# 2017–18 LEN Champions League

The 2017–18 LEN Champions League was the 55th edition of LEN's premier competition for men's water polo clubs.

## Overview
### Team allocation

12 teams are directly qualified for the preliminary round (TH: Champions League title holders).
Preliminary Round :
| Jug CO | Waspo 98 Hannover | Pro Recco | Dynamo Moscow |
| Olympic Nice ZF Eger | Olympiacos | AZC Alphen | Partizan |
| Spandau 04 | Szolnoki VSC | Steaua București | CNA Barceloneta |
| Qualification round II ||||
| HAVK Mladost | NC Vouliagmeni | CSM Digi Oradea | Crvena zvezda |
| CN Marseille | AN Brescia | Spartak Volgograd | CN Sabadell |
| ASC Duisburg | UZSC Utrecht | | |
| Qualification round I ||||
| Banja Luka | Orvosegyetem SC | Jadran Carine | CN Terrassa |
| Mornar | ASA Tel Aviv | CF Portuense | Enka SK |
| Strasbourg | CC Napoli | Sintez Kazan | Galatasaray |
| ANC Glyfada | | | |

### Phases and rounds dates

The schedule of the competition is as follows.
| Phase | Round | First leg | Second leg |
| Qualifying rounds | Qualification round I | 14–17 September 2017 | 14–17 September 2017 |
| Qualifying rounds | Qualification round II | 28 September–1 October 2017 | 28 September–1 October 2017 |
| Qualifying rounds | Qualification round III | 14 October 2017 | 18 October 2017 |
| Preliminary round | Matchday 1 | 25 October 2017 | 25 October 2017 |
| Preliminary round | Matchday 2 | 8 November 2017 | 8 November 2017 |
| Preliminary round | Matchday 3 | 29 November 2017 | 29 November 2017 |
| Preliminary round | Matchday 4 | 9 December 2017 | 9 December 2017 |
| Preliminary round | Matchday 5 | 20 December 2017 | 20 December 2017 |
| Preliminary round | Matchday 6 | 13 January 2018 | 13 January 2018 |
| Preliminary round | Matchday 7 | 24 January 2018 | 24 January 2018 |
| Preliminary round | Matchday 8 | 7 February 2018 | 7 February 2018 |
| Preliminary round | Matchday 9 | 28 February 2018 | 28 February 2018 |
| Preliminary round | Matchday 10 | 14 March 2018 | 14 March 2018 |
| Preliminary round | Matchday 11 | 31 March 2018 | 31 March 2018 |
| Preliminary round | Matchday 12 | 18 April 2018 | 18 April 2018 |
| Preliminary round | Matchday 13 | 28 April 2018 | 28 April 2018 |
| Preliminary round | Matchday 14 | 9 May 2018 | 9 May 2018 |
| Final Eight | Quarterfinals | 7 June 2018 | 7 June 2018 |
| Final Eight | Semifinals | 8 June 2018 | 8 June 2018 |
| Final Eight | Final | 9 June 2018 | 9 June 2018 |

## Qualifying rounds
### Qualification round I
#### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | OSC | SIN | TER | POR | BAN |
| 1 | Orvosegyetem SC | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 16 | +57 | 12 | Round II | — | 10–6 | | | 30–2 |
| 2 | Sintez Kazan | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 58 | 21 | +37 | 9 | Round II | | — | | 21–5 | |
| 3 | CN Terrassa | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 46 | 27 | +19 | 6 | | 5–11 | 4–6 | — | | |
| 4 | CF Portuense | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 62 | −41 | 3 | | 3–22 | | 3–14 | — | |
| 5 | Banja Luka (H) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 88 | −72 | 0 | | | 2–25 | 7–23 | 5–10 | — |

#### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | JAD | NAP | STR | ESK |
| 1 | Jadran Carine | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 16 | +26 | 9 | Round II | — | 18–7 | 7–6 | 17–3 |
| 2 | CC Napoli | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 33 | 34 | −1 | 6 | Round II | | — | 9–8 | 17–8 |
| 3 | Strasbourg (H) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 28 | 23 | +5 | 3 | | | | — | |
| 4 | Enka SK | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 48 | −30 | 0 | | | | 7–14 | — |

#### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MOR | GLY | GAL | ASA |
| 1 | Mornar | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 16 | +15 | 9 | Round II | — | | 7–5 | |
| 2 | ANC Glyfada | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 21 | +14 | 6 | Round II | 9–10 | — | 8–6 | |
| 3 | Galatasaray | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 22 | +2 | 3 | | | | — | |
| 4 | ASA Tel Aviv (H) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 45 | −31 | 0 | | 2–14 | 5–18 | 7–13 | — |

### Qualification round II
#### Group E

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | SPA | JAD | MLA | DUI |
| 1 | Spartak Volgograd | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 16 | +11 | 7 | Round III | — | 7–5 | | 14–5 |
| 2 | Jadran Carine | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 19 | +17 | 6 | Round III | | — | | 19–5 |
| 3 | HAVK Mladost (H) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 34 | 22 | +12 | 4 | | 6–6 | 7–12 | — | 21–4 |
| 4 | ASC Duisburg | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 54 | −40 | 0 | | | | | — |

#### Group F

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MAR | OSC | NAP | GLY |
| 1 | CN Marseille | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 16 | +11 | 7 | Round III | — | | | 13–10 |
| 2 | Orvosegyetem SC (H) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 19 | +17 | 6 | Round III | 7–8 | — | | 19–7 |
| 3 | CC Napoli | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 34 | 22 | +12 | 4 | | 11–11 | 7–11 | — | |
| 4 | ANC Glyfada | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 54 | −40 | 0 | | | | 8–11 | — |

#### Group G

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BRE | SAB | MOR | UTR |
| 1 | AN Brescia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 22 | +24 | 9 | Round III | — | | | 23–2 |
| 2 | CN Sabadell (H) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 33 | 23 | +10 | 6 | Round III | 12–13 | — | 8–3 | 13–7 |
| 3 | Mornar | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 25 | −3 | 3 | | 8–10 | | — | |
| 4 | UZSC Utrecht | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 47 | −31 | 0 | | | | 7–11 | — |

#### Group H

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | CZV | SIN | VOU | ORA |
| 1 | Crvena zvezda | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 6 | Round III | — | | 6–5 | |
| 2 | Sintez Kazan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 25 | +2 | 6 | Round III | 8–10 | — | | |
| 3 | NC Vouliagmeni | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 21 | −1 | 3 | | | 7–10 | — | |
| 4 | CSM Digi Oradea (H) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 20 | −1 | 3 | | 6–3 | 8–9 | 5–8 | — |
* 1 2 Crvena zvezda 10–8 Sintez Kazan
* 1 2 NC Vouliagmeni 8–5 CSM Digi Oradea

### Qualification round III

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| CN Marseille | 13–16 | Jadran Carine | 6–7 | 7–9 |
| Spartak Volgograd | 14–26 | Orvosegyetem SC | 7–14 | 7–12 |
| AN Brescia | 18–17 | Sintez Kazan | 11–9 | 7–8 |
| Crvena zvezda | 14–17 | CN Sabadell | 6–6 | 8–11 |

## Preliminary round

The draw for the group stage was held on 29 August 2017 in Budapest. The 16 teams were drawn into two groups of eight.
In each group, teams play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The group winners, runners-ups, third and fourth placed teams advance to the Final 8. The matchdays are 25 October, 8 and 29 November, 9 and 20 December 2017, 13 and 24 January, 7 and 28 February, 14 and 31 March, 18 and 28 April, 9 May 2018.
A total of 11 national associations are represented in the group stage.

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | OLY | JUG | BAR | BRE | DYN | HAN | OSC | PAR |
| 1 | Olympiacos | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 153 | 102 | +51 | 37 | Final Eight | — | 8–6 | 14–10 | 13–6 | 17–9 | 11–7 | 10–7 | 16–8 |
| 2 | Jug CO | 14 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 147 | 113 | +34 | 28 | Final Eight | 10–8 | — | 9–9 | 10–7 | 15–10 | 14–9 | 12–10 | 16–5 |
| 3 | CNA Barceloneta | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 137 | 102 | +35 | 27 | Final Eight | 7–7 | 8–6 | — | 5–7 | 7–7 | 13–12 | 12–6 | 16–5 |
| 4 | AN Brescia | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 114 | 106 | +8 | 26 | Final Eight | 6–7 | 9–8 | 6–5 | — | 9–9 | 11–9 | 9–5 | 13–9 |
| 5 | Dynamo Moscow | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 141 | 133 | +8 | 22 | | 9–13 | 12–11 | 5–9 | 9–9 | — | 9–6 | 7–7 | 16–4 |
| 6 | Waspo 98 Hannover | 14 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 133 | 150 | −17 | 12 | | 7–12 | 6–13 | 7–13 | 8–6 | 11–15 | — | 13–8 | 16–6 |
| 7 | Orvosegyetem SC | 14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 103 | 126 | −23 | 10 | | 6–10 | 4–7 | 6–8 | 6–8 | 5–10 | 8–7 | — | 14–6 |
| 8 | Partizan | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 91 | 187 | −96 | 0 | | 4–7 | 8–10 | 5–15 | 3–8 | 10–14 | 11–15 | 7–11 | — |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | REC | EGE | SZO | SPA | JAD | STE | SAB | ALP |
| 1 | Pro Recco | 14 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 186 | 80 | +106 | 39 | Final Eight | — | 14–6 | 8–5 | 12–4 | 10–5 | 15–6 | 13–5 | 19–1 |
| 2 | ZF Eger | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 134 | 87 | +47 | 31 | Final Eight | 4–6 | — | 6–3 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 12–9 | 14–5 | 15–4 |
| 3 | Szolnoki VSC | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 169 | 99 | +70 | 30 | Final Eight | 10–9 | 10–11 | — | 9–8 | 13–10 | 15–3 | 14–4 | 17–4 |
| 4 | Spandau 04 | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 133 | 125 | +8 | 25 | Final Eight | 9–10 | 10–9 | 10–9 | — | 13–13 | 11–9 | 11–8 | 14–8 |
| 5 | Jadran Carine | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 128 | 126 | +2 | 20 | | 5–15 | 4–4 | 6–14 | 11–5 | — | 16–10 | 7–8 | 15–7 |
| 6 | Steaua București | 14 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 109 | 152 | −43 | 12 | | 6–13 | 3–8 | 9–17 | 5–6 | 4–8 | — | 10–9 | 9–8 |
| 7 | CN Sabadell | 14 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 115 | 174 | −59 | 9 | | 9–18 | 7–15 | 5–16 | 9–11 | 8–10 | 10–11 | — | 12–10 |
| 8 | AZC Alphen | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 87 | 218 | −131 | 0 | | 5–24 | 4–14 | 6–17 | 5–17 | 7–14 | 4–15 | 14–16 | — |

## Final Eight

7–9 June 2018—Genoa, Italy
| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | | Final | Final |
| 7 June | 7 June | | | |
| Olympiacos | 6 | | | |
| Olympiacos | 6 | 8 June | 8 June | | |
| Spandau 04 | 5 | 8 June | 8 June | |
| Spandau 04 | 5 | Olympiacos | 6 | |
| 7 June | 7 June | | Olympiacos | 6 | |
| 7 June | 7 June | CNA Barceloneta | 4 | |
| ZF Eger | 4 | CNA Barceloneta | 4 | |
| ZF Eger | 4 | | | | 9 June | 9 June |
| CNA Barceloneta | 9 | | | | 9 June | 9 June |
| CNA Barceloneta | 9 | | | | Olympiacos | 9 |
| 7 June | 7 June | | | | | Olympiacos | 9 |
| 7 June | 7 June | | | | Pro Recco | 7 |
| Pro Recco (PSO) | 12 | | | | Pro Recco | 7 |
| Pro Recco (PSO) | 12 | 8 June | 8 June | | | |
| AN Brescia | 10 | 8 June | 8 June | | | |
| AN Brescia | 10 | Pro Recco | 9 | | | |
| 7 June | 7 June | | Pro Recco | 9 | | | |
| 7 June | 7 June | Jug CO | 8 | | Third place game | Third place game |
| Jug CO | 9 | Jug CO | 8 | | Third place game | Third place game |
| Jug CO | 9 | | | | 9 June | 9 June |
| Szolnoki VSC | 8 | | | | 9 June | 9 June |
| Szolnoki VSC | 8 | | | | CNA Barceloneta | 14 |
| | | | | | Jug CO | 8 |

### 5th–8th place bracket

| 5th–8th place semifinals | 5th–8th place semifinals | Fifth place game | Fifth place game |
| 8 June | 8 June |
| Spandau 04 | 6 |
| Spandau 04 | 6 | 9 June | 9 June |
| ZF Eger | 10 | 9 June | 9 June |
| ZF Eger | 10 | ZF Eger | 6 |
| 8 June | 8 June | | ZF Eger | 6 |
| 8 June | 8 June | Szolnoki VSC | 10 |
| AN Brescia | 7 | Szolnoki VSC | 10 |
| Szolnoki VSC | 8 | | |
| Szolnoki VSC | 8 | Seventh place game | Seventh place game |
| | | 9 June | 9 June |
| | | Spandau 04 | 10 |
| | | AN Brescia | 14 |
* 2017–18 LEN Champions League Champions
* Olympiacos (2nd title)
* Josip Pavić, Emmanouil Mylonakis, Evangelos Delakas, Konstantinos Genidounias, Ioannis Fountoulis, Dimitrios Nikolaidis, Georgios Dervisis, Andro Bušlje, Konstantinos Mourikis, Alexandros Gounas, Stylianos Argyropoulos, Paulo Obradović, Stefanos Galanopoulos, Emmanouil Prekas
* Head coach
* Thodoris Vlachos

### Final standings

| | Team |
| | Olympiacos |
| | Pro Recco |
| | CNA Barceloneta |
| 4 | Jug CO |
| 5 | Szolnoki VSC |
| 6 | ZF Eger |
| 7 | AN Brescia |
| 8 | Spandau 04 |

### Awards

| Player of the Season | Top Scorer | Player of the Final Eight | Goalkeeper of the Final Eight |
| Josip Pavić (Olympiacos) | Darko Brguljan (Waspo'98 Hannover) 42 goals | Josip Pavic (Olympiacos) | Josip Pavic (Olympiacos) |
Total 7 of the Season :
| LW | Francesco Di Fulvio (Pro Recco) | CF | Josip Vrlić (Barceloneta) | RW | Maro Joković (Jug) |
| LD | Ioannis Fountoulis (Olympiacos) | CB | Andro Bušlje (Olympiacos) | RD | Dušan Mandić (Pro Recco) |
| GK | Josip Pavić (Olympiacos) | Josip Pavić (Olympiacos) | Josip Pavić (Olympiacos) | Josip Pavić (Olympiacos) | Josip Pavić (Olympiacos) |