U15 Nati ready for the LEN EC in Podgorica

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The Swiss team arrived in Herceg Novi (Montenegro) with 20 players on the 1st of July to train for the big competition and decide on the final nominees for the tournament.

Interim coaches Zoltan Hyc and Sébastien Viriot nominated 14 players to represent Switzerland at the 2023 LEN Europen Championship U15:

Lausanne Aquatique (4): Oscar Harrington, Doushane Vuletic, Arnau Montoliu, Victor Aly-Maneint (goalkeeper)
SC Horgen (3): Rohan Negro, Fynn Vucinic, Felix Flückiger
Aquastar (2): Glenn Valsangiacomo, Darian Adrovic
Lugano Aquatics (1): Alessandro Carnovale
SC Kreuzlingen (1): Christian Würth
Geneve Natation (1): Quentin Baudat
Basel (1): Kaydi Xantippe (goalkeeper)
Carouge (1): Gabriel Catillaz

Team manager Adrian Seemüller completes the staff.

Zoltan Hyc (right) and Sébastien Viriot coach the U15 national team at the EC 2023 in Podgorica Swiss U15 National team at the training camp in Herzeg Novi (Photo: Ivan Montoliu Roura)

The main block comprises Lausanne players who recently won the Swiss U15 Championship. Interestingly, three Horgen players were selected, while Horgen could not qualify for the Final 4 tournament. On the other hand, the players selected actively contributed to Horgen’s title in the U17 category.

The tournament is organized in six groups of four or five teams playing in a single round-robin mode. The first two teams will advance, while the other will play in the relegation tournament.
The Swiss team will play in Group E with Germany, Georgia, and Ukraine.
While Germany is considered the group’s favorite, Switzerland would have to beat at least Georgia and Ukraine to qualify next round of the tournament.
It is difficult to predict the quality of youth teams as it depends from generation to generation.
Georgia has a long tradition in water polo and invested in the sport in the latest decade.
Most recently, former superstar center-forward and Olympic silver medallist Revaz Chomakhidze (Pro Recco, Mladost Zagreb) worked in developing Georgian youth categories until 2021, as reported by TotalWaterpolo.
Longer back, Giorgi Mshvenieradze dominated on the 2 meters playing for Pro Recco and winning the gold medals with the Soviet Union at the Olympic games in Moscow.
Ukraine might be the unknown in the group.

The tournament will be an excellent occasion to compete against other national teams and evaluate the progress of Swiss youth water polo players at this particular age level.