Slobodan Soro: Regret for the Title Remains, This Was One of the Nicest Water Polo Stories of This Decade
President of the Water Polo Club Novi Beograd, Slobodan Soro, after the end of the Champions League Final Eight in Malta, stated that there is a great regret that the team of coach Živko Gocić did not manage to climb to the top of Europe. The team from Novi Beograd, in the semifinals, after a real drama, eliminated the Spanish team Barcelona, but then in the final, after a great battle and an equal match, they were defeated by the favored Hungarian team Ferencvaros.
– For the last four years, we have been playing in the Champions League Final Eight, three times in the final, but unfortunately, we did not manage to win the European champion title. Is that a success, to be in the elite of European water polo for so long and play at such a level, it certainly is. But, there is regret that we did not manage to make that final step – Soro started.
He emphasized that Novi Beograd was not a favorite to win the trophy, nor among the main candidates for the Final Eight.
– We largely rejuvenated the team, we had as many as seven debutants in the Final Eight in Malta. However, we finished on top of our group, and we ended the regular season with 11 wins and just one loss. We managed to reach the final, and this was certainly one of the nicest water polo stories of this decade, and maybe even longer.
Soro further analyzed the team's performance and games in Malta:
– We were not given high odds, but I must admit that the team gave its best performances towards the end of the season when it was most needed. We were just a little short of victory even against the favored Ferencvaros in the final. For three and a half quarters, we were equal opponents. The renowned rival, which has an extremely powerful team, undoubtedly the most quality squad in recent years, was worried about the result until the last few minutes, which undoubtedly speaks in favor of how well we performed in Malta.
The semifinal duel with Barcelona was a special story:
– A major refereeing mistake occurred at the end of that match. Such a mistake by Slovenian referee Boris Margeta has hardly ever been seen. Perhaps such an end of the match further emotionally and physically drained us and left us with less energy for that final duel. Trust me, a huge shock was experienced, then a penalty shootout was played, and all of that cannot be the same as if we had triumphed at the end of the 32nd minute, which was supposed to happen. This great emotional drain that the team experienced did not work in our favor, but it is what it is.
Regarding future plans, Soro said:
– We will carefully analyze everything. There are a couple of players whose contracts have expired. Unlike previous years, we did not have conversations with players during the season because it tended to impact the team negatively. We changed our philosophy, but we will try to be even better next season, and we will see what the ultimate goal and result will be – concluded Soro.
