3 10 17–20[a] — 16–13 16–14
3   Crvena zvezda 6 2 0 1 3 54 77 −23 7 Transfer to Euro Cup 6–16 12–11 — 9–6
4   Jadran Herceg Novi 6 0 1 0 5 55 70 −15 2 10–17 10–11 21–20[b] —
Source: LEN Champions League
  1. ^ Match ended 16–16, FTC-Telekom won 4–1 on penalties
  2. ^ Match ended 8–8, Jadran Herceg Novi won 13–12 on penalties

Group D edit

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification   BAR   MAR   SPA   VOU
1   Zodiac Atlètic-Barceloneta 6 6 0 0 0 79 52 +27 18 Advance to quarter-finals — 9–7 16–6 16–10
2   CN Marseille 6 3 0 0 3 69 68 +1 9 12–13 — 13–11 15–13
3   Spandau 04 6 2 0 0 4 56 75 −19 6 Transfer to Euro Cup 6–13 13–10 — 14–13
4   NC Vouliagmeni 6 1 0 0 5 66 75 −9 3 11–12 9–12 10–6 —
Source: LEN Champions League

Quarter-finals round edit

Main article: 2023–24 LEN Champions League Quarter-finals round

The eight group winners and eight group runners-up were drawn into two groups, with each one containing two group winners and two group runners-up. The top two teams in each group advanced to the Final Four.

Draw edit

The draw took place in Barcelona. The seeded and unseeded clubs consist of the teams that finished first and second in the previous round respectively. The only restriction was that clubs from the same group in the Main round could not be drawn against each other.[8][9]

Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 2 points for a penalty shootout win, 1 point for a penalty shootout loss, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:


  • Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  • Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  • Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  • Goal difference in all group matches;
  • Goals scored in all group matches.

Group A edit

Pos Team
 Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification   PRO   NOV   MAR   JAD
1   Pro Recco 6 5 1 0 0 88 58 +30 17 Final four — 15–7 15–8 18–9
2   Novi Beograd 6 4 0 1 1 78 74 +4 13 14–15[a] — 13–10 15–11
3   CN Marseille 6 2 0 0 4 72 76 −4 6 10–12 13–14 — 17–10
4   Jadran Split 6 0 0 0 6 62 92 −30 0 10–13 10–15 12–14 —
Source: LEN Champions League
  1. ^ Match ended 10–10, Pro Recco won 5–4 on penalties

Group B edit

Pos Team
 Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification   FTC   OLY   BAR   BRE
1   FTC-Telekom 6 5 0 0 1 62 55 +7 15 Final four — 11–9 13–11 9–8
2   Olympiacos Piraeus 6 4 1 0 1 78 68 +10 14 10–8 — 10–7 17–12
3   Zodiac Atlètic-Barceloneta 6 2 0 1 3 68 65 +3 7 8–10 18–19[a] — 12–8
4   AN Brescia 6 0 0 0 6 54 74 −20 0 9–11 12–13 5–12 —
Source: LEN Champions League
  1. ^ Match ended 13–13, Olympiacos Piraeus won 6–5 on penalties

Final Four edit

Main article: 2023–24 LEN Champions League Final four

On 18 January 2024, the final four was held in the capital of Malta, Valletta, at the National Pool Complex from the 5 to 7 June 2024.[10][11]

Bracket edit

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
5 June
 
 
  Pro Recco (PSO)13
 
7 June
 
  Olympiacos Piraeus11
 
  Pro Recco11
 
5 June
 
  FTC-Telekom12
 
  FTC-Telekom (PSO)18
 
 
  Novi Beograd17
 
Third place
 
 
7 June
 
 
  Olympiacos Piraeus9
 
 
  Novi Beograd6

Semi-finals edit

5 June 2024
19:00 		Report Pro Recco   13–11   Olympiacos Piraeus National Pool Complex, Valletta
Referees:
Adrian Tiberiu Alexandrescu (ROU), Sebastien Dervieux (FRA)
Score by quarters: 3–0, 1–2, 3–3, 2–4  PSO: 4–2
Di Fulvio, Younger 2 Goals Genidounias 3
5 June 2024
21:00 		Report FTC-Telekom   18–17   Novi Beograd National Pool Complex, Valletta
Referees:
Boris Margeta (SLO), David Gomez (ESP)
Score by quarters: 4–4, 3–2, 5–4, 1–3  PSO: 5–4
Mandić 5 Goals Vlachopoulos 4

Third place match edit

7 June 2024
19:00 		Report Olympiacos Piraeus   9–6   Novi Beograd National Pool Complex, Valletta
Referees:
Frank Ohme (GER), Andrej Franulović (CRO)
Score by quarters: 4–1, 3–3, 1–1, 1–1
Fountoulis 3 Goals Ćuk 2

Final edit

7 June 2024
21:00 		Report Pro Recco   11–12   FTC-Telekom National Pool Complex, Valletta
Attendance: 3,000[12]
Referees:
Boris Margeta (SLO), Adrian Tiberiu Alexandrescu (ROU)
Score by quarters: 2–2, 2–4, 3–3, 4–3
four players 2 Goals Mandić 4


2023–24 LEN Champions League Champions
 
FTC-Telekom
Second title

Awards edit

Season MVP Top Scorer Finals MVP
  Dusan Mandic (FTC-Telekom)   Alvaro Granados 39 goals (Novi Beograd)   Dusan Mandic (FTC-Telekom)
Total 7 of the Season
LW   Andrija Prlainović

(CN Marseille)

CF  

Kostas Kakaris (Pro Recco)

RW  

Dusan Mandic (FTC-Telekom)

LD   Álvaro Granados (Novi Beograd) CB   Aaron Younger (Pro Recco) RD   Konstantinos Genidounias (Olympiacos Piraeus)
GK   Soma Vogel (FTC-Telekom)

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Big changes in European water polo club competitions - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. June 2, 2023.
  2. ^ "Ferencvaros sink Recco to be crowned champions of Europe - European Aquatics®". www.len.eu. June 7, 2024.
  3. ^ Spencer-Boyce, James (June 2, 2023). "Changes to European competitions reinforced in Belgrade".
  4. ^ a b "Men Clubs Country Ranking - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. February 20, 2023.
  5. ^ Curcic, Ivan (August 10, 2023). "2024 Men's Champions League: Calendar and schedule".
  6. ^ Curcic, Ivan (August 10, 2023). "Pro Recco starts its new European campaign in group with Olympiacos".
  7. ^ "Men Club Ranking - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. February 20, 2023.
  8. ^ Curcic, Ivan (December 15, 2023). "Novi Beograd - winner of Champions League draw?".
  9. ^ "Champions League Quarters and Euro Cup Eight-Finals draws - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. December 14, 2023.
  10. ^ "Malta will host European Aquatics Men's Champions League Final Four the next three years - LEN - European Aquatics". www.len.eu. January 18, 2024.
  11. ^ Spencer-Boyce, James (January 18, 2024). "Malta to host the next three Champions League finales".
  12. ^ https://www.len.eu/ferencvaros-sink-recco-to-be-crowned-champions-of-europe/

External links edit

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