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Two Swiss teams are participating in the LEN Challenger Cup 2023/2024. This is the third-tier European club competition following the LEN Champions League and Euro Cup.
The tournament is organized in four groups of five teams playing a single round-robin stage. The first two of each group will advance to the quarterfinals.
Head Coach of Kreuzlingen Milan Petrovic commented to wball.ch: “It’s a new experience for us, as most players never competed in an international club competition. Since the last Swiss Title, we have practiced with high intensity, and we want to present our club in the best light. This experience will pay off, especially for our young players.”
Swiss Champion Kreuzlingen will play group A hosted in Porto, playing against Apole Nicosia (Cyprus), Triglav Kranj (Slovenia), Vitoria Sport Clube (Portugal) and home team Fluvial Portunense.
Goalkeeper Darko Aleksic commented to wball.ch:
“We know some players of Triglav Kranj pretty well from the games against the Swiss National Team. Also, the level of water polo in Cyprus is good, and we expect those two teams to be strong opponents and group favorites. Both teams have players in their respective national teams and have gained international experience. We don’t know much about the teams from Portugal, although we analyzed some games, and they seem to have good and experienced players. Another important factor is that they both play in their country. We want to show our best water polo and qualify for the next phase. We are a great team and are prepared to achieve this.”
Flurin and Gian Rickenbach said: “The team mostly stayed the same. We compensated the retired Gabor Turzai and Veit Albers with Nemanja Silj and Zvonimir Zlomislic from Schaffhausen. We are a young, dynamic, and very motivated team and even more hungry than last year”.
Carouge will compete in Group B in Mouscron (Belgium), facing Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Manchester (England), Odtu (Türkey) and the host Royal Dauphins Mouscronnois.
We can expect very tight games, with Odtu and Mouscron being the group’s favorites.
Carouge has a similar team as we saw in the past season, with Romain Blary as their offensive lighthouse and experienced players such as Orfeas Malaspinas and playmaker Kiriakos Pontikeas. The team’s primary reinforcement is former Schaffhausen and Swiss National Team goalkeeper Yannick Schmuki, who moved to Carouge following his team’s relegation in the Swiss NLB.
All games will be streamed by LEN on Youtube:
LEN Challenger Cup 2023/2024 – Group Phase
 
10 - 12Challenger Cup 2024 - Group A
Porto (POR) Vitoria Sport Clube vs Kreuzlingen (10 - 12) |
10 - 9Challenger Cup 2024 - Group A
Porto (POR) Kreuzlingen vs AVK Triglav Kranj (10-9) |
 
20 - 9Challenger Cup 2024 – Group B
Mouscron (BEL) Carouge vs Odtu Sport Club (20 - 9) |
8 - 21Challenger Cup 2024 - Group A
Porto (POR) Clube Fluvial Portuense vs Kreuzlingen |
20 - 7Challenger Cup 2024 – Group B
Mouscron (BEL) Carouge vs VK Banja Luka |
11 - 10Challenger Cup 2024 – Group B
Mouscron (BEL) Carouge vs City of Manchester WPC |
9 - 16Challenger Cup 2024 - Group A
Porto (POR) Apoel Nicosia vs Kreuzlingen |
11 - 12Challenger Cup 2024 – Group B
Mouscron (BEL) Royal Daufphins Mouscronnois vs Carouge |
15 - 14Challenger Cup 2024 - Quarterfinals
KVP Novaky vs Kreuzlingen |
14 - 12Challenger Cup 2024 - Quarterfinals
Genève HB / Les Vernets Carouge vs AVK Triglav Kranj |
11 - 10Challenger Cup 2024 – Semifinals
AVK Triglav Kranj – SC Kreuzlingen (11-10) |
10 - 10Challenger Cup 2024 – Semifinals
SC Kreuzlingen – AVK Triglav (10-10) |
