Men's Teams
Group A
Hungary is the returning champion and always one of the teams to beat. Head coach Denes Kemeny returns with a number of key players who also won gold in Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004). Although there are some question marks about their chances due to the age of the key players (Tamas Benedek, Gergely Kiss, Tamas Kasas, etc are all over 34 years of age), but they have enough experience and skill to win the gold medal.
Player(s) to watch – Tamas Kasas & Daniel Varga
Key Match – vs. Montenegro (August 10)
Montenegro is the current European Men’s Champion after beating Serbian in a hard fought championship game at the recent European Championships held in Malaga, Spain. They have a number of key players who featured prominently in the Serbia & Montenegro team that won Silver in Athens and also the 2005 World Championship in Montreal, and could quite possibly win the group, but are still the underdogs to Hungary in the group. They are coached by Petar Porobic who formerly coached Serbia & Montenegro prior to their split in 2006, and is regarded as one of the top coaches in the world.
Player to watch – Mjadlan Janovic
Key Matches – vs. Hungary (August 10), vs Australia (August 18)
Led by a relatively new international Head Coach John Fox, Australia is one of the top teams in this group, with a very experienced squad, and medal ambitions. Similar to the USA team, the Australian team is built around a core group of players who play professionally in Europe.
Player(s) to watch – Pietro Figlioli & Thomas Whalan
Key Matches – vs. Montenegro (August 18), vs Spain (August 12)
Generally Greece is always a contender for a medal, with enough solid international players and ably coached by Head Coach Alessandro Campagna. However after a dismal performance at the recent European Championships there are many questions which mark them as a dark horse and an unknown entity in this tournament Failure to medal at the Olympics could also see Greece not qualify for the 2009 FINA World Championships in Rome.
Player(s) to watch – Christos Afroudakis
Key Matches – vs. Australia (August 10), vs Spain (August 18)
Canada are the surprise team at this these Olympics after managing to beat Romania at the Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Bucharest, earlier this year. In only 2 years Head Coach Dragan Jovanovic has steadily transformed our northern neighbors into a solid international team with the ability to beat any team unprepared for them.
Player(s) to watch – Thomas Marks
Key Matches – vs. Greece (August 16), vs Spain (August 10)
Led by Head Coach Rafael Aguilar and 2007 MVP Guillermo Molina, Spain is another team in this group who has the potential and ambition to medal. Despite only finishing 7th place at the European Championships, they have the talent and experience to compete with any of the favorites.
Player(s) to watch – Guillermo Molina & Ivan Perez
Key Matches – vs. Montenegro (August 16), vs Australia (August 12)
My predictions –
- Hungary
- Montenegro
- Australia
I think it will be a two horse race between Hungary and Montenegro for first or second place, but I give it to Hungary this time round based on a coin toss. In the battle for the third place, I think Australia will sneak in past Spain, whilst Greece and Canada battle for last place.
Group B
Despite the recent loss of star player Danilo Ikodinović, Head Coach Dejan Udovicic leads one of the most talented and revered teams to Beijing, supported by a nation who expects nothing less than a gold medal. With a wealth of talented players like Aleksandar Sapic, Vania Udovicic, Vladimir Vujasinovic, Filip Filopovich and Dennis Šefik
Player(s) to watch – Vania Udovicic & Aleksandar Sapic
Key Match – vs. Croatia (August 12)
Current World Champions and coached by the most successful coach in history, Ratko Rudic, Croatia will be one of the top teams at Beijing and will most probably medal. This Croatian team has a very experienced and talented roster with renowned players like Miho Bošković, Maro Joković, Pavo Marković and Igor Hinic.
Player(s) to watch – Miho Bošković
Key Match – vs. Serbia (August 12)
Team USA is ably coached by former Olympian and water polo great Terry Shroeder and carries a roster loaded with international experience. With a recent 2nd place finish behind Serbia at the 2008 FINA World League and a recent victory over Croatia, this team has the potential to medal if they can gain momentum in the group stages.
Player(s) to watch – Tony Azevedo
Key Matches – vs. Italy (August 12), vs. Germany (August 18)
The Settebello, as they affectionately called in Italy, travel to Beijing with a wealth of optimism after a relatively successful performance at the European Championships. Head Coach Paolo Malara leads a squad with well known players like Alessandro Calcaterram Maurizio Felugo and Stefano Tempesti, who have the potential to cause and upset over either Serbia or Croatia if they can gain momentum.
Player(s) to watch – Tony Azevedo
Key Matches – vs. USA (August 12), vs. Croatia (August 10)
The German team has recently been hit with the loss of key player Steffen Dierolf and appear to be much weaker than they did at the 2007 World Championships. Head Coach Hagen Stamm still has a talented and gutsy squad who will be competitive in this group and could surprise either the USA or Italy.
Player(s) to watch – Alexander Tchigir
Key Matches – vs. Italy (August 16), vs. USA (August 18)
The Chinese team will participate in their first ever Olympics courtesy of hosting, but don’t expect this to be their last. Head Coach Wang Minhui believes his players are making consistent progress and will use the Olympics to catapult their team up the international ladder. They aim to finish in the top 10, and certainly have a team with enough physical characteristics to achieve that goal.
My predictions –
- Croatia
- Serbia
- USA
I think Croatia will beat Serbia in the round robin stages, particularly since the Serbia-Croatia game is so early in the tournament. Serbia will probably not lose a game besides that one, and should take 2nd place easily. In the dog fight for 3rd place, I have a gut feeling that the US will beat Italy in a tough encounter and not be bothered too much by Germany.
Women's Teams
Group A
Head Coach Greg McFadden travels to Beijing determined to win a gold medal with a team laden with talent in all positions. Featuring standout players like Gemma Beadsworth, sisters Melissa & Rebecca Rippon, Nikita Cuffe the Australian team is worthy of their current #2 ranking.
Player(s) to watch – Gemma Beadsworth
Key Match – vs. Hungary (August 13)
Head Coach Kyriakos Iosifidis, leads a Greek team with valuable experience gained winning the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, and potentially could medal this year in Beijing if they can maintain a consistent game throughout the tournament.
Player(s) to watch – Evangelia Moraitidou
Key Match – vs. the Netherlands (August 13)
Just like their men’s team, the Hungarian women’s team is always one of the top teams in the world and a serious medal contender. Despite finishing third at this years European Championships, Head Coach Gabor Godova has a very strong squad with stand out players like Rita Drávucz, Aniko Pelles, and Mercédesz Stieber who have medal ambitions.
Player(s) to watch – Aniko Pelles & Mercédesz Stieber
Key Matches –vs. the Netherlands (August 11), vs. Australia (August 13)
Head Coach Robin Galen’s Dutch team were the surprise winners of the European Qualification tournament back in 2007 and have a strong squad capable of medal-ing if they are able to gain momentum during group play.
Player(s) to watch – Iefke van Belkum, Ilse van der Meijden
Key Matches – vs. Hungary (August 11), vs. Greece (August 13)
My predictions –
- Australia
- Hungary
- The Netherlands
Australia should prove to strong for their opponents in the opening rounds. If Hungary can bring their shooters into their 6 on 5, then they should beat the Netherlands and qualify for the quarterfinals. Greece will probably be the last place team in the competition, unless they can surprise the Netherlands.
Group B
At the 2007 Junior World Championships China surprised everybody by grabbing the silver medal and beating USA in the semi-finals. At this years Olympics they hope to continue their improvement under former Spanish Coach Joan Jané and have the potential to challenge all of the usual suspects more than most people think.
Player(s) to watch – Jun Yang
Key Matches – vs. Russia (August 13), vs. Italy (August 15)
After a disappointing performance at the recent European Championships, the “Setterosa” hope to turn reclaim the gold they won in Athens (2004) With standout international center Elisa Casanova, 2004 Olympian Tania Di Mario and Martina Miceli, Head Coach Mauro Maugeri has the players with the potential to medal provided they can establish their style of game over their opponents and convert their 6 on 5 opportunities.
Player(s) to watch – Elisa Casanova & Tania Di Mario
Key Match – vs. Russia (August 11)
With two big victories this year in the FINA World League and European Championships, Russia is Sports Illustrated favorite for the Gold Medal and certainly a major contender for a medal in Beijing. Head Coach Alexander Kleymenov has a very well coached and motivated team, who will seriously challenge either USA or Australia for the gold medal.
Player(s) to watch – Ekaterina Pantyulina & Elena Smurova
Key Match – vs. USA (August 15)
Head Coach Guy Baker leads one of the strongest US teams ever to the Olympics with a wealth of experience and talent in key positions. With a wealth of standout players like Natalie Golda, Brenda Villa, Betsy Armstrong, Heather Petri etc who won the World Championships in 2007, and a number of players who also won Bronze in 2007, Team USA is the number favorite to win the gold medal.
Player(s) to watch – all of them
Key Match – vs. Russia (August 15)
My predictions –
- USA
- Russia
- Italy
Team USA should jump win the group, but after a hard fought battle with Russia. Russia has the firepower to beat Italy, but it will be a tough battle. China unfortunately isn't experienced enough to keep up with these 3 powerhouses but does challenge them initially.
