Having spent 13 years at Olympiacos, where she won an impressive 24 trophies, including three Champions League titles, Plevritou has firmly established herself as a water polo legend. Now, at 27 years old, she’s embracing a new chapter in Budapest, with her eyes set on conquering new challenges in both domestic and European competitions.

In a candid interview with Aquafeed24, Eleftheria Plevritou, one of Greece’s top water polo players, shared her thoughts on her transition to Hungarian club Ferencváros after more than a decade of success at Olympiacos.

Reflecting on her early days with Ferencváros, Plevritou admitted that her adaptation to her new team has been smoother than expected.

“I knew that I would adjust eventually, but I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly. The girls in the team made me feel comfortable right away, and everyone has been helping me with whatever I need. This made the transition period quite easy,” she said.

Plevritou also acknowledged that Ferencváros is still a work in progress as a team, given the new coach and roster changes. Despite this, the squad has already secured four wins out of four in the early stages of the Women’s Champions League qualification.

“We’re a new team with a new coach, so it’s a fresh start for everyone. Our first official matches were in the Champions League in Athens, and we qualified for the next phase with four wins. However, we still need time to gel and make our systems more automatic,” she explained.

Looking ahead to the rest of the Champions League season, Plevritou is optimistic about Ferencváros’ potential. The team has its sights set on reaching the knockout stages of the competition—something they have struggled to achieve in recent years.

“This stage of the Champions League features the best teams in Europe. I think our draw is quite good, and we need to prepare properly to face these teams. Our goal is to reach the knockout rounds, which the team hasn’t managed in the past few years. After that, we’ll aim even higher,” she said.

Plevritou’s return to Greece for the Champions League qualifiers also allowed her to face Panionios, and she was impressed by their young and improved squad.

Though her focus is now on Ferencváros, Plevritou still holds deep affection for Olympiacos and its fans, who have supported her throughout her career.

“It’s very important to me that even now, after I’ve left, I continue to receive wonderful messages! That makes me really happy. I spent 13 years, literally half of my life, at Olympiacos and I’ve received so much love from the fans,” she shared.

In a heartfelt message to Olympiacos supporters, Plevritou expressed her gratitude for the incredible journey she shared with the club.

“I want to thank them for this beautiful journey I experienced with Olympiacos! It’s very special to play in a packed pool with fans—something you don’t see often in water polo. We had the joy and honor of experiencing that many times in our games.”

As for her ambitions this season, Plevritou has set her sights high with Ferencváros, aiming for domestic titles and a strong showing in the Champions League.

“For me, it will be very important to win domestic titles and go as far as possible in the Champions League. It’s worth noting that this team hasn’t won the Hungarian league yet, so that would be a huge achievement.”

When asked to summarize her season at the end of the year, Plevritou hopes to look back with pride on her decision to take on this new challenge.

“This season was a big challenge for me, and I’m really happy I took it on because it’s something I’ve wanted to do for years!”

The content and quotes of this article are attributed to Kostas Pappas and Aquafeed24