Wikipedia

Serbia men's national water polo team

This article is about the Serbian men's national water polo team. For the women's team, see Serbia women's national water polo team. For the national team that played under the flag of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, see Yugoslavia national water polo team.

The Serbia men's national water polo team represents Serbia in international men's water polo. It is considered to be one of the most successful men's water polo teams in the world, winning medals in all Olympic tournaments it has entered, including three golds, and being a multiple world and European champion.

Serbia
FINA codeSRB
Nickname(s)Делфини / Delfini
(The Dolphins)
AssociationWater Polo Association of Serbia [sr]
ConfederationLEN (Europe)
Head coachUroš Stevanović
Asst coachDarko Bilić
Stefan Ćirić
CaptainNikola Jakšić
Most capsDejan Savić (444)
Top scorer(s)Aleksandar Šapić (981)
FINA ranking (since 2008)
Current3 (as of 9 August 2021)
Highest1 (2009–2011, 2014–2019)
Lowest4 (2013)
Olympic Games (team statistics)
Appearances8 (first in 1996)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (2016, 2020, 2024)
World Championship
Appearances14 (first in 1998)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (2005, 2009, 2015)
World Cup
Appearances9 (first in 1997)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (2006, 2010, 2014)
World League
Appearances18 (first in 2003)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019)
European Championship
Appearances13 (first in 1997)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (2001, 2003, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018)
Europa Cup
Appearances2 (first in 2018)
Best result4th (2018)
Mediterranean Games
Appearances6 (first in 1997)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (1997, 2009, 2018, 2022)
Media
Websitewaterpoloserbia.org
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 3 1 3
World Championship 3 2 3
World Cup 3 0 2
World League 12 1 1
European Championship 7 2 1
Europa Cup 0 0 0
Mediterranean Games 4 0 1
Summer Universiade 4 1 2
Total 36 7 13
Men's water polo
Representing  FR Yugoslavia /  Serbia and Montenegro /  Serbia
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Team
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris Team
Silver medal – second place 2004 Athens Team
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Sydney Team
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Beijing Team
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London Team
World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2005 Montreal Team
Gold medal – first place 2009 Rome Team
Gold medal – first place 2015 Kazan Team
Silver medal – second place 2001 Fukuoka Team
Silver medal – second place 2011 Shanghai Team
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Perth Team
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Barcelona Team
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Budapest Team
FINA World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2006 Budapest
Gold medal – first place 2010 Oradea
Gold medal – first place 2014 Almaty
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Belgrade
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Berlin
FINA World League
Gold medal – first place 2005 Belgrade
Gold medal – first place 2006 Athens
Gold medal – first place 2007 Berlin
Gold medal – first place 2008 Genova
Gold medal – first place 2010 Niš
Gold medal – first place 2011 Firenze
Gold medal – first place 2013 Chelyabinsk
Gold medal – first place 2014 Dubai
Gold medal – first place 2015 Bergamo
Gold medal – first place 2016 Huizhou
Gold medal – first place 2017 Ruza
Gold medal – first place 2019 Belgrade
Silver medal – second place 2004 Long Beach
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Podgorica
European Championship
Gold medal – first place 2001 Budapest
Gold medal – first place 2003 Kranj
Gold medal – first place 2006 Belgrade
Gold medal – first place 2012 Eindhoven
Gold medal – first place 2014 Budapest
Gold medal – first place 2016 Belgrade
Gold medal – first place 2018 Barcelona
Silver medal – second place 1997 Seville
Silver medal – second place 2008 Málaga
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Zagreb
European Games
Gold medal – first place 2015 Baku
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal – first place 1997 Bari Team
Gold medal – first place 2009 Pescara Team
Gold medal – first place 2018 Tarragona Team
Gold medal – first place 2022 Oran Team
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Almeria Team
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place 1995 Fukuoka Team
Gold medal – first place 2005 Izmir Team
Gold medal – first place 2011 Shenzhen Team
Gold medal – first place 2017 Taipei Team
Silver medal – second place 2003 Daegu Team
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Belgrade Team
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Kazan Team
Logo of the Water Polo Association of Serbia [sr]
The 2015 world championship team on a Serbian postage stamp

Not including the results of the former Yugoslav team, the Serbian team won three World Championships, seven European Championships, three World Cups, record 12 FINA World Leagues, four gold medals at Mediterranean Games, four gold medals at Summer Universiades and gold medal at the first and so far only water polo tournament at the European Games, justifying the status of water polo as the national sport of Serbia.

In 2016, Serbia became the first national water polo team to simultaneously hold titles in all five existing major championships—European Championship, World Championship, World Cup, World League and Olympic Games.[1] The team holds the record for the most consecutive World League titles, winning five consecutive titles from 2013 to 2017. They are Serbia's most successful national sports team, having won more titles than all other Serbian national teams combined.[2]

Competitive record

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Medals

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Includes matches of Serbia and Montenegro and Serbia.

Updated after the 2022 Mediterranean Games

Competition       Total
Olympic Games 3 1 3 7
World Championship 3 2 3 8
European Championship 7 2 1 10
World Cup 3 0 2 5
World League 12 1 1 14
Europa Cup 0 0 0 0
Mediterranean Games 4 0 1 5
Summer Universiade 4 1 2 7
Total 36 7 13 56

Olympic Games

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Main article: Serbia men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics
Year[3] Position
1936 to 1988 part of SFR Yugoslavia
as   FR Yugoslavia
  1992 Barcelona suspended
  1996 Atlanta 8th
  2000 Sydney  
as   Serbia and Montenegro
  2004 Athens  
as   Serbia
  2008 Beijing  
  2012 London  
  2016 Rio de Janeiro  
  2020 Tokyo  
  2024 Paris  
  2028 Los Angeles future events
  2032 Brisbane

World Championship

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Year[3] Position
1973 to 1991 part of SFR Yugoslavia
as   FR Yugoslavia
  1994 Rome suspended
  1998 Perth  
  2001 Fukuoka  
as   Serbia and Montenegro
  2003 Barcelona  
  2005 Montreal  
as   Serbia
  2007 Melbourne 4th
  2009 Rome  
  2011 Shanghai  
  2013 Barcelona 7th
  2015 Kazan  
  2017 Budapest  
  2019 Gwangju 5th
  2022 Budapest 5th
  2023 Fukuoka 4th
  2024 Doha 6th
  2025 Kallang future events
  2027 Budapest

European Championship

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Year Position
1950 to 1991 part of SFR Yugoslavia
as   FR Yugoslavia
  1993 Sheffield suspended
  1995 Vienna did not participate
  1997 Seville  
  1999 Florence 7th
  2001 Budapest  
as   Serbia and Montenegro
  2003 Kranj  
as   Serbia
  2006 Belgrade  
  2008 Malaga  
  2010 Zagreb  
  2012 Eindhoven  
  2014 Budapest  
  2016 Belgrade  
  2018 Barcelona  
  2020 Budapest 5th
  2022 Split 9th
  2024 Dubrovnik and Zagreb 7th
  2026 Belgrade future event

World Cup

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Year[3] Position
1979 to 1991 part of SFR Yugoslavia
as   FR Yugoslavia
  1993 Athens suspended
  1995 Atlanta did not participate
  1997 Athens 7th
  1999 Sydney 5th
  2002 Belgrade  
as   Serbia and Montenegro
  2006 Budapest  
as   Serbia
  2010 Oradea  
  2014 Almaty  
  2018 Berlin  
  2023 Los Angeles 7th

World League

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Year[3] Position
as   FR Yugoslavia
  2002 Patras did not participate
as   Serbia and Montenegro
  2003 New York 4th
  2004 Long Beach  
  2005 Belgrade  
  2006 Athens  
as   Serbia
  2007 Berlin  
  2008 Genoa  
  2009 Podgorica  
  2010 Niš  
  2011 Florence  
  2012 Almaty did not participate
  2013 Chelyabinsk  
  2014 Dubai  
  2015 Bergamo  
  2016 Huizhou  
  2017 Ruza  
  2018 Budapest preliminary round
  2019 Belgrade  
  2020 Tbilisi preliminary round
  2022 Strasbourg 5th

Europa Cup

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Year Position
  2018 Rijeka 4th
  2019 Zagreb 6th

Mediterranean Games

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Year Position
1959 to 1991 part of SFR Yugoslavia
as   FR Yugoslavia
  1993 Languedoc-Roussillon suspended
  1997 Bari  
  2001 Tunis 4th
as   Serbia and Montenegro
  2005 Almeria  
as   Serbia
  2009 Pescara  
  2013 Tunis 6th
  2018 Tarragona  
  2022 Oran  
  2026 Taranto future event

Team

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Current squad

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Roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

A 19-player roster was announced on 24 June 2024.[4] The final roster was announced on 21 July 2024.[5]

Head coach: Uroš Stevanović[6]

Coaches

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Most appearances and goals

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Main article: Serbia men's national water polo team statistics

Professional friendly and competitive matches only where Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro and now Serbia were represented.

Name Years Matches Goals
1 Dejan Savić 1994–2008 444 405
2 Aleksandar Šapić 1997–2008 385 981
3 Filip Filipović 2003–2021 381 677
4 Živko Gocić 2003–2016 362 207
5 Slobodan Nikić 2003–2016 355 354
6 Igor Milanović 1984–1996 349 540
7 Aleksandar Ćirić 1997–2008 346 201
8 Vladimir Vujasinović 1990–2008 341 391
9 Duško Pijetlović 2005–2021 340 472
10 Andrija Prlainović 2005–2021 336 541

Statistics accurate as of matches played 6 August 2021

Philanthropy

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On 25 December 2011, Serbia's water polo team was included in a humanitarian action "Bitka za Bebe" ("the Battle for the Babies") playing an exhibition match with the team of the Faculty of Organizational Sciences (FON), in Belgrade. Before the Serbian water polo team had joined the action, many other athletes were included. Among them was the world number one in tennis at that time, Novak Djokovic, football and basketball players of Red Star Belgrade, and many others. Proceeds from the ticket sales went to fund "Bitka za Bebe" and enough money was successfully raised to purchase one hundred incubator.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Rulers of all competitions". b92.net. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  2. ^ "Vaterpolo Srbija - Serbia Water Polo: Osvojene medalje".
  3. ^ a b c d "HistoFINA – Water polo medalists and statistics" (PDF). fina.org. FINA. September 2019. pp. 4, 14, 25, 40, 48. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Reprezentacija na pripremama u Kranju". waterpoloserbia.org. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Srbija na Olimpijskim igrama u Parizu". waterpoloserbia.org. 21 July 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Team roster: Serbia" (PDF). Olympics.com. 26 July 2024. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
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