Two trophies in the men’s European competitions for clubs will be awarded by the end of the season. On Wednesday, the Champions League semifinal matchups were confirmed.
Before the Final Four in Malta, the Euro Cup final will take place.
The champions of France and Croatia, Marseille and Jadran Split, will battle for the trophy.
The 1st game will be played on Saturday (18.00, CET) in Marseille. Jadran will host the French in Split on June 6.
Marseille will be competing for its second Euro Cup, following its victory in 2019, when the club made its debut in the finals of European competitions. Eight years ago, the French triumphed over the namesake of their upcoming rival, Jadran Herceg Novi. This victory remains the first and, to date, the only trophy won by a French club in European Aquatics competitions.
Jadran, a double European champion (1992 and 1993) and the European Super Cup winner, has played in the Euro Cup final once, like Marseille, but didn’t win a trophy that time. It was a long time ago – in 1998, losing to Partizan.
Jadran reached European highs in the 1990s, while Marseille hadn’t achieved big international success before winning the 2019 Euro Cup.
However, the clubs have a few things in common.
They are both based in large ports.
They are national champions and have excellent players on their roster.
Both head coaches are involved in the national teams’ coaching staff. Marseille’s Milos Scepanovic was an assistant in the team of Montenegro, where he played for years. Since last year, he has been a member of the Spanish national team’s coaching staff. Jure Marelja (Jadran) has assisted to Ivica Tucak in Croatia for several years.
Milos Scepanovic Photo by CN Marseille
But neither club shone in the Champions League this season. Marseille finished 4th in the group, behind Barceloneta, Hannover, and Sabadell, which was quite surprising, given that the French finished 4th last season. Jadran collected only three points in a tough group with Pro Recco, Novi Beograd and Jadran Herceg Novi.
Road to final
On its way to the Euro Cup final, Marseille had a slightly more demanding schedule than Jadran, but in the second half of the season, it has improved its form significantly and eliminated strong clubs. In the eighth-finals, it eliminated Savona (with a 12:11 win in Italy and a 13:13 draw in France). Then, it was better than Sabadell (17:12 in France and 14:14 in Spain). Marseille caused an upset in the semifinals. It faced the big favorite, Radnicki. After losing 14:17 in Kragujevac, Marseille beat the Serbian side quite convincingly at home, 16:11, thanks to a dominant second half.
Jure Marelja Photo by VK Jadran Split
Jadran outclassed Szolnok in the eight-finals (15:10 and 21:14), and, then, played four thrilling games to reach the final – against Panathinaikos in the quarter finals (an 11:10 win in Athens and a 19:19 draw in Split) and against BVSC in the semis (a 13:12 victory in Split and a 14:12 win in Budapest).
Head-to-head record
Tradition does not favor Jadran. The finalists of the 2026 Euro Cup have faced each other six times in recent history, with Marseille winning all six matches.The French beat the Croats in the 2018 Euro Cup quarterfinals (11:10 and 7:5) and four times in the Champions League Quarter Final stage in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons.
Their previous encounter occurred exactly 13 months ago (April 23, 2025). Marseille beat Jadran in Split quite convincingly, 18:6. But Jadran had lost all chances of advancing to the F4 before that game, while Marseille was battling to secure its spot in the semifinals.
Rosters
Both teams have rosters filled with many outstanding players.
Marseille is a “French water polo legion”.
Radomir Drasovic Photo by WP Inside/CN Marseille
Eleven players of Marseille participated in this year’s European championships, representing seven nations, including Olympic and Olympic champion, Radomir Drasovic, silver medalist, Adam Nagy, bronze medalist Efstathios Kalgeropoulos, Montenegrins Petar Tesanovic and Vladan Spaic, Spaniard Marc Larumbe, Dutch Bilal Gbadamassi, and several French players, headed by Thomas Vernoux and Alexandre Bouet. Veterans Ugo Crousillat and Michael Bodegas are also important pillars of the team.
Jadran began returning to the top of Croatian and world water polo a few years ago, after a long period in which it had been in the shadow of Jug, Mladost and Primorje. The Split-based team won its first Croatian championship title in 2023. It repeated that success in 2024 and 2025 (Jadran won all of its previous national championships competing in the Yugoslav League).
Marko Bijac Photo by VK Jadran Split
Several players, who have won many medals with Croatia, are the backbone of the team – Loren Fatovic, Jerko Marinic Kragic, Zvonimir Butic, and goalkeeper Marko Bijac. Young Toni Radan, who made his debut for Croatia at the World Cup in April, plays an important role for the team, as does experienced Hungarian center-forward Toni Nemet, Dusan Matkovic (Montenegro), and Macrus Berehulak (Australia).
Neither finalist is a favorite, and nothing will be decided in the first game.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: total-waterpolo.com
