Serbia men's national water polo team

The Serbia men's national water polo team represents Serbia in international water polo competitions and is controlled by the Water Polo Association of Serbia. They have won gold medals in the Olympics, World and European Championships, World Cup, FINA World League, Mediterranean Games and Universiade, making them one of the most successful men's water polo teams in the world.

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.

Serbia
FINA codeSRB
Nickname(s)Делфини / Delfini
(The Dolphins)
AssociationWater Polo Association of Serbia
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)
Appearances6 (first in 1996)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (2016, 2020)
World Championship
Appearances11 (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 2 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 35 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
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
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
2015 world champions on a 2015 Serbian stamp

They are Serbia's most successful national team, having won more titles than all other Serbian national teams combined.[1] In 2016, they became the first team to hold titles in all five existing major championships: European Championship, World Championship, World Cup, World League and Olympic Games simultaneously.[2]

Competitive record

Medals

Includes matches of Serbia and Montenegro and Serbia.

Updated after the 2022 Mediterranean Games

Competition1st place, gold medalist(s)2nd place, silver medalist(s)3rd place, bronze medalist(s)Total
Olympic Games 2136
World Championship 3238
World Cup 3025
World League 121114
European Championship 72110
Europa Cup 0000
Mediterranean Games 4015
Summer Universiade 4127
Total3571355

Olympic Games
Main article: Serbia men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics
Year[3] Position
1936 to 1988part of SFR Yugoslavia
as  FR Yugoslavia
Spain 1992 Barcelonasuspended
United States 1996 Atlanta8th
Australia 2000 Sydney
as  Serbia and Montenegro
Greece 2004 Athens
as  Serbia
China 2008 Beijing
United Kingdom 2012 London
Brazil 2016 Rio de Janeiro
Japan 2020 Tokyo
France 2024 Parisfuture events
United States 2028 Los Angeles
Australia 2032 Brisbane

World Championship
Year[3] Position
1973 to 1991part of SFR Yugoslavia
as  FR Yugoslavia
Italy 1994 Romesuspended
Australia 1998 Perth
Japan 2001 Fukuoka
as  Serbia and Montenegro
Spain 2003 Barcelona
Canada 2005 Montreal
as  Serbia
Australia 2007 Melbourne4th
Italy 2009 Rome
China 2011 Shanghai
Spain 2013 Barcelona7th
Russia 2015 Kazan
Hungary 2017 Budapest
South Korea 2019 Gwangju5th
Hungary 2022 Budapest5th
Japan 2023 Fukuoka4th
Qatar 2024 Dohafuture events
Singapore 2025 Kallang
Hungary 2027 Budapest

World Cup
Year[3] Position
1979 to 1991part of SFR Yugoslavia
as  FR Yugoslavia
Greece 1993 Athenssuspended
United States 1995 Atlantadid not participate
Greece 1997 Athens7th
Australia 1999 Sydney5th
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 2002 Belgrade
as  Serbia and Montenegro
Hungary 2006 Budapest
as  Serbia
Romania 2010 Oradea
Kazakhstan 2014 Almaty
Germany 2018 Berlin
United States 2023 Los Angeles7th

World League
Year[3] Position
as  FR Yugoslavia
Greece 2002 Patrasdid not participate
as  Serbia and Montenegro
United States 2003 New York4th
United States 2004 Long Beach
Serbia and Montenegro 2005 Belgrade
Greece 2006 Athens
as  Serbia
Germany 2007 Berlin
Italy 2008 Genoa
Montenegro 2009 Podgorica
Serbia 2010 Niš
Italy 2011 Florence
Kazakhstan 2012 Almatydid not participate
Russia 2013 Chelyabinsk
United Arab Emirates 2014 Dubai
Italy 2015 Bergamo
China 2016 Huizhou
Russia 2017 Ruza
Hungary 2018 BudapestPreliminary round
Serbia 2019 Belgrade
Georgia (country) 2020 TbilisiPreliminary round
France 2022 Strasbourg5th

European Championship
Year Position
1950 to 1991part of SFR Yugoslavia
as  FR Yugoslavia
United Kingdom 1993 Sheffieldsuspended
Austria 1995 Viennadid not participate
Spain 1997 Seville
Italy 1999 Florence7th
Hungary 2001 Budapest
as  Serbia and Montenegro
Slovenia 2003 Kranj
as  Serbia
Serbia 2006 Belgrade
Spain 2008 Malaga
Croatia 2010 Zagreb
Netherlands 2012 Eindhoven
Hungary 2014 Budapest
Serbia 2016 Belgrade
Spain 2018 Barcelona
Hungary 2020 Budapest5th
Croatia 2022 Split9th
Israel 2024 Tel Avivqualified
Serbia 2026 Belgradefuture event

Europa Cup
Year Position
Croatia 2018 Rijeka4th
Croatia 2019 Zagreb6th

Mediterranean Games
Year Position
1959 to 1991part of SFR Yugoslavia
as  FR Yugoslavia
France 1993 Languedoc-Roussillonsuspended
Italy 1997 Bari
Tunisia 2001 Tunis4th
as  Serbia and Montenegro
Spain 2005 Almeria
as  Serbia
Italy 2009 Pescara
Turkey 2013 Tunis6th
Spain 2018 Tarragona
Algeria 2022 Oran
Italy 2026 Tarantofuture event

Team

Current squad

Roster for the 2023 World Aquatics Championships.[4]

Head coach: Uroš Stevanović

Coaches

Most appearances and goals
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
1Dejan Savić1994–2008444405
2Aleksandar Šapić1997–2008385981
3Filip Filipović2003–2021381677
4Živko Gocić2003–2016362207
5Slobodan Nikić2003–2016355354
6Igor Milanović1984–1996349540
7Aleksandar Ćirić1997–2008346201
8Vladimir Vujasinović1990–2008341391
9Duško Pijetlović2005–2021340472
10Andrija Prlainović2005–2021336541

Statistics accurate as of matches played 6 August 2021

Philanthropy

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 incubator.

See also

References
  1. "Vaterpolo Srbija - Serbia Water Polo: Osvojene medalje".
  2. "Rulers of all competitions". b92.net. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  3. "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. "20th World Aquatics World Championships Men's Water Polo Team Roster SRB" (PDF). Omega Timing. 15 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
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