Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Greece men's national water polo team

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Asst coach
  
Dimitris Kravaritis

Appearances
  
16 (first in 1920)

Appearances
  
13 (first in 1973)

Captain
  
Christos Afroudakis

Confederation
  
LEN

FINA code
  
GRE

Best result
  
4th place (2004)

Head coach
  
Thodoris Vlachos

Location
  
Greece

Greece men's national water polo team httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediael228Hel

Nickname(s)
  
Galanolefki (The Blue-white) Ethniki (The National)

Association
  
Hellenic Swimming Federation

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.

Contents

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.

World Championship

  • Bronze medals:
  • 2005, 2015
  • World Cup

  • Silver medal:
  • 1997
  • World League

  • Bronze medals:
  • 2004, 2006, 2016
  • Mediterranean Games

  • Bronze medals:
  • 1951, 1991, 1993, 2013
  • 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.

    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. 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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    Current squad

    The following is the Greek roster in the men's water polo tournament of the 2016 Summer Olympics. ‹See Tfd›

    Head coach: Thodoris Vlachos

    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

  • Andreas Garyfallos
  • Josep Brasco Cata
  • Ivo Trumbić
  • Koulis Iosifidis
  • Mile Nakić
  • Giannis Giannouris
  • Alessandro Campagna
  • Dragan Andrić
  • Thodoris Vlachos
  • References

    Greece men's national water polo team Wikipedia