Greece men's national water polo team
 | |
| Nickname(s) |
Galanolefki (The Blue-white) Ethniki (The National) |
|---|---|
| Association | Hellenic Swimming Federation |
| Confederation | LEN (Europe) |
| Head coach | Thodoris Vlachos |
| Asst coach | Dimitris Kravaritis |
| Captain | Christos Afroudakis |
| FINA code | GRE |
| Olympic Games | |
| Appearances | 16 (first in 1920) |
| Best result | 4th place (2004) |
| World Championships | |
| Appearances | 13 (first in 1973) |
| Best result |
 (2005, 2015) |
| World League | |
| Appearances | 7 (first in 2002) |
| Best result |
(2004, 2006, 2016) |
| World Cup | |
| Appearances | 8 (first in 1985) |
| Best result |
 (1997) |
| European Championship | |
| Appearances | 16 (first in 1970) |
| Best result | 4th place (1999, 2016) |
| Mediterranean Games | |
| Appearances | 8 (first in 1951) |
| Best result |
(1951, 1991, 1993, 2013) |
The Greece men's national water polo team represents Greece in international men's water polo competitions and it is organized and run by the Hellenic Swimming Federation.
Greece has a long tradition of strong presence at international level, with their major successes being the two bronze medals won at the World Championship in 2005 and 2015. The Greeks have also won a silver medal at the World Cup in 1997 and three more bronze medals at the World League in 2004, 2006 and 2016.
Moreover, they have closely missed a medal in the 2016 European Championship, the 2004 Olympic Games, the 2003 World Championship and the 1999 European Championship, ending up in the 4th place in all four of them. Greece is one of only nine national teams in the world to have won (at least) a medal in the World Championship, currently occupying the eighth place on the medal table, one above Germany. They have qualified at least for the quarter-finals in all their World Championship participations since 1994, winning the two aforementioned bronze medals and never finishing below the 6th place from 2001 and on.
Palmarès
| Competition |  | | | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | – | – | – | – |
| World Championship | – | – | 2 | 2 |
| World League | – | – | 3 | 3 |
| World Cup | – | 1 | – | 1 |
| European Championship | – | – | – | – |
| Mediterranean Games | – | – | 4 | 4 |
| Total | – | 1 | 9 | 10 |
World Championship
World Cup
-
Silver medal:
World League
Mediterranean Games
Competitive record
Olympic Games
Greece has participated 16 times at the Olympic Games, always present in the tournament since 1980. Their best result is the 4th place at the 2004 Olympics inn Athens, after losing 5–6 to Russia in the bronze medal game. The Greeks have secured a quarter-finals' presence in six occasions.
| Year | Position |
|---|---|
.svg.png){kind=small} 1920 | 5th |
 1924 | First round |
 1948 | First round |
 1964 | 7th |
 1968 | 14th |
 1972 | 14th |
 1980 | 10th |
 1984 | 8th |
 1988 | 9th |
 1992 | 10th |
| 1996 | 6th |
 2000 | 10th |
| 2004 | 4th |
 2008 | 7th |
| 2012 | 9th |
 2016 | 6th |
| Total | 16/27 |
World Championship
Greece has a strong presence at the World Aquatics Championships, where they have been placed third in the world in two occasions. The first was in 2005 in Montreal, after their 11–10 victory over Croatia in the bronze medal game, with Georgios Afroudakis scoring the winning goal, with a spectacular backhand shot, with only 11 seconds left in the overtime.[1] The second one was in 2015 in Kazan, after their penalty shootout win over Italy in the bronze medal game. Greece has qualified at least for the quarter-finals in all their tournament participations since 1994, with the 6th place being their lowest position from 2001 and on.
| Year | Position |
|---|---|
 1973 | 12th |
| 1978 | 12th |
 1982 | 12th |
| 1986 | 11th |
| 1991 | 10th |
 1994 | 7th |
| 1998 | 8th |
| 2001 | 6th |
| 2003 | 4th |
 2005 | |
| 2007 | 6th |
| 2013 | 6th |
 2015 | |
| Total | 13/16 |
World League
Greece had a regular presence at the FINA Water Polo World League during the first years of the competition, starting from 2002. They have won three bronze medals so far in 2004, 2006 and 2016.
| Year | Position |
|---|---|
| 2002 | 4th |
| 2003 | 5th |
| 2004 | |
 2005 | 5th |
| 2006 | |
| 2008 | 8th |
| 2016 | |
| Total | 7/15 |
World Cup
Greece had qualified for the FINA Water Polo World Cup in all but two occasions between 1985 and 2006, winning the silver medal in 1997 in Athens, losing 5–8 to the United States in the final.
| Year | Position |
|---|---|
| 1985 | 8th |
| 1987 | 8th |
| 1993 | 7th |
| 1995 | 6th |
| 1997 | |
| 1999 | 7th |
 2002 | 5th |
 2006 | 7th |
| Total | 8/15 |
European Championship
As one of the most competitive European nations in water polo, Greece is a regular contestant at the European Water Polo Championship since 1989, although they have yet to win a medal, with their best results being the 4th place in 1999 in Florence and in 2016 in Belgrade.
| Year | Position |
|---|---|
| 1970 | 10th |
 1985 | 8th |
| 1989 | 11th |
| 1991 | 6th |
| 1993 | 7th |
 1995 | 9th |
| 1997 | 7th |
| 1999 | 4th |
| 2001 | 7th |
 2003 | 7th |
 2006 | 6th |
| 2008 | 11th |
 2010 | 9th |
 2012 | 6th |
| 2014 | 6th |
| 2016 | 4th |
| Total | 16/32 |
Team
Current squad
The following is the Greek roster in the men's water polo tournament of the 2016 Summer Olympics.[2]
Head coach: Thodoris Vlachos
| № | Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Date of birth | 2016 club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flegkas, KonstantinosKonstantinos Flegkas | GK | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | 88 kg (194 lb) | 17 July 1988 | Ydraikos |
| 2 | Mylonakis, EmmanouilEmmanouil Mylonakis | D | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | 75 kg (165 lb) | 9 April 1985 | Olympiacos |
| 3 | Dervisis, GeorgiosGeorgios Dervisis | CB | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) | 92 kg (203 lb) | 30 October 1994 | Olympiacos |
| 4 | Genidounias, KonstantinosKonstantinos Genidounias | D | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | 87 kg (192 lb) | 3 May 1993 | Olympiacos |
| 5 | Fountoulis, IoannisIoannis Fountoulis | D | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | 90 kg (198 lb) | 28 May 1988 | Olympiacos |
| 6 | Pontikeas, KyriakosKyriakos Pontikeas | CB | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | 84 kg (185 lb) | 9 May 1991 | Olympiacos |
| 7 | Afroudakis, ChristosChristos Afroudakis (c) | D | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | 88 kg (194 lb) | 23 May 1984 | Vouliagmeni |
| 8 | Delakas, EvangelosEvangelos Delakas | CB | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) | 90 kg (198 lb) | 8 February 1985 | Olympiacos |
| 9 | Mourikis, KonstantinosKonstantinos Mourikis | CF | 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) | 109 kg (240 lb) | 11 July 1988 | Olympiacos |
| 10 | Kolomvos, ChristodoulosChristodoulos Kolomvos | CF | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | 103 kg (227 lb) | 26 October 1988 | Olympiacos |
| 11 | Gounas, AlexandrosAlexandros Gounas | D | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | 73 kg (161 lb) | 3 October 1989 | Olympiacos |
| 12 | Vlachopoulos, AngelosAngelos Vlachopoulos | D | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | 75 kg (165 lb) | 28 September 1991 | Posillipo |
| 13 | Galanopoulos, StefanosStefanos Galanopoulos | GK | 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) | 89 kg (196 lb) | 22 February 1993 | Olympiacos |
World Championship medal-winning squads
The following are the bronze medal-winning Greek rosters in the men's water polo tournaments of the 2005 and the 2015 World Championships:
Notable coaches
.JPG)
- Andreas Garyfallos
- Josep Brasco Cata
- Ivo Trumbić
- Koulis Iosifidis
- Mile Nakić
- Giannis Giannouris
- Alessandro Campagna
- Dragan Andrić
- Thodoris Vlachos
References
- ↑ Το χάλκινο μετάλλιο της Εθνικής ομάδας πόλο των ανδρών στο Παγκόσμιο Πρωτάθλημα του 2005 στο Μόντρεαλ sport24.gr, 30/07/2014 (in Greek)
- ↑ Οι αγώνες της Εθνικής Πόλο Ανδρών στο Ρίο [The matches of the national water polo team in Rio] (in Greek). Sport FM. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
External links
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Water polo in Greece | |
|---|---|
| National teams | |
| League Competitions | |
| Cup Competitions | |