Zodiac CNAB and Pro Recco will meet in Saturday’s Champions League final after contrasting semi-final victories in Malta, with Barceloneta dethroning reigning champions FTC-Telekom in a dramatic penalty shootout before Recco powered past Olympiacos Piraeus in commanding fashion.
The first semi-final delivered all the tension expected from a meeting between two of Europe’s biggest clubs. Ferencvaros arrived in Malta chasing a third consecutive Champions League crown, but their reign was ended by a Barceloneta side missing its leading scorer, Vince Vigvari, who was ruled out through injury ten days before the Final Four.
Without him, the Spanish champions had to find another way. They did exactly that, leaning on discipline, defensive organisation and an outstanding performance from goalkeeper Unai Aguirre to edge FTC 13-11 after penalties, with the match finishing 9-9 in regular time.
Barceloneta began sharply, frustrating the Hungarian champions and building a 6-3 half-time lead. Alessandro Velotto opened the scoring with a man-up goal, while Echenique and Unai Biel also helped the Spaniards take control. FTC struggled badly on the extra player in the first half, failing to convert any of their five man-up opportunities, while Barceloneta made the most of their chances.
But Ferencvaros, as expected, refused to go quietly. Mandic and Vigvari struck in quick succession midway through the third period to cut the deficit to one, before Manhercz finally converted FTC’s first extra-player goal to level the match at 6-6. Biel restored Barceloneta’s lead before the final break, but the momentum had shifted.
In the fourth quarter, FTC moved in front for the first time through Argyropoulos, before Tahull quickly replied for 8-8. Gergo Fekete then put Ferencvaros 9-8 ahead with two minutes remaining, and the defending champions had a man-up chance to move two clear. Aguirre produced another crucial save, his 13th of the game, and Barceloneta punished them immediately.
Velotto, one of the heroes of the night, struck his fourth goal with 35 seconds left to force penalties. In the shootout, Barceloneta were flawless. Sanahuja, Echenique, Biel and Valls all scored, while Mandic hit the post and Aguirre denied Fekete to send CNAB into their first Champions League final since 2014, when they lifted the trophy for the first time in club history.
The second semi-final was far more one-sided. Pro Recco produced a ruthless attacking display to defeat Olympiacos 19-13 and book another shot at the European title.
The Italian side exploded out of the blocks, scoring twice in their first two possessions and racing into an 8-4 lead by the end of the opening quarter. Recco’s depth was clear from the start, with seven different players scoring in the first period alone. Olympiacos relied heavily on Gergo Zalanki, who scored three of their first four goals, but the Greek champions could not slow Recco’s rhythm.
By half-time, the match had effectively slipped away from Olympiacos. Max Irving scored just 16 seconds into the second quarter, and Recco continued to punish every defensive mistake. At the break, the Italians led 13-7, having scored 13 goals from 17 shots and converted six of their seven powerplay opportunities.
Alvaro Granados extended the lead to seven from the penalty line in the third quarter, and although Olympiacos continued to battle, Recco controlled the game from there. Granados and Irving both finished with four goals, while Cannella, Presciutti and Condemi each scored twice in a complete team performance.
That sets up a heavyweight final between Barceloneta and Pro Recco on Saturday at 21:00 CET. Before that, Ferencvaros and Olympiacos will meet in the bronze-medal match at 19:00 CET.
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