Another classic at major competitions will be played by water polo players from Montenegro and Italy.
"Ajkule" and "Setebelo" will collide tonight (20.15:XNUMX p.m.) in the quarter-finals of the European Championship at the Sava swimming pool in Zagreb, and they played their first match against each other in the same place when it comes to major competitions.
It was in 2010, also at the European Championship, and Italy won the group then with 11:10.
In total, these two selections played 12 games in the biggest competitions (EP, WC and OI), and currently the score is on the side of the national team from the Apennines - 7:4, with one draw.
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However, it was at the European championships and in the quarter-finals that the "sharks" recorded two great victories against a great rival, after which they reached the medal on both occasions.
Eight years ago in the Belgrade Arena, Montenegro won 10:7 in the battle for the semi-finals on the wings of Nikola Janović, and later won the silver medal. It was the first competition where our national team was led by Vladimir Gojković as a selector.
Four years after Belgrade, the same rivals met in the same phase of the European Championship in the "Danube Arena" in Budapest - Montenegro won this match 10:8 and thus paved the way to the bronze medal.
At the continental championships, water polo players from Montenegro and Italy played in Budapest in 2014 (a draw in the group and the victory of "setebel" in the match for bronze), as well as in 2022 in Split, when our rival won with 13:8 in the group.
Montenegro reached the remaining two victories at major competitions at the world championships, and one of those triumphs was really big.
It was in Barcelona in 2013 when the "sharks" of then coach Ranko Perović dominated so much that the final 10:8 even sounded good for Italy.
Apart from that, Montenegro also celebrated at the world championships in Budapest 2017, but in a much less prestigious match - for fifth place (5:4).
The last time these two teams met was last summer in Fukuoka, when "setebelo" celebrated in the playoff match from 5th to 8th place.
In addition to these duels, Montenegro also played three matches with Italy at the Olympic Games, and in that competition it is still without a win against its great rival - in Rio de Janeiro, "setebelo" won in the group (6:5) and the match for third place (12:10), while in Tokyo he was better in the match for the seventh place after the fifth place.
When counting games outside the three biggest competitions, the score is 20:19 on the side of Montenegro.
Bonus video:
