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2023–24 LEN Champions League

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For the equivalent women's tournament, see 2023–24 LEN Women's Champions League.
2023–24 LEN Champions League
LeagueLEN Champions League
SportWater polo
Duration7 September 2023 – 7 June 2024
Season MVPSerbia Dušan Mandić (FTC-Telekom)
Top scorerSpain Álvaro Granados 39 goals (Novi Beograd)
Finals championsHungary FTC-Telekom (2nd title)
  Runners-upItaly Pro Recco
Finals MVPSerbia Dušan Mandić (FTC-Telekom)
Champions League seasons

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.

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

Format

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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

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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

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

Round and draw dates

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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

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

Draw

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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

Italy AN Brescia
Croatia Jug AO Dubrovnik (H)
Germany Waspo'98 Hannover (H)
Greece NC Vouliagmeni

Hungary OSC Budapest
Italy CC Ortigia
Serbia Radnički Kragujevac (H)
Spain CN Barcelona

Serbia Crvena zvezda
Montenegro Primorac Kotor
France EN Tourcoing
Romania CSM Oradea (H)

France CN Noisy-le-Sec
Greece GS Apollon Smyrnis
Hungary Endo Plus Service Honvéd
Germany ASC Duisburg
Croatia Primorje Erste Bank Rijeka
Romania Dinamo București

Group A

[edit]

7–10 September 2023, Hannover, Germany

Pos Team Pld W PSW PSL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Serbia CRV Spain BAR Germany HAN Greece APO Hungary HON
1 Serbia Crvena zvezda 4 4 0 0 0 50 32 +18 12 Main round — — — 12–10 —
2 Spain CN Barcelona 4 3 0 0 1 41 42 −1 9 9–14 — — 12–11 9–8
3 Germany Waspo'98 Hannover (H) 4 2 0 0 2 39 47 −8 6 6–14 9–11 — 11–10 13–12
4 Greece GS Apollon Smyrnis 4 1 0 0 3 42 45 −3 3 — — — — 11–10
5 Hungary 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 Italy BRE Serbia RAD France NOI Montenegro KOT Germany DUI
1 Italy AN Brescia 4 4 0 0 0 47 24 +23 12 Main round — — — 11–3 11–4
2 Serbia Radnički Kragujevac (H) 4 2 1 0 1 46 45 +1 8 8–15 — 13–10 17–16[a] —
3 France CN Noisy-le-Sec 4 2 0 0 2 52 41 +11 6 9–10 — — — —
4 Montenegro Primorac Kotor 4 1 0 1 2 41 49 −8 4 — — 10–16 — 16–10
5 Germany 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 Greece VOU Italy ORT Croatia RIJ Romania ORA
1 Greece NC Vouliagmeni 3 3 0 0 0 40 25 +15 9 Main round — 12–8 — —
2 Italy CC Ortigia 3 2 0 0 1 38 33 +5 6 — — 16–14 —
3 Croatia Primorje Erste Bank Rijeka 3 1 0 0 2 36 37 −1 3 12–14 — — —
4 Romania 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 Croatia JUG France TOU Hungary OSC Romania DIN
1 Croatia Jug AO Dubrovnik (H) 3 3 0 0 0 47 22 +25 9 Main round — 17–8 14–10 16–4
2 France EN Tourcoing 3 2 0 0 1 32 30 +2 6 — — — —
3 Hungary OSC Budapest 3 1 0 0 2 35 33 +2 3 — 5–10 — 20–9
4 Romania Dinamo București 3 0 0 0 3 21 50 −29 0 — 8–14 — —
Source: LEN
(H) Host

Main round

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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 Serbia NOV Italy BRE Spain SAB Romania STE
1 Serbia Novi Beograd 6 5 0 0 1 78 44 +34 15 Advance to quarter-finals — 13–5 10–12 19–7
2 Italy AN Brescia 6 3 1 0 2 62 56 +6 11 8–13 — 11–10 16–7
3 Spain Astralpool Sabadell 6 3 0 1 2 58 51 +7 10 Transfer to Euro Cup 7–11 9–10[a] — 13–6
4 Romania 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 Italy PRO Greece OLY Croatia JUG Georgia (country) TBI
1 Italy Pro Recco 6 6 0 0 0 81 52 +29 18 Advance to quarter-finals — 12–11 13–9 15–6
2 Greece Olympiacos Piraeus 6 3 1 0 2 83 54 +29 11 10–11 — 16–15[a] 16–8
3 Croatia Jug AO Dubrovnik 6 2 0 1 3 64 72 −8 7 Transfer to Euro Cup 7–14 5–15 — 19–13
4 Georgia (country) 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 Hungary FTC Croatia SPI Serbia CRV Montenegro JAD
1 Hungary FTC-Telekom 6 5 1 0 0 91 56 +35 17 Advance to quarter-finals — 13–11 20–6 9–7
2 Croatia Jadran Split 6 3 0 1 2 81 78 +3 10 17–20[a] — 16–13 16–14
3 Serbia Crvena zvezda 6 2 0 1 3 54 77 −23 7 Transfer to Euro Cup 6–16 12–11 — 9–6
4 Montenegro 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 Spain BAR France MAR Germany SPA Greece VOU
1 Spain Zodiac Atlètic-Barceloneta 6 6 0 0 0 79 52 +27 18 Advance to quarter-finals — 9–7 16–6 16–10
2 France CN Marseille 6 3 0 0 3 69 68 +1 9 12–13 — 13–11 15–13
3 Germany Spandau 04 6 2 0 0 4 56 75 −19 6 Transfer to Euro Cup 6–13 13–10 — 14–13
4 Greece NC Vouliagmeni 6 1 0 0 5 66 75 −9 3 11–12 9–12 10–6 —
Source: LEN Champions League

Quarter-finals round

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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 Italy PRO Serbia NOV France MAR Croatia JAD
1 Italy Pro Recco 6 5 1 0 0 88 58 +30 17 Final four — 15–7 15–8 18–9
2 Serbia Novi Beograd 6 4 0 1 1 78 74 +4 13 14–15[a] — 13–10 15–11
3 France CN Marseille 6 2 0 0 4 72 76 −4 6 10–12 13–14 — 17–10
4 Croatia 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 Hungary FTC Greece OLY Spain BAR Italy BRE
1 Hungary FTC-Telekom 6 5 0 0 1 62 55 +7 15 Final four — 11–9 13–11 9–8
2 Greece Olympiacos Piraeus 6 4 1 0 1 78 68 +10 14 10–8 — 10–7 17–12
3 Spain Zodiac Atlètic-Barceloneta 6 2 0 1 3 68 65 +3 7 8–10 18–19[a] — 12–8
4 Italy 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
 
 
Italy Pro Recco (PSO)13
 
7 June
 
Greece Olympiacos Piraeus11
 
Italy Pro Recco11
 
5 June
 
Hungary FTC-Telekom12
 
Hungary FTC-Telekom (PSO)18
 
 
Serbia Novi Beograd17
 
Third place
 
 
7 June
 
 
Greece Olympiacos Piraeus9
 
 
Serbia Novi Beograd6

Semi-finals

[edit]
5 June 2024
19:00 		Report Pro Recco Italy 13–11 Greece 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 Hungary 18–17 Serbia 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

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7 June 2024
19:00 		Report Olympiacos Piraeus Greece 9–6 Serbia 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 Italy 11–12 Hungary 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
Hungary
FTC-Telekom
Second title

Awards

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Season MVP Top Scorer Finals MVP
Serbia Dušan Mandić (FTC-Telekom) Spain Alvaro Granados 39 goals (Novi Beograd) Serbia Dušan Mandić (FTC-Telekom)
Total 7 of the Season
LW Serbia Andrija Prlainović

(CN Marseille)

CF Greece

Kostas Kakaris (Pro Recco)

RW Serbia

Dušan Mandić (FTC-Telekom)

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

See also

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References

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  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/
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