This season, Montenegro will not experience the excitement of Champions League matches, even though it has a team participating in the prestigious European competition.

The water polo team Jadran from Herceg Novi will face their namesake from Split tomorrow (Saturday, 19 p.m.) in Trebinje, for the second round of the Champions League.

The swimming facility at the Simo Milošević Institute in Herceg Novi has faced damage for years. LEN prohibits the strongest club matches from taking place in inflatable pools (as in Škver), and the Croatian side is not fond of the name of the venue (Zoran Gopčević) in Kotor. Therefore, Jadran opted to host the Champions League in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This is certainly an unusual scenario, but the Montenegrin champions are determined to chase victories despite the challenges…

“It’s quite unique; this is our first time playing in this city. We’ve conducted a few training sessions and haven’t spent much time in Trebinje, but we have been here for two days now. I hope we’ll acclimatize, deliver a strong performance, and if possible, secure our first triumph in the Champions League,” said Petar Radanović, head coach of Jadran.

How to Contain Vrlić?

However, after facing the formidable Ferencvaros in the promotion round, they are now up against another tough opponent.

“Jadran has significantly improved this year; they have an excellent team, and it’s going to be very challenging. The key is to neutralize their center, Josip Vrlić, who is among the best centers globally. If we tackle this aggressively and maintain discipline, I am hopeful that we can achieve a positive result,” Radanović added.

The First Encounter with Đur Radović

In their opening round, Jadran put up a tough fight against FTC in Budapest, but ultimately fell short with a 9:7 defeat, while their counterparts triumphed over Crvena zvezda (16:13).

“Jadran is certainly the team that has welcomed the most new players this summer. Loren Fatović, Vrlić, and Đuro Radović, our former teammate, have joined us,” stated Danilo Radović, one of the standout players in Petr Radanović’s squad.

He emphasized the significance of competing against his former teammate.

“These matchups will be intriguing; he’s facing us for the first time,” Radović added.

Speaking about the match in Trebinje, he said…

“We’re up against a strong team, but we do have our opportunities, and I believe we can surprise them through our transition play, which is one of our trademarks,” Radović concluded.

Although the team couldn’t secure a surprise in Budapest, they approach the upcoming match against their Split rivals with confidence, having won all three of their matches in the Adriatic League.

Group C

Saturday

19:00 Jadran Herceg Novi – Jadran Split

20:00 Crvena zvezda – Ferencvaros

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