It has been ten years since the last Hungarian men’s water polo team won the world championship. Then in Barcelona, under the leadership of Tibor Benedek, we beat Montenegro 8-7 in the final, which was the third world championship title for the men’s water polo team. Coincidentally, the second World Cup gold medal came exactly ten years earlier, in 2003, when the medals were still hanging around the necks of the gold team. We have to take the time machine back to 2005, the last time the team won the World Cup in Montreal.
It would be nice if both national teams had an Olympic quota, but for that they would have to play in the final. Seeing the field and density, it would be very difficult. In the men’s category, the Spaniards stand out from the field, and behind them, including us, are five or six teams of the same level. For girls the US is ahead of the rest and then Holland and Spain are also very strong but we’re also on a similar level
– I reported the targets for the indicator Norbert Madaras Two-time Olympic champion and world champion in water polo, president of the Hungarian Water Polo Federation.
We are constantly working to have teams with medal chances. This goes beyond the national team, the show must be strengthened. Winning the U-20 World Cup is a good result. Of course, it is not only the victory that is important, but also the fact that we can integrate the players into the first national team later. This is more important than winning the show
– added the head of the association to his thoughts.
At the beginning of July Dennis Varga the vlv.huTell about it “If we want to win the World Cup – and we want to win, then we also have to deal with what to do with the Spaniards. Because it’s funny that even now they beat us in preparation, and then in the final, when something is at stake, then we win. Now it’s over.” The test is, however, we were easily beaten. In the future, this must be reversed, equalization, so we have to improve.”.
Madaras on Index is reflected in Denes Varga’s statement:
This is due to the fact that in the last two years the Spaniards have been ahead of everyone else, maybe even the Italians a little. However, judging by the recent matches, this difference between the Spaniards and the stadium is now even greater, so Dénes Varga’s ideas have a foundation. The Spaniards are really the best, but they are invincible. If we were to play them tomorrow, they would be the favourites, playing water polo with speed and accuracy. If we can slow them down, then we have a chance against them. The heart of the team has been playing together for a long time, moreover, in the same club, Barcelona.
Salt VargaThe reaction of the captain of the national team of the men’s national team was similar NSOto. According to him, the Spaniards and Italians learned a lot from us thanks to videography, and they have been building up quite well recently.
The double man defense is particularly good, as we are talking about teams who are used to forcing the opponent player in the worst position to shoot the ball, under as much pressure as possible. All competitors can be defeated, and we also managed to beat the Spaniards at the European Championship last year, but our goal is to play at a consistent and high level in all world tournaments. Those items that are best used by competitors should be incorporated into our inventory, adapted to our own tactics. Development primarily requires patience and humility. I see shortcomings and still believe in action
Zsolt Varga said earlier.
Federal leaders are optimistic
Although the situation may be more optimistic based on the results of the preparations, the captains of the two national teams are optimistic about the World Cup. Both teams took fourth place in the final of the World Cup in Los Angeles – however, the men were bronze medalists for a while, but due to a ridiculous refereeing error, the Americans saved the score.
Salt Varga published on the association’s website in the article Talk about how everything is going according to plan and the overall picture is encouraging – our men’s national team was preparing for the tournament in Kyoto until Friday. Judge AttilaThe captain of the women’s national team also revealed to the federation that he does not usually talk about the results of training sessions with two goals, however “We played two very encouraging matches against the Americans.”.
Unlike usual, this time the federation leaders can train with a team of 15 instead of 13, so possible injuries and rest can be better dealt with. However, coaches still called up 13 players for matches. For the girls, the 2023 World Championships will kick off in Fukuoka on Sunday, with the tournament kicking off against Canada at 1:30pm Hungarian time. The boys against Japan starts on Monday at noon Hungarian time.
It will be important for both teams to win the group, and Argentina and Japan should not be a problem for the men. probably The battle for first place in the group continues with Croatia. The women’s group schedule is much more flexible than this, easy victories over Japan and New Zealand are to be expected, and Canada shouldn’t be much of a hurdle for the team either – the question is how difficult it will be to face the first stronger opponent in the qualifiers. After an easy group stage.
The 2022 World Cup in Budapest has been a huge success for Hungarian water polo.
On the other hand, there was the women’s national team, which marched to the finals in spectacular fashion, and it didn’t take long for them to defeat the reigning Americans. Silver also shone well, as we won the medal of the World Championships in Barcelona in 2013, taking third place, and the previous medal was the gold of the World Championships in Montreal.
However, the match in Budapest did not go well for the men’s national team. Although we confidently won the group, we were eliminated in the round of 16 by the Italians, who progressed to the finals, and the boys missed out on the bronze medal at the 2019 World Cup. There is certainly no shortage of desire to prove itself on either side, as it comes close The women’s national team is from the Americans, and the men’s national team has to shake off the damage from last year’s World Cup.
Only Hungary has more than ten, eleven medals in Men’s Water Polo World Cup history. Of these, three were gold, seven were silver, and one was copper. Italy leads with four gold medals. The Hungarian women’s water polo team also finished second, with two golds, two silvers, and a bronze, and the United States was far ahead, with seven golds, two silvers, and a bronze.
Two world champions in the men’s team
36-year-old Denis Varga and 31-year-old Marton Vamos traveled from the 2013 World Championship team to Japan. These two may have been the biggest stars of the national team in recent years, but unfortunately the iron teeth of time also caught up with them. They don’t play in the match as much as they used to, but when they’re in the water, routine and knowledge may be more than a few minutes of play. Their hands certainly don’t tremble when they have to take a shot in the final seconds of an attack.
On the other hand, the national team has two outstanding players: Krisztián Manhercz and Gergő Zalánki who are capable of decisive performances and can decide matches when required. Manhercz is 26, Zalánki is 28, the former has just moved to Marseille, the latter has become the player of the year for the second time in a row in Italian Pro Recco – he is currently the best club in the world and won his third BL title in a row this year.
Both need to post goals to succeed.
In terms of squad, ten players also played in last year’s unsuccessful domestic World Cup, and we start the tournament with five World Cup emerging players. Since Tamas Marcz left the national team after a seventh-place finish in Budapest, Zsolt Varga captained the team in the fall at the European Championships in Split, where the team won a silver medal. Four World Cup debutants, Vendel Vigvári, Gergő Fekete, Toni Német and Erik Molnár were already members of the squad, but this would be Vince Vigvári’s first global competition.
What may be interesting from the point of view of the team’s announcement is that, unlike before, the captain of the national team Zsolt Varga chose left-handed players (Zalanky, Vamos), and Gergely Burian did not become a member of the team. However, Burián scored the same number of goals as Gergő Zalánki at the European Championships in the fall. Blas Harry stayed at home as world champion, but he struggled with injuries all season, so it was expected that he would not be in the national team. What would have been a surprise is that Ákos Konarik did not become a member of the squad either, although he scored 71 goals in Vasas this season and played in Split and the Los Angeles Super Final in the fall. In his place, Ferencváros’ Zoltán Pohl eventually traveled to Japan.
The captain’s decision and task is to announce the line-up, in which I have no say. It’s not necessarily a problem to bring in just two left-handed players, because they also stand out from the field on a world class level. What could be more of a problem is that we only have one hub, in the person of Tony Nemet
Norbert Madaras shared his thoughts on the framework.
A total of nine of the fifteen squad members spent the 2022-2023 season at Ferencvaros. Since the captain of the national team, Zsolt Varga, was also the coach of Fredi until the end of the season, it is clear that he prefers to include players in the team who know them from all sides and know what to expect from them.
Men’s national team squad:
- goalkeepers: Marton Levay, Soma Vogel
- field players: Daniel Anguilla, Christian Manhersh, Zoltan Paul, Marton Vamos, Odam Nagy, Gergo Zalanke, Gergo Fekete, Tony Nemit, Denis Varga, Zilard Jancic, Fendel Vegvary, Eric Mulengari,
Last year’s silver medal team is almost unchanged
For women, nine of the bronze medalist team at the Tokyo Olympics and 12 of the silver medalist team at last year’s World Cup in Budapest travel to Japan. In the Attila Peruvian team, we cannot talk about omissions or significant absences. The national team has gathered very well in recent years. Three World Cup juniors, Poglarka Neszemeli, Dalma Domsudi and 17-year-old Kata Hajdu are still with the regulars. Dumsudi already played in the national team in Split, but for Nesmeli and Hadi, the World Cup is their first global competition.
The three great values of Hungarian water polo. They are not in the team because one day they will be good, but because they are already there and can give precious minutes to the national team.
– Declare in the frame declaration Judge Attilaaccording to him, in addition to the Hungarian national team, the American, Spanish and Dutch national teams have a real chance for the Olympic Games in Fukuoka.
team captain Rita from Keszthely They highlighted that, just like last year’s World Championships, they want to go step by step this time, which means the final on Margaret Island.
We want to play well and meet the challenges we face
– Added world class player, Legion in Spain.
Women’s squad:
- Goalkeepers: Alda Magyari, Boglárka Neszmély
- field players: Dorottya Szilágyi, Vanda Vályi, Gréta Gurisatti, Geraldine Mahieu, Rebecca Parkes, Zsuzsanna Máté, Rita Keszthelyi, Dóra Leimeter, Natasa Rybanska, Kamilla Faragó, Krisztina Garda, Dalma Dömsödi, Kata Hajddi
(Cover photo: Norbert Madaras in 2021. Photo: Emma Jumpquote/Index)
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