The European Aquatics Champions League is the top-tier

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an professional

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

club competition with teams from up to 18 countries. It is organized by the

Ligue Européenne de Natation European Aquatics (formerly , , popularly known by its acronym LEN) is the European governing body for aquatic sports affiliated to World Aquatics — it is the Continental Association for Europe. It was formally organized in 1927 in Bologna, ...

. The competition started in 1963 as European Cup. A change of name and format occurred in 1996, with the competition being renamed Champions League and the final four system being established as the format of choice, for the first time during the

1996–97 LEN Champions League The 1996–97 LEN Champions League was the ongoing 34th edition of LEN's premier competition for men's water polo clubs. It ran from 1996 to 5 April 1997, and it was contested by 8 teams. The Final Four (semifinals, final, and third place game) ...

. From 2003 to 2011 the competition was named LEN Euroleague (with the change of name being simply a re-branding) and from 2011 to 2024 was named the LEN Champions League. From 2024, after

LEN European Aquatics (formerly , , popularly known by its acronym LEN) is the European governing body for aquatic sports affiliated to World Aquatics — it is the Continental Association for Europe. It was formally organized in 1927 in Bologna, a ...

was renamed to European Aquatics, the new name is the European Aquatics Champions League. LEN Champions League is the most popular water polo league in the European continent. It has been won by 24 clubs, 10 of which have won the title more than once. The most successful club in the competition is

Pro Recco A.S.D. Pro Recco (Official name: Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Pro Recco) is an Italian professional water polo club from Recco, in Liguria. It currently plays in Serie A1. Pro Recco is the most successful club in men's water polo. In m ...

, with eleven titles. The current European champion is

Ferencváros Ferencváros (, ) is the 9th district of Budapest (), Hungary. Name The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary. History The developmen ...

, who won their second title after defeating

in the 2023–24 LEN Champions League Final in

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

History

Names of the competition

* 1963–1996: European Cup * 1996–2003: Champions League * 2003–2011: LEN Euroleague * 2011–present: LEN Champions League

Title holders

* 1963–64 Partizan * 1964–65

* 1965–66 Partizan * 1966–67 Partizan * 1967–68 Mladost * 1968–69 Mladost * 1969–70 Mladost * 1970–71 Partizan * 1971–72 Mladost * 1972–73 OSC Budapest * 1973–74 MGU Moscow * 1974–75 Partizan * 1975–76 Partizan * 1976–77 CSK VMF Moscow * 1977–78 Canottieri Napoli * 1978–79 OSC Budapest * 1979–80 Vasas * 1980–81 Jug Dubrovnik * 1981–82

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

* 1982–83 Spandau 04 * 1983–84 Stefanel Recco * 1984–85 Vasas * 1985–86 Spandau 04 * 1986–87 Spandau 04 * 1987–88 Sisley Pescara * 1988–89 Spandau 04 * 1989–90 Mladost * 1990–91 Mladost * 1991–92

Jadran Split Vaterpolski klub Jadran Split (), commonly referred to as Jadran Split or simply Jadran, is a professional water polo club based in Split, Croatia. As of 2021–22 season, the club competes in the Croatian League, Regional League A1 and LEN C ...

* 1992–93

* 1993–94

Újpest Újpest (; , ) is the 4th District in Budapest, Hungary. It is located on the left bank of the Danube River. The name Újpest means "New Pest" because the city was formed on the border of the city of Pest, Hungary in 1838. Újpest was a village ...

* 1994–95

Catalunya Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

* 1995–96 Mladost * 1996–97

Posillipo Posillipo (; ) is an affluent residential quarter of Naples, southern Italy, located along the northern coast of the Gulf of Naples. From the 1st century BC the Bay of Naples witnessed the rise of villas constructed by elite Romans along the mo ...

* 1997–98

* 1998–99

POŠK POŠK (POmorski Športski Klub: ''Marine Sports Club''), is a professional water polo club based in Split, Croatia, Split, Croatia. The club was founded in 1937. As of 2021–22 season, it competes in the Croatian First League of Water Polo, Croat ...

* 1999–00

Bečej Bečej (, ; , ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 19,492, while the municipality has 30,681 inhabitants. History Bečej was mentioned f ...

* 2000–01 Jug Dubrovnik * 2001–02

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

* 2002–03

* 2003–04 Honvéd * 2004–05

* 2005–06 Jug Dubrovnik * 2006–07

* 2007–08

* 2008–09 Primorac Kotor * 2009–10

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Partizan * 2011–12

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Crvena zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

* 2013–14 Atlètic-Barceloneta * 2014–15

* 2015–16 Jug Dubrovnik * 2016–17

Szolnok Szolnok (; also known by #Name and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, in the heart of the Great Hungarian ...

* 2017–18

* 2018–19

* 2019–20 ''Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic'' *

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

* 2021–22

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

* 2023–24

* 2024–25

Finals

Titles by club

Titles by nation

*Results until the

breakup of Yugoslavia After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, the constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia split apart in the early 1990s. Unresolved issues from the breakup caused a series of inter-ethnic Yugoslav ...

in 1991 and the

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

of all countries unless the union of

Serbia and Montenegro The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

, named until 2003 as FR YUgoslavia, and broke up in 2006. Clubs from present day

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

won the title 7 times and were runners-up additional 4 times, clubs from present day

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

won the title 7 and were runners-up one time, clubs from present day

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

were runners-up one time. * and . Note, Croatian record counting since 1991, while Serbian and Montenegrin counting since 2006, only. *The results of

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

counted with those of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. *Results until the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

in 1991. Clubs from present day

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

won the title 2 times and were runners-up additional 5 times, clubs from present day

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

were runners-up once time.

Records

has been the most successful club, having won the competition a record 11 times. * Mladost (1968, 1969, 1970) and

(2021, 2022, 2023) are the only two clubs to have won the competition three times in a row. * Partizan and

are the only two clubs to have won the European Championship twice in a row for two times (1966, 1967 & 1975, 1976) and (2007, 2008 & 2021, 2022) * Spandau 04 (1986, 1987), Mladost (1990, 1991),

(1992, 1993) and

(1997, 1998) are the other five teams to have won the European Championship twice in a row, only for one time. * Most finals in a row: 7 Pro Recco (2006-2012), 5 Mladost (1968-1972) & Spandau 04 (1986-1990).

Most Titles

Players

bold - active players

Coaches

As Player and Coach combined

''*'' Two players were players and coaches at the same time in the winning teams.

Boris Čukvas Boris may refer to: People * Boris (given name), a male given name * *List of people with given name Boris * Boris (surname) Arts and media * Boris (band), a Japanese experimental rock trio * ''Boris'' (EP), by Yezda Urfa, 1975 * "Boris" (son ...

won three titles in a dual role. He was a player and Partizan's coach during the seasons in which the Belgrade-based club won its first three titles (1963/64, 1965/66 and 1966/67).

Eraldo Pizzo Eraldo Pizzo (born 21 April 1938) is an Italian water polo player who competed in the 1960 Summer Olympics, in the 1964 Summer Olympics, in the 1968 Summer Olympics, and in the 1972 Summer Olympics. Biography He was born in Rivarolo Ligure, Geno ...

was a player and Pro Recco's coach in the season 1964/65. Titles (2) as a player and a coach:

Veselin Đuho Veselin Đuho (Веселин Ђухо, born 5 January 1960) is a Croatian professional water polo coach and former player who was a two-time Olympic gold medalist for Yugoslavia at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics. Đuho was born in Foča but ...

, Marco Baldineti, Vjekoslav Kobeščak.

Awards

Most valuable player Final Tournament

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

–

Vanja Udovičić Vanja Udovičić, (born Franjo Udovičić,, on 12 September 1982) is a Serbian politician and former professional water polo player who served as minister of youth and sports from 2013 to 2022. An independent politician, he is aligned with t ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

–

Tamás Kásás Tamás Kásás (; born 20 July 1976) is a retired Hungarian water polo player. Kásás is often described as the best defensive player of his era, if not the best overall. He is known for his ability to spring out of the water and block shots, ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

–

Dénes Varga Dénes Andor Varga (born 29 March 1987) is a Hungarian professional water polo player, currently playing for Ferencváros. He was a member of the gold medal winning Hungary men's national water polo team at the Water polo at the 2008 Summer Ol ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

– Andrija Prlainovic *

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

–

Albert Español Albert Español Lifante (born 29 October 1985) is a Spanish water polo player. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed for the Spain men's national water polo team in the men's event. He is 6 ft 2 inches tall. At club level, he plays for ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

–

Felipe Perrone Felipe Perrone Rocha (born 27 February 1986) is a water polo player. Born in Brazil, he competed for Spain from 2003 until 2013, including in the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Olympics. Afterwards he competed for his birth country in the ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

–

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

– Andrija Prlainovic *

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

– Josip Pavic *

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

–

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Not awarded due to COVID-19 pandemic *

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

–

Dušan Mandić Dušan Mandić ( sr-Cyrl, Душан Мандић; born 16 June 1994) is a Serbian water polo player who plays for Ferencváros. He was a part of the Montenegrin junior water polo team before opting to play for Serbia. With Serbian junior natio ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

– Giacomo Cannella *

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

–

Gergő Zalánki Gergő Zalánki (born 26 February 1995) is a Hungarian professional water polo player. He was part of the Hungary men's national water polo team, national team of Hungary at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Honours Club Eger * Országos Bajnokság I ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

–

Top Scorer by Season

–

31 goals * 2013–14 – Filip Filipović 51 goals * 2014–15 –

Sandro Sukno Sandro Sukno (born 30 June 1990) is a Croatian former professional water polo player. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed for the Croatia national team in the men's event winning the gold medal. He also won a silver medal at the 2016 Sum ...

34 goals * 2015–16 –

33 goals * 2016–17 –

42 goals * 2017–18 –

Darko Brguljan Darko Brguljan (; born 5 November 1990) is a water polo player from Montenegro. He was part of the Montenegrin team at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where the team finished in fourth place. See also * List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in ...

42 goals * 2018–19 – Kostas Genidounias 42 goals * 2019–20 Not awarded due to COVID-19 pandemic *

– Angelos Vlachopoulos 41 goals * 2021–22 –

42 goals *

– Alvaro Granados 46 goals * 2023–24 – Alvaro Granados 39 goals

References

External links

*
LEN Champions League
at

(archived) {{European Club Competitions Recurring sporting events established in 1964 LEN club water polo competitions Multi-national professional sports leagues Men's water polo competitions