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Croatia men's national water polo team

Summary

The Croatia men's national water polo team represents Croatia in international water polo competitions and is controlled by the Croatian Water Polo Federation. They have won gold medals in the Olympics, World and European Championships, FINA World League and Mediterranean Games, making them one of the most successful men's water polo teams in the world. Overall Croatia won 31 medals at competitions.

Croatia
FINA codeCRO
Nickname(s)Barakude
(The Barracudas)
AssociationCroatian Water Polo Federation
ConfederationLEN (Europe)
Head coachIvica Tucak
Asst coachJure Marelja
Renco Posinković
Most capsIgor Hinić (417)
Top scorer(s)Miho Bošković (369)
FINA ranking (since 2008)
Current5 (as of 9 August 2021)
Highest1 (2012, 2013)
Lowest6 (2008)
Olympic Games (team statistics)
Appearances6 (first in 1996)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (2012)
5-time Olympian(s)Igor Hinić (1996–2012)
Most medalsPerica Bukić (3 medals, 2 gold and 1 silver)
Top scorer(s)Sandro Sukno (31 goals, 2012–2016)
Most savesFrano Vićan (123 saves, 2000–2012)
Top sprinter(s)Maro Joković (25 sprints won, 2008–2016)
Flag bearer(s)Perica Bukić (1996)
Dubravko Šimenc (2004)
Josip Pavić (2016)
World Championship
Appearances15 (first in 1994)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (2007, 2017, 2024)
World Cup
Appearances7 (first in 1995)
Best result2nd place, silver medalist(s) (2010)
World League
Appearances9 (first in 2002)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (2012)
European Championship
Appearances16 (first in 1993)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (2010, 2022)
Europa Cup
Appearances1 (first in 2018)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (2018)
Mediterranean Games
Appearances6 (first in 1993)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (2013)
Media
Websitehvs.hr (in Croatian)
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 1 2 0
World Championship 3 1 4
World Cup 0 1 1
World League 1 3 3
European Championship 2 3 1
Europa Cup 1 1 0
Mediterranean Games 1 1 1
Total 9 12 10
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Team
Silver medal – second place 1996 Atlanta Team
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team
World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2007 Melbourne Team
Gold medal – first place 2017 Budapest Team
Gold medal – first place 2024 Doha Team
Silver medal – second place 2015 Kazan Team
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Rome Team
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Shanghai Team
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Barcelona Team
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Gwangju Team
World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2010 Oradea
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Almaty
World League
Gold medal – first place 2012 Almaty
Silver medal – second place 2009 Podgorica
Silver medal – second place 2015 Bergamo
Silver medal – second place 2019 Belgrade
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Niš
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Florence
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Ruza
European Championship
Gold medal – first place 2010 Zagreb
Gold medal – first place 2022 Split
Silver medal – second place 1999 Florence
Silver medal – second place 2003 Kranj
Silver medal – second place 2024 Dubrovnik/Zagreb
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Barcelona
Europa Cup
Gold medal – first place 2018 Rijeka
Silver medal – second place 2019 Zagreb
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal – first place 2013 Mersin
Silver medal – second place 1993 Languedoc-Roussillon
Bronze medal – third place 1997 Bari

It was the first Croatian national team to win a gold medal at the Olympics or World Games, the World and European Championships.

Croatia played their 800th game since gaining independence on 20 August 2022 and they won their 517th victory.[1]

History edit

After the independence of Croatia the national water polo team competed at its first tournament and also its first finals at 1993 Mediterranean Games, followed by the 1993 European Championships where Croatia won 5th place.

Croatia has since become Olympic champion (2012), triple World champion (2007, 2017), 2024) and European champion (2010). Croatia has also won eight other medals at the Olympic Games, World Championships and European Championships and was fourth on six occasions. The team holds a record streak of winning 7 medals in a row at World Championships and has reached semi-finals in over 60% of appearances at the Olympic Games, World Championships and European Championships altogether since 2017. Since the formation of national team Croatia has qualified for every big tournament. It is the first Croatian national team in any Olympic team sport that has won gold medals at all three big competitions. Croatia has also won World League (2012) and Mediterranean Games (2013). The only competition Croatia has yet to win is World Cup where the national team won silver medal in 2010.

The team has been awarded with Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport in 1996. So far two International Swimming Hall of Fame inductees have been members of Croatia national team – Perica Bukić as a player and Ratko Rudić as a coach.

Croatia played their 800 game since gaining independence on 20 August 2022. and they won their 517 victory which makes 64,62% of victories.[1]

Results edit

Medals edit

Updated after 2024 World Championships

Competition       Total
Olympic Games 1 2 0 3
World Championship 3 1 4 8
World Cup 0 1 1 2
World League 1 3 3 7
European Championship 2 3 1 6
Europa Cup 1 1 0 2
Summer Universuade 0 1 0 1
Mediterranean Games 1 1 1 3
Total 9 13 10 32

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  

Summer Olympics edit

Year[2] Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
  1992 Couldn't participate in qualification
  1996 Final   8 5 0 3 71 58 +13
  2000 Quarterfinal 7th 8 5 1 2 68 56 +12
  2004 Preliminary Round 10th 6 2 0 4 47 42 +5
  2008 Quarterfinal 6th 7 4 0 3 71 49 +22
  2012 Final   8 8 0 0 73 42 +31
  2016 Final   8 5 0 3 66 62 +4
  2020 Quarterfinal 5th 8 5 0 3 99 82 +17
  2024 Qualified
Total Qualified: 8/8 57 37 1 19 553 419 +124

Record against other teams at the Summer Olympics edit

National team Pld W D L PF PA PD
  Australia 2 2 0 1 29 25 +4
  China 1 1 0 0 16 4 +12
  Egypt 1 1 0 0 12 1 +11
  Germany 1 1 0 0 13 5 +8
  Greece 3 3 0 0 25 16 +9
  Hungary 2 1 0 1 16 17 −1
  Italy 5 4 0 1 45 35 +10
  Kazakhstan 2 2 0 0 40 15 +25
  Montenegro 3 1 0 1 26 20 +6
  Netherlands 1 1 0 0 11 7 +4
  Romania 1 1 0 0 11 6 +5
  Russia 1 0 0 1 8 9 −1
  Serbia 3 2 0 1 32 31 +1
  Serbia and Montenegro 3 1 1 1 20 21 −1
  Spain 4 1 0 3 30 34 −4
  Ukraine 1 1 0 0 16 8 +8
  United States 6 2 0 4 45 42 +3
Total 17 teams

World Championships edit

World Cup edit

World League edit

Wins/Defeats after penalty shootout counted as wins/defeats.
* marks instances of not qualifying for the super final due to "host rule".

Year[2] Round Position Pld W D L
  2002 did not qualify for the Super Final 12 2 0 10
  2003 did not compete
  2004
  2005 Group Round 4th 14 8 0 6
  2006 * did not qualify for the Super Final 11 7 0 4
  2007 8 3 0 5
  2008 * 6 3 0 3
  2009 Final   12 9 0 3
  2010 Semi-final   12 8 0 4
  2011 Semi-final   11 10 0 1
  2012 Final   10 10 0 0
  2013 * did not qualify for the Super Final 6 4 0 2
  2014 4 1 0 3
  2015 Final   14 12 0 2
  2016 did not qualify for the Super Final 6 4 0 2
  2017 Semi-final   12 10 0 2
  2018 Quarterfinal 5th 10 7 0 3
  2019 Final   13 9 0 4
  2020 did not qualify for the Super Final 5 2 0 3
  2022 5 3 0 2
Total Participated: 18/20
Qualified for the Super Final: 9/18		 170 112 0 59

European Championships edit

Europa Cup edit

Year Round Position Pld W D L
  2018 Final   8 7 0 1
  2019 Final   7 5 0 2
Total Participated: 2/2
Qualified for the Super Final: 2/2		 15 12 0 3

Mediterranean Games edit

Year Round Position Pld W D L
  1993 Final  
  1997 Final  
  2001 Preliminary Round 5th
  2005 Semi-final 4th 5 2 0 3
  2009 Semi-final 4th 5 3 0 2
  2013 Final   4 4 0 0
  2018 did not participate
  2022
Total Participated: 6/8 14 9 0 5

Team edit

Current squad edit

Roster for the 2024 World Championships.[4]

Head coach: Ivica Tucak

Player statistics edit

Most appearances
Player Matches Position Active
on Nat'l Team?
Igor Hinić 417 C No
Tomislav Paškvalin 285 C No
Samir Barać 176 PP No
Andro Bušlje 167 HG No
Faris Okanovic 161 No
Teo Đogaš 148 PP No
Frano Vićan 129 GK No
Elvis Fatović 128 PP No
Josip Pavić 120 GK No
Damir Burić 117 HG No
Miho Bošković 108 PP, HG No
Sandro Sukno 97 PP No
Petar Muslim 90 PP, SC No
Maro Joković 89 PP No
Nikša Dobud 83 C No
Vjekoslav Kobešćak 86 PP No
Ratko Štritof 80 HG No
Ivan Buljubašić 79 HG No
Paulo Obradović 68 PP, HG No
Zdeslav Vrdoljak 58 PP No
Anđelo Šetka 57 PP No
Dubravko Šimenc 52 PP No
Goran Volarević 52 GK No
Frano Karač 37 PP No
Tihomil Vranješ 35 PP No
Pavo Marković 33 PP No
Perica Bukić 30 PP No
Antonio Petković 22 PP No
Luka Lončar 20 C Yes
Top scorers
Name Goals Average Position
Miho Bošković 369 3.42 PP, HG
Paulo Obradović 197 PP, HG
Maro Joković 158 PP
Samir Barać 135 0.77 PP
Faris Okanovic 26 0.85 PP
Igor Hinić 113 0.27 C
Petar Muslim 100 PP, SC
Nikša Dobud 86 1.02 C

Head coaches edit

Notable players edit

Naturalized players edit

Andrey Belofastov (Ukraine), Xavier García (Spain)[5] Faris Okanovic (Sweden) Konstantin Kharkov (Russia)

Statistics edit

Record against other teams edit

As of 11 September 2022

NO FRIENDLY fixtures.

Key
Positive total balance (more wins)
Neutral total balance (equal W/L ratio)
Negative total balance (more losses)

Wins/Defeats after penalty shootout counted as wins/defeats.

National team Total Olympic Games World Championship World Cup World League European Championship Europa Cup Mediterranean Games Qualifications
Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L
  Australia 21 16 0 5 3 2 0 2 7 6 0 1 2 1 0 1 8 7 0 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
  Austria 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — 0 0 0 0
  Belarus 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — 1 1 0 0
  Brazil 8 7 0 1 1 1 0 0 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
  Canada 7 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — — — — — — — — — 1 1 0 0
  China 6 6 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 — — — — — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
  Egypt 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  France 11 10 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 0 0 4 4 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
  Georgia 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — 1 1 0 0
  Germany 27 21 2 4 1 1 0 0 3 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 12 11 0 1 9 5 2 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — 2 2 0 0
  Great Britain 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — 1 1 0 0
  Greece 40 24 6 10 3 2 0 1 5 1 1 3 2 1 1 0 14 9 0 5 12 8 4 0 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Hungary 38 10 2 26 3 2 0 1 8 4 1 3 3 0 0 3 11 3 0 8 13 2 1 10 0 0 0 0 — — — — 0 0 0 0
  Iran 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
  Italy 43 24 2 17 6 5 0 1 5 2 1 2 2 0 0 2 14 8 0 6 12 7 1 4 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 2 1 1 0 0
  Japan 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 — — — — — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
  Kazakhstan 11 11 0 0 4 4 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 4 4 0 0 — — — — — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
  Macedonia 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Malta 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Moldova 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — 1 1 0 0
  Montenegro 28 19 0 9 7 6 0 1 3 3 0 0 1 1 0 0 9 3 0 6 6 4 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
  Netherlands 14 14 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 4 4 0 0 5 5 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — 0 0 0 0
  New Zealand 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
  Poland 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — 1 1 0 0
  Puerto Rico 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — — — — — — — — — 1 1 0 0
  Romania 17 14 0 3 1 1 0 0 3 3 0 0 1 1 0 0 4 3 0 1 4 2 0 2 1 1 0 0 — — — — 3 3 0 0
  Russia 35 23 1 11 1 1 0 0 7 4 0 3 2 1 0 1 18 13 0 5 6 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — 1 0 0 1
  Serbia * 46 16 4 26 7 4 1 2 7 3 1 3 7 2 1 4 11 2 0 9 9 2 1 6 3 3 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
  Slovakia 9 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — 1 1 0 0
  Slovenia 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 2 0 0
  South Africa 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 — — — — — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
  Spain 39 17 2 20 6 1 0 5 4 0 0 4 5 0 1 4 11 6 0 5 7 5 1 1 2 2 0 0 4 3 0 1 0 0 0 0
  Turkey 10 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 6 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
  Switzerland 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — 1 1 0 0
  Ukraine 4 4 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — 0 0 0 0
  United States 36 25 0 11 8 4 0 4 8 7 0 1 7 5 0 2 13 9 0 4 — — — — — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Total (36) 489 325 19 145

* includes games against   Serbia and Montenegro / FR Yugoslavia

Biggest wins edit

double digit goal difference

Olympic Games World Championship World Cup World League European Championship Europa Cup Mediterranean Games Qualifications
  • +12 vs. China (16–4) 2008
  • +11 vs. Egypt (12–1) 2004
  • +34 vs. New Zealand (35–1) 1994
  • +19 vs. South Africa (19–0) 2013
  • +17 vs. New Zealand (21–4) 2013
  • +16 vs. New Zealand (19–3) 1998
  • +15 vs. Canada (19–4) 2005
  • +15 vs. Kazakhstan (19–4) 1998
  • +11 vs. Brasil (17–6) 1998
  • +11 vs. Japan (18–7) 2011
  • +10 vs. Canada (13–3) 2003
  • +10 vs. China (15–5) 2009
  • +10 vs. Japan (16–6) 2017
  • +10 vs. Russia (13–3) 2007
  • +23 vs. South Africa (25–2) 2018
  • +21 vs. Iran (23–2) 2010
  • +13 vs. South Africa (16–3) 2018
  • +10 vs. China (14–4) 2010
  • +21 vs. South Africa (22–1) 2010
  • +19 vs. Turkey (20–1) 2013
  • +17 vs. Brasil (20–3) 2012
  • +16 vs. Kazakhstan (20–4) 2019
  • +16 vs. Kazakhstan (19–3) 2017
  • +14 vs. Turkey (17–3) 2013
  • +13 vs. Spain (19–6) 2006
  • +13 vs. Turkey (19–6) 2016
  • +13 vs. Turkey (16–3) 2016
  • +11 vs. Netherlands (18–7) 2017
  • +10 vs. Brasil (17–7) 2005
  • +10 vs. China (15–5) 2011
  • +10 vs. China (14–4) 2015
  • +10 vs. France (16–6) 2017
  • +10 vs. Kazakhstan (15–5) 2018
  • +10 vs. Netherlands (17–7) 2017
  • +10 vs. Russia (14–4) 2018
  • +10 vs. Turkey (13–3) 2015
  • +24 vs. Austria (26–2) 1995
  • +21 vs. Turkey (23–2) 2018
  • +20 vs. Malta (22–2) 2016
  • +15 vs. France (20–5) 2016
  • +13 vs. Turkey (16–3) 2010
  • +12 vs. Netherlands (16–4) 2012
  • +11 vs. Slovenia (19–8) 2006
  • +10 vs. Slovakia (15–5) 2008
  • +15 vs. France (20–5) 2018
  • +12 vs. Netherlands (16–4) 2018
  • +11 vs. Malta (16–5) 2018
  • +13 vs. Turkey (17–4) 2013
  • +11 vs. Greece (14–3) 2009
  • +20 vs. Georgia (23–3) 1999
  • +17 vs. Puerto Rico (18–1) 2004
  • +12 vs. Romania (12–0) 2004

Biggest losses edit

Olympic Games World Championship World Cup World League European Championship Europa Cup Mediterranean Games
  • -4 vs. Serbia (7–11) 2016
  • -4 vs. Italy (7–11) 2004
  • -7 vs. Serbia (4–11) 2015
  • -6 vs. Hungary (4–10) 2005
  • -5 vs. Spain (6–11) 1994
  • -6 vs. Serbia (7–13) 2010
  • -5 vs. Hungary (6–11) 1997
  • -5 vs. Russia (5–10) 1997
  • -5 vs. Spain (2–7) 1995
  • -9 vs. Hungary (6–15) 2007
  • -8 vs. Greece (5–13) 2008
  • -7 vs. Brasil (10–17) 2015
  • -7 vs. Serbia (6–13) 2016
  • -6 vs. Hungary (5–11) 1995
  • -5 vs. Hungary (11–16) 2006
  • -9 vs. Italy (5–14) 2005
  • -6 vs. Serbia (8–14) 2009

Non-senior competitions edit

Awards edit

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ FINA Water Polo Player of the Year in 1982, 1984 and 1985. Scored 28 goals in one game which is a world record for water polo game (final score: Yugoslavia 62–0 Guatemala). First water polo player in history to sign a 6 digit contract.

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Pobjeda u jubilarnoj 800. utakmici Barakuda: Hrvatska trijumfom nad Francuzima otvorila turnir u Beogradu". sportske.jutarnji.hr. 20 August 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d "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.
  3. ^ Qualification for the tournament was determined by placing in the 1992 Olympics tournament. Since the Croatian team couldn't had participated in the 1992 Olympic water polo tournament due to the dissolution of Yugoslavia, it couldn't qualify for the 1993 World Cup.
  4. ^ "21st World Aquatics World Championships Men's Water Polo Team Roster CRO" (PDF). Omega Timing. 5 February 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Stigla potvrda iz MOO-a: Javier Garcia s Hrvatskom na Olimpijskim igrama u Riju".

External links edit

 
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