Serbia men's national water polo team

This article is about the Serbian men's national water polo team. For the women's team, see Serbia women's national water polo team. For the national team that played under the flag of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, see Yugoslavia national water polo team.

Serbia

FINA code	SRB
Nickname(s)	Делфини / Delfini (The Dolphins)
Association	Water Polo Association of Serbia  [ sr ] founded 1946 [1]
Confederation	LEN (Europe)
Head coach	Uroš Stevanović
Asst coach	Miloš Ćirić Stefan Ćirić
Captain	Nikola Jakšić
Most caps	Dejan Savić (444)
Top scorer(s)	Aleksandar Šapić (981)
FINA ranking (since 2008)
Current	3 (as of 9 August 2021)
Highest	1 (2009–2011, 2014–2019)
Lowest	4 (2013)
First international
Belgium   7–1   Yugoslavia  (YUG) (Bologna, Italy; 31. august 1927) as Serbia Serbia   13–6   Russia (Belgrade, Serbia; 1. septembar 2006)
Biggest win
Yugoslavia   62–0   Guatemala (Kobe, Japan; 24. august 1985) [2] as Serbia Serbia   31–0   Egypt (Genoa, Italy; 18. june 2008) [3]
Biggest defeat
Belgium   7–1   Yugoslavia  (YUG) (Bologna, Italy; 31. august 1927) as Serbia Hungary   16–7   Serbia (Split, Croatia; 31. august 2022.) Greece   16–7   Serbia (Kalang, Singapure; 24. jule 2025.)
Olympic Games  (team statistics)
Appearances	20 (first in 1936 )
Best result	(1968 (YUG), 1984 (YUG), 1988 (YUG), 2016, 2020, 2024)
4-time Olympian(s)	Vladimir Vujasinović (1996–2008), Dejan Savić (1996–2008), Aleksandar Šapić (1996–2008), Duško Pijetlović (2008–2020), Andrija Prlainović (2008–2020), Filip Filipović (2008–2020), Dušan Mandić (2012–2024)
Most medals	4-time Duško Pijetlović (2008–2020), Andrija Prlainović (2008–2020), Filip Filipović (2008–2020), Dušan Mandić (2012–2024)
Most titles	3-time Dušan Mandić (2012–2024)
Top scorer(s)	Aleksandar Šapić (64 goals, 1996–2008)
Most saves	Branislav Mitrović (130 saves, 2016–2020)
Top sprinter(s)	Aleksandar Ćirić (40 sprints won, 2000–2008)
Flag bearer(s)	Mirko Sandić (1972) Filip Filipović (2020)
World Championship
Appearances	20 (first in 1973 )
Best result	(1986 (YUG) , 1991 (YUG) , 2005 (SCG), 2009, 2015)
World Cup
Appearances	9 (first in 1997 )
Best result	(2006, 2010, 2014)
World League
Appearances	18 (first in 2003 )
Best result	(2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019)
European Championship
Appearances	31 (first in 1927 )
Best result	(1991 (YUG) , 2001 (YUG) , 2003 (SCG) , 2006, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018)
Media
Website	waterpoloserbia.org
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 6 5 3 World Championship 5 2 5 World Cup 5 2 3 World League 12 1 1 European Championship 8 9 5 Europa Cup 0 0 0 Mediterranean Games 4 0 1 Summer Universiade 4 1 2 Total 44 20 20 Men's water polo Representing FR Yugoslavia /   Serbia and Montenegro /   Serbia Olympic Games 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team 2020 Tokyo Team 2024 Paris Team 2004 Athens Team 2000 Sydney Team 2008 Beijing Team 2012 London Team World Championship 2005 Montreal Team 2009 Rome Team 2015 Kazan Team 2001 Fukuoka Team 2011 Shanghai Team 1998 Perth Team 2003 Barcelona Team 2017 Budapest Team FINA World Cup 2006 Budapest 2010 Oradea 2014 Almaty 2002 Belgrade 2018 Berlin FINA World League 2005 Belgrade 2006 Athens 2007 Berlin 2008 Genova 2010 Niš 2011 Firenze 2013 Chelyabinsk 2014 Dubai 2015 Bergamo 2016 Huizhou 2017 Ruza 2019 Belgrade 2004 Long Beach 2009 Podgorica European Championship 2001 Budapest 2003 Kranj 2006 Belgrade 2012 Eindhoven 2014 Budapest 2016 Belgrade 2018 Barcelona 1997 Seville 2008 Málaga 2010 Zagreb European Games 2015 Baku Mediterranean Games 1997 Bari Team 2009 Pescara Team 2018 Tarragona Team 2022 Oran Team 2005 Almeria Team Summer Universiade 1995 Fukuoka Team 2005 Izmir Team 2011 Shenzhen Team 2017 Taipei Team 2003 Daegu Team 2009 Belgrade Team 2013 Kazan Team

The 2015 world championship team on a Serbian postage stamp

The Serbia men's national water polo team represents Serbia in international men's water polo. It is considered to be one of the most successful men's water polo teams in the world, winning medals in all Olympic tournaments it has entered since 2000.

Serbia has inherited the continuity of results and medals from all former state unions (Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro) ^[4] .

At the final of the European Championship held in Belgrade in 2016, a record attendance was set at a water polo match. The final between Serbia and Montenegro was watched by 11,000 fans ^[5] .

Not including the results of the former Yugoslav team, the Serbia has won three consecutive gold medals in the Olympic water polo tournament (from 2016 to 2024.), three World Championships, seven European Championships, three World Cups, record 12 FINA World Leagues, four gold medals at Mediterranean Games, four gold medals at Summer Universiades and gold medal at the first and so far only water polo tournament at the European Games, justifying the status of water polo as the national sport of Serbia.

In 2016, Serbia became the first national water polo team to simultaneously hold titles in all five existing major championships—European Championship, World Championship, World Cup, World League and Olympic Games. ^[6] The team holds the record for the most consecutive World League titles, winning five consecutive titles from 2013 to 2017. They are Serbia's most successful national sports team, having won more titles than all other Serbian national teams combined. ^[7]

Competitive record

Medals

Includes matches of Serbia and Montenegro and Serbia.

Updated after the 2024 Summer Olympics

Competition				Total
Olympic Games	3	1	3	7
World Championship	3	2	3	8
European Championship	7	2	1	10
World Cup	3	0	2	5
World League	12	1	1	14
Europa Cup	0	0	0	0
Mediterranean Games	4	0	1	5
Summer Universiade	4	1	2	7
Total	36	7	13	56

Olympic Games

Main article: Serbia men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics

Year [8]	Position
1936 to 1988	part of SFR Yugoslavia
as FR Yugoslavia
1992 Barcelona	suspended
1996 Atlanta	8th
2000 Sydney
as Serbia and Montenegro
2004 Athens
as Serbia
2008 Beijing
2012 London
2016 Rio de Janeiro
2020 Tokyo
2024 Paris
2028 Los Angeles	future events
2032 Brisbane

World Championship

Year [8]	Position
1973 to 1991	part of SFR Yugoslavia
as FR Yugoslavia
1994 Rome	suspended
1998 Perth
2001 Fukuoka
as Serbia and Montenegro
2003 Barcelona
2005 Montreal
as Serbia
2007 Melbourne	4th
2009 Rome
2011 Shanghai
2013 Barcelona	7th
2015 Kazan
2017 Budapest
2019 Gwangju	5th
2022 Budapest	5th
2023 Fukuoka	4th
2024 Doha	6th
2025 Singapore	4th
2027 Budapest	future events
2029 Beijing

European Championship

Year	Position
1950 to 1991	part of SFR Yugoslavia
as FR Yugoslavia
1993 Sheffield	suspended
1995 Vienna	did not participate
1997 Seville
1999 Florence	7th
2001 Budapest
as Serbia and Montenegro
2003 Kranj
as Serbia
2006 Belgrade
2008 Malaga
2010 Zagreb
2012 Eindhoven
2014 Budapest
2016 Belgrade
2018 Barcelona
2020 Budapest	5th
2022 Split	9th
2024 Dubrovnik and Zagreb	7th
2026 Belgrade	Qualified

World Cup

Year [8]	Position
1979 to 1991	part of SFR Yugoslavia
as FR Yugoslavia
1993 Athens	suspended
1995 Atlanta	did not participate
1997 Athens	7th
1999 Sydney	5th
2002 Belgrade
as Serbia and Montenegro
2006 Budapest
as Serbia
2010 Oradea
2014 Almaty
2018 Berlin
2023 Los Angeles	7th
2025 Bucharest	9th

World League

Year [8]	Position
as FR Yugoslavia
2002 Patras	did not participate
as Serbia and Montenegro
2003 New York	4th
2004 Long Beach
2005 Belgrade
2006 Athens
as Serbia
2007 Berlin
2008 Genoa
2009 Podgorica
2010 Niš
2011 Florence
2012 Almaty	did not participate
2013 Chelyabinsk
2014 Dubai
2015 Bergamo
2016 Huizhou
2017 Ruza
2018 Budapest	preliminary round
2019 Belgrade
2020 Tbilisi	preliminary round
2022 Strasbourg	5th

Europa Cup

Year	Position
2018 Rijeka	4th
2019 Zagreb	6th

Mediterranean Games

Year	Position
1959 to 1991	part of SFR Yugoslavia
as FR Yugoslavia
1993 Languedoc-Roussillon	suspended
1997 Bari
2001 Tunis	4th
as Serbia and Montenegro
2005 Almeria
as Serbia
2009 Pescara
2013 Tunis	6th
2018 Tarragona
2022 Oran
2026 Taranto	future event

Team

Current squad

Roster for the 2025 World Championships. ^{[9] [10]}

Head coach: Uroš Stevanović

• 1 Radoslav Filipović GK
• 2 Dušan Mandić FP
• 3 Strahinja Rašović FP
• 4 Sava Ranđelović FP
• 5 Miloš Ćuk FP
• 6 Nikola Murišić FP
• 7 Đorđe Lazić FP
• 8 Nikola Jakšić FP
• 9 Nemanja Vico FP
• 10 Boris Vapenski FP
• 11 Petar Jakšić FP
• 12 Viktor Rašović FP
• 13 Lazar Dobožanov GK
• 14 Vasilije Martinović FP
• 15 Vuk Milojević FP

Coaches

• 1992–1999 Nikola Stamenić
• 1999–2004 Nenad Manojlović
• 2004–2006 Petar Porobić
• 2006–2012 Dejan Udovičić
• 2012–2022 Dejan Savić
• 2022– present Uroš Stevanović

Most appearances and goals

Main article: Serbia men's national water polo team statistics

Professional friendly and competitive matches only where Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro and now Serbia were represented.

	Name	Years	Matches	Goals
1	Dejan Savić	1994–2008	444	405
2	Aleksandar Šapić	1997–2008	385	981
3	Filip Filipović	2003–2021	381	677
4	Živko Gocić	2003–2016	362	207
5	Slobodan Nikić	2003–2016	355	354
6	Igor Milanović	1984–1996	349	540
7	Aleksandar Ćirić	1997–2008	346	201
8	Vladimir Vujasinović	1990–2008	341	391
9	Duško Pijetlović	2005–2021	340	472
10	Andrija Prlainović	2005–2021	336	541

Statistics accurate as of matches played 6 August 2021

Philanthropy

On 25 December 2011, Serbia's water polo team was included in a humanitarian action "Bitka za Bebe" ("the Battle for the Babies") playing an exhibition match with the team of the Faculty of Organizational Sciences (FON), in Belgrade. Before the Serbian water polo team had joined the action, many other athletes were included. Among them was the world number one in tennis at that time, Novak Djokovic, football and basketball players of Red Star Belgrade, and many others. Proceeds from the ticket sales went to fund "Bitka za Bebe" and enough money was successfully raised to purchase one hundred incubator.

See also

• Serbia men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics
• Yugoslavia men's national water polo team
• Serbia and Montenegro men's national water polo team
• List of Olympic champions in men's water polo
• List of men's Olympic water polo tournament records and statistics
• List of world champions in men's water polo

References

1. https://europeanaquatics.org/federations-detail/?fed_id=64
2. https://sportske.jutarnji.hr/sn/sport-mix/vec-prvog-dana-svjetskog-prvenstva-u-vaterpolu-pao-svjetski-rekord-nevidena-blamaza-domacina-natjecanja-jugoslavija-vise-nije-na-vrhu-9120185
3. https://www.b92.net/o/sport/vaterpolo/vesti?yyyy=2008&mm=06&dd=18&nav_id=304444
4. https://www.worldaquatics.com/news/1910953/water-polo-mens-final-and-finally-its-serbia
5. https://www.b92.net/o/sport/vaterpolo/vesti?yyyy=2016&mm=01&dd=11&nav_id=1083810
6. "Rulers of all competitions". b92.net. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
7. "Vaterpolo Srbija – Serbia Water Polo: Osvojene medalje".
8. "HistoFINA – Water polo medalists and statistics" (PDF). fina.org. FINA. September 2019. pp. 4, 14, 25, 40, 48. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
9. "Men's Water Polo Team Roster SRB" (PDF). Omega Timing. 12 July 2025. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
10. "Men's Water Polo Team Roster SRB (2)" (PDF). Omega Timing. 24 July 2025. Retrieved 25 July 2025.

External links

• Official website