Three and a half years ago, Jadran Carine ended their appearance in the Champions League with duels with Primorje, when Rijeka were better in the quarterfinals. From then until today, he hasn't felt the pleasure of playing in an elite competition, he couldn't go beyond the qualifications...
The first opponent after returning to the Champions League is also a club from Kantrid, no weaker than it was in the 2011/12 season. when he reached the final and lost to Pro Rek in Oradea.
Primorje is the current vice-champion, it is clear that tonight (18 p.m.) is also a big favorite in Igalo, but maybe Vladimir Gojković's team will give the most now that there is no pressure, because against teams like Primorje, Barceloneta, Olympiakos, Eger, Spandau..., they have to it simply does not exist, only the desire to prove it.
In the season when Jadran last played in the Champions League, Gojković was still a player, the last three he was a trophy-winning coach, and now there are three more guys who also wore the cap of the team from Škver - Slaven Kandić, Stefan Vidović and Bojan Banićević. Four seasons ago, however, they had a much smaller role than in this Adriatic.
And one of the debutants is Aleksa Ukropina, a 17-year-old member of the Montenegrin national team.
"The strongest competition in club water polo is returning to Herceg Novi and that is a special pleasure. The European vice-champion is coming and we don't need a special motive. I think that Primorje has a weaker team than last season and nothing is impossible," said Ukropina and continued:
"Most of us are making our debut in the Champions League, a competition that every young water polo player dreams of. We will enter the match as always - without fear and try to play the best possible game," adds Ukropina.
The three first-placed teams go to the final six, with the fact that from group A, in which Jadran is, one place is already reserved for Eger, the host of the final tournament.
"We don't have a specific goal in the Champions League. We are a young and quite inexperienced team, unlike our opponents in the group, but that doesn't have to mean anything. Everything is possible in sports," concluded Ukropina.
Potential Montenegrin representative Antonio Petrović has been wearing the Primorje cap for the third season.
In addition to Petrović, eight more Montenegrin internationals will play in the Champions League this season - Aleksandar Ivović (Pro Reko), Draško Brguljan (OSC), Uroš Čučković (Eger), Mlađan Janović, Miloš Šćepanović, Nikola Vukčević, Vjekoslav Pasković (Galatasaraj) and Danilo Adžić (Partisan).
Schedule
GROUP A
Jadran Carine - Primorje 18.00
Eger - Olympiakos 18.45
Barceloneta - Spandau 19.15
GROUP B
Pro Reko - Galatasaray 18.30
Partizan - Solnok 20.00
OSC - South 20.15
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