Serbia men's national water polo team
The Serbia men's national water polo team represents Serbia in international men's water polo. It is considered to be one of the most successful men's water polo teams in the world, winning medals in all Olympic tournaments it has entered since 2000.
Serbia has inherited the continuity of results and medals from all former state unions (Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro).[4]
At the final of the European Championship held in Belgrade in 2016, a record attendance was set at a water polo match. The final between Serbia and Montenegro was watched by 11,000 fans.[5]
Not including the results of the former Yugoslav team, the Serbia has won three consecutive gold medals in the Olympic water polo tournament (from 2016 to 2024.), three World Championships, seven European Championships, three World Cups, record 12 FINA World Leagues, four gold medals at Mediterranean Games, four gold medals at Summer Universiades and gold medal at the first and so far only water polo tournament at the European Games, justifying the status of water polo as the national sport of Serbia.
In 2016, Serbia became the first national water polo team to simultaneously hold titles in all five existing major championships—European Championship, World Championship, World Cup, World League and Olympic Games.[6] The team holds the record for the most consecutive World League titles, winning five consecutive titles from 2013 to 2017. They are Serbia's most successful national sports team, having won more titles than all other Serbian national teams combined.[7]
Competitive record
Medals
Includes matches of Serbia and Montenegro and Serbia.
Updated after the 2024 Summer Olympics
| Competition | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| World Championship | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| European Championship | 7 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| World Cup | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| World League | 12 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| Europa Cup | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mediterranean Games | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Summer Universiade | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| Total | 36 | 7 | 13 | 56 |
Olympic Games
| Year[8] | Position | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 to 1988 | part of SFR Yugoslavia | |||
| as FR Yugoslavia | ||||
| 1992 Barcelona | suspended | |||
| 1996 Atlanta | 8th | |||
| 2000 Sydney | ||||
| as Serbia and Montenegro | ||||
| 2004 Athens | ||||
| as Serbia | ||||
| 2008 Beijing | ||||
| 2012 London | ||||
| 2016 Rio de Janeiro | ||||
| 2020 Tokyo | ||||
| 2024 Paris | ||||
| 2028 Los Angeles | future events | |||
| 2032 Brisbane | ||||
World Championship
| Year[8] | Position | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 to 1991 | part of SFR Yugoslavia | |||
| as FR Yugoslavia | ||||
| 1994 Rome | suspended | |||
| 1998 Perth | ||||
| 2001 Fukuoka | ||||
| as Serbia and Montenegro | ||||
| 2003 Barcelona | ||||
| 2005 Montreal | ||||
| as Serbia | ||||
| 2007 Melbourne | 4th | |||
| 2009 Rome | ||||
| 2011 Shanghai | ||||
| 2013 Barcelona | 7th | |||
| 2015 Kazan | ||||
| 2017 Budapest | ||||
| 2019 Gwangju | 5th | |||
| 2022 Budapest | 5th | |||
| 2023 Fukuoka | 4th | |||
| 2024 Doha | 6th | |||
| 2025 Singapore | 4th | |||
| 2027 Budapest | future events | |||
| 2029 Beijing | ||||
European Championship
| Year | Position | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 to 1991 | part of SFR Yugoslavia | |||
| as FR Yugoslavia | ||||
| 1993 Sheffield | suspended | |||
| 1995 Vienna | did not participate | |||
| 1997 Seville | ||||
| 1999 Florence | 7th | |||
| 2001 Budapest | ||||
| as Serbia and Montenegro | ||||
| 2003 Kranj | ||||
| as Serbia | ||||
| 2006 Belgrade | ||||
| 2008 Malaga | ||||
| 2010 Zagreb | ||||
| 2012 Eindhoven | ||||
| 2014 Budapest | ||||
| 2016 Belgrade | ||||
| 2018 Barcelona | ||||
| 2020 Budapest | 5th | |||
| 2022 Split | 9th | |||
| 2024 Dubrovnik and Zagreb | 7th | |||
| 2026 Belgrade | Qualified | |||
World Cup
| Year[8] | Position | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 to 1991 | part of SFR Yugoslavia | |||
| as FR Yugoslavia | ||||
| 1993 Athens | suspended | |||
| 1995 Atlanta | did not participate | |||
| 1997 Athens | 7th | |||
| 1999 Sydney | 5th | |||
| 2002 Belgrade | ||||
| as Serbia and Montenegro | ||||
| 2006 Budapest | ||||
| as Serbia | ||||
| 2010 Oradea | ||||
| 2014 Almaty | ||||
| 2018 Berlin | ||||
| 2023 Los Angeles | 7th | |||
| 2025 Bucharest | 9th | |||
World League
| Year[8] | Position | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| as FR Yugoslavia | ||||
| 2002 Patras | did not participate | |||
| as Serbia and Montenegro | ||||
| 2003 New York | 4th | |||
| 2004 Long Beach | ||||
| 2005 Belgrade | ||||
| 2006 Athens | ||||
| as Serbia | ||||
| 2007 Berlin | ||||
| 2008 Genoa | ||||
| 2009 Podgorica | ||||
| 2010 Niš | ||||
| 2011 Florence | ||||
| 2012 Almaty | did not participate | |||
| 2013 Chelyabinsk | ||||
| 2014 Dubai | ||||
| 2015 Bergamo | ||||
| 2016 Huizhou | ||||
| 2017 Ruza | ||||
| 2018 Budapest | preliminary round | |||
| 2019 Belgrade | ||||
| 2020 Tbilisi | preliminary round | |||
| 2022 Strasbourg | 5th | |||
Europa Cup
| Year | Position |
|---|---|
| 2018 Rijeka | 4th |
| 2019 Zagreb | 6th |
Mediterranean Games
| Year | Position | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 to 1991 | part of SFR Yugoslavia | |||
| as FR Yugoslavia | ||||
| 1993 Languedoc-Roussillon | suspended | |||
| 1997 Bari | ||||
| 2001 Tunis | 4th | |||
| as Serbia and Montenegro | ||||
| 2005 Almeria | ||||
| as Serbia | ||||
| 2009 Pescara | ||||
| 2013 Tunis | 6th | |||
| 2018 Tarragona | ||||
| 2022 Oran | ||||
| 2026 Taranto | future event | |||
Team
Current squad
Roster for the 2025 World Championships.[9][10]
Head coach: Uroš Stevanović
- 1 Radoslav Filipović GK
- 2 Dušan Mandić FP
- 3 Strahinja Rašović FP
- 4 Sava Ranđelović FP
- 5 Miloš Ćuk FP
- 6 Nikola Murišić FP
- 7 Đorđe Lazić FP
- 8 Nikola Jakšić FP
- 9 Nemanja Vico FP
- 10 Boris Vapenski FP
- 11 Petar Jakšić FP
- 12 Viktor Rašović FP
- 13 Lazar Dobožanov GK
- 14 Vasilije Martinović FP
- 15 Vuk Milojević FP
Coaches
- 1992–1999 Nikola Stamenić
- 1999–2004 Nenad Manojlović
- 2004–2006 Petar Porobić
- 2006–2012 Dejan Udovičić
- 2012–2022 Dejan Savić
- 2022– present Uroš Stevanović
Most appearances and goals
Professional friendly and competitive matches only where Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro and now Serbia were represented.
| Name | Years | Matches | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dejan Savić | 1994–2008 | 444 | 405 |
| 2 | Aleksandar Šapić | 1997–2008 | 385 | 981 |
| 3 | Filip Filipović | 2003–2021 | 381 | 677 |
| 4 | Živko Gocić | 2003–2016 | 362 | 207 |
| 5 | Slobodan Nikić | 2003–2016 | 355 | 354 |
| 6 | Igor Milanović | 1984–1996 | 349 | 540 |
| 7 | Aleksandar Ćirić | 1997–2008 | 346 | 201 |
| 8 | Vladimir Vujasinović | 1990–2008 | 341 | 391 |
| 9 | Duško Pijetlović | 2005–2021 | 340 | 472 |
| 10 | Andrija Prlainović | 2005–2021 | 336 | 541 |
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 hundred incubator.
See also
- Serbia men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics
- Yugoslavia men's national water polo team
- Serbia and Montenegro men's national water polo team
- List of Olympic champions in men's water polo
- List of men's Olympic water polo tournament records and statistics
- List of world champions in men's water polo
References
- ^ https://europeanaquatics.org/federations-detail/?fed_id=64
- ^ https://sportske.jutarnji.hr/sn/sport-mix/vec-prvog-dana-svjetskog-prvenstva-u-vaterpolu-pao-svjetski-rekord-nevidena-blamaza-domacina-natjecanja-jugoslavija-vise-nije-na-vrhu-9120185
- ^ https://www.b92.net/o/sport/vaterpolo/vesti?yyyy=2008&mm=06&dd=18&nav_id=304444
- ^ https://www.worldaquatics.com/news/1910953/water-polo-mens-final-and-finally-its-serbia
- ^ https://www.b92.net/o/sport/vaterpolo/vesti?yyyy=2016&mm=01&dd=11&nav_id=1083810
- ^ "Rulers of all competitions". b92.net. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
- ^ "Vaterpolo Srbija – Serbia Water Polo: Osvojene medalje".
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Men's Water Polo Team Roster SRB" (PDF). Omega Timing. 12 July 2025. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
- ^ "Men's Water Polo Team Roster SRB (2)" (PDF). Omega Timing. 24 July 2025. Retrieved 25 July 2025.