Greece men's national water polo team

The Greece men's national water polo team represents Greece in international men's water polo competitions and it is organized and run by the Hellenic Swimming Federation.

Greece
FINA codeGRE
Nickname(s)Galanolefki (The Blue-white)
Ethniki (The National)
AssociationHellenic Swimming Federation
ConfederationLEN (Europe)
Head coachThodoris Vlachos
Asst coachDimitris Kravaritis
CaptainIoannis Fountoulis
FINA ranking (since 2008)
Current1 (as of 9 August 2021)
Highest1 (2021)
Lowest16 (2011)
Olympic Games (team statistics)
Appearances16 (first in 1920)
Best result (2020)
5-time Olympian(s)George Mavrotas (1984–2000)
Georgios Afroudakis (1996–2012)
Top scorer(s)Kyriakos Giannopoulos (44 goals, 1980–1992)
World Championship
Appearances15 (first in 1973)
Best result (2005, 2015)
World Cup
Appearances8 (first in 1985)
Best result (1997)
World League
Appearances7 (first in 2002)
Best result (2004, 2006, 2016, 2020)
European Championship
Appearances18 (first in 1970)
Best result4th place (1999, 2016)
Mediterranean Games
Appearances8 (first in 1951)
Best result (2018)
Media
Websitekoe.org.gr (in Greek)
Medal record
Olympic Games
2020 Tokyo Team
World Championship
2005 Montreal Team
2015 Kazan Team
World Cup
1997 Athens
World League
2004 Long Beach
2006 Athens
2016 Huizhou
2020 Tbilisi
Mediterranean Games
2018 Tarragona Team
1951 Alexandria Team
1991 Athens Team
1993 Languedoc-Roussillon Team
2013 Tarragona Team
Last updated: 8 August 2021

Greece has a long tradition of strong presence at international level, with their major successes being the two bronze medals won at the World Championship in 2005 and 2015. The Greeks have also won a silver medal at the World Cup in 1997, three bronze medals at the World League in 2004, 2006 and 2016, as well as one silver (2018) and four bronze medals (1951, 1991, 1993, 2013) at the Mediterranean Games.

Moreover, they have closely missed a medal in the 2016 European Championship, the 2004 Olympic Games, the 2003 World Championship and the 1999 European Championship, ending up in the 4th place in all four of them. Greece is one of only nine national teams in the world to have won (at least) a medal in the World Championship, currently occupying the eighth place on the medal table, one above Germany. They have qualified at least for the quarter-finals in all their World Championship participations since 1994, winning the two aforementioned bronze medals and never finishing below the 6th place from 2001 and on.

Honours
CompetitionTotal
Olympic Games –1–1
World Championship ––22
World Cup –1–1
World League ––44
European Championship ––––
Mediterranean Games –145
Total–31013

Olympic Games

World Championship

World Cup

World League

Mediterranean Games

Competitive record

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

Greece has participated 16 times at the Olympic Games, always present in the tournament since 1980. Their best result is the 2nd place at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, after losing 13–10 to Serbia in the gold medal game. The Greeks have secured a quarter-finals' presence in six occasions.[1]

Year Position
19208th
192413th
194815th
196814th
197214th
198010th
19848th
19889th
199210th
19966th
200010th
20044th
20087th
20129th
20166th
2020
Total16/28

World Championship

Greece has a strong presence at the World Aquatics Championships, where they have been placed third in the world in two occasions.[1] The first was in 2005 in Montreal, after their 11–10 victory over Croatia in the bronze medal game, with Georgios Afroudakis scoring the winning goal, with a spectacular backhand shot, with only 11 seconds left in the overtime.[2] The second one was in 2015 in Kazan, after their penalty shootout win over Italy in the bronze medal game. Greece has qualified at least for the quarter-finals in all their tournament participations since 1994, with the 6th place being their lowest position from 2001 and on.

Christos Afroudakis (left) and Manolis Mylonakis (right) are the two players who have won both the 2005 and the 2015 bronze medals of Greece at the World Championship.
Year Position
197312th
197812th
198212th
198611th
199110th
19947th
19988th
20016th
20034th
2005
20076th
20136th
2015
20174th
20197th
2022Qualified
Total16/19

World Cup

Greece had qualified for the FINA Water Polo World Cup in all but two occasions between 1985 and 2006, winning the silver medal in 1997 in Athens, losing 5–8 to the United States in the final.[1]

Year Position
19858th
19878th
19937th
19956th
1997
19997th
20025th
20067th
Total8/15

World League

Greece had a regular presence at the FINA Water Polo World League during the first years of the competition, starting from 2002. They have won four bronze medals so far in 2004, 2006, 2016 and 2020.[1]

Year Position
20024th
20035th
2004
20055th
2006
20088th
2016
2020
Total8/19

European Championship

As one of the most competitive European nations in water polo, Greece is a regular contestant at the European Water Polo Championship since 1989, although they have yet to win a medal, with their best results being the 4th place in 1999 in Florence and in 2016 in Belgrade.

Year Position
197010th
19858th
198911th
19916th
19937th
19959th
19977th
19994th
20017th
20038th
20066th
200811th
20109th
20126th
20146th
20164th
20185th
20207th
2022Qualified
Total19/35

Team

Current squad

Roster for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Head coach: Thodoris Vlachos[3]

No. Player Pos. L/R Height Weight Date of birth (age) Apps OG/
Goals		 Club Ref
1 Emmanouil Zerdevas 10GK 2R 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 89 kg (196 lb) (1997-08-12)12 August 1997 (aged 23) 84 0/0 Olympiacos [4]
2 Konstantinos Genidounias 50D 2R 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 92 kg (203 lb) (1993-05-03)3 May 1993 (aged 28) 161 1/4 Olympiacos [5]
3 Dimitrios Skoumpakis 20CB 2R 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 109 kg (240 lb) (1998-12-18)18 December 1998 (aged 22) 70 0/0 Olympiacos [6]
4 Marios Kapotsis 50D 2R 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 84 kg (185 lb) (1991-09-13)13 September 1991 (aged 29) 108 0/0 Olympiacos [7]
5 Ioannis Fountoulis (C) 50D 2R 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 89 kg (196 lb) (1988-05-25)25 May 1988 (aged 33) 311 2/24 Olympiacos [8]
6 Alexandros Papanastasiou 50D 2R 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) 86 kg (190 lb) (1999-02-12)12 February 1999 (aged 22) 58 0/0 Jug Dubrovnik [9]
7 Georgios Dervisis 20CB 2R 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 100 kg (220 lb) (1994-10-30)30 October 1994 (aged 26) 146 1/3 Olympiacos [10]
8 Stylianos Argyropoulos 20CB 2R 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 100 kg (220 lb) (1996-08-02)2 August 1996 (aged 24) 97 0/0 Olympiacos [11]
9 Konstantinos Mourikis 40CF 2R 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 115 kg (254 lb) (1988-07-11)11 July 1988 (aged 33) 272 2/11 Olympiacos [12]
10 Christodoulos Kolomvos 40CF 2R 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) 106 kg (234 lb) (1988-10-26)26 October 1988 (aged 32) 239 1/2 Enka [13]
11 Konstantinos Gkiouvetsis 50D 2R 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 94 kg (207 lb) (1999-11-19)19 November 1999 (aged 21) 28 0/0 Vouliagmeni [14]
12 Angelos Vlachopoulos 50D 2R 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) 80 kg (176 lb) (1991-09-28)28 September 1991 (aged 29) 183 1/13 Novi Beograd [15]
13 Konstantinos Galanidis 10GK 2R 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 110 kg (243 lb) (1990-09-01)1 September 1990 (aged 30) 103 0/0 Apollon Smyrnis [16]
Average 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 96 kg (212 lb) 27 years, 255 days 143

Note: Age as of 23 July 2021
Source: Greece Men | Tokyo 2020 Olympics

World Championship medal-winning squads

The following are the bronze medal-winning Greek rosters in the men's water polo tournaments of the 2005 and the 2015 World Championships:

Notable coaches
Alessandro Campagna

See also

References
  1. "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.
  2. Το χάλκινο μετάλλιο της Εθνικής ομάδας πόλο των ανδρών στο Παγκόσμιο Πρωτάθλημα του 2005 στο Μόντρεαλ sport24.gr, 30 July 2014 (in Greek)
  3. "Water Polo - VLACHOS Theodoros". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  4. "ZERDEVAS Emmanouil". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  5. "GENIDOUNIAS Konstantinos". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  6. "SKOUMPAKIS Dimitrios". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  7. "KAPOTSIS Marios". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  8. "FOUNTOULIS Ioannis". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  9. "PAPANASTASIOU Alexandros". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  10. "DERVISIS Georgios". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  11. "ARGYROPOULOS KANAKAKIS Stylianos". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  12. "MOURIKIS Konstantinos". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  13. "KOLOMVOS Christodoulos". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  14. "GKIOUVETSIS Konstantinos". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  15. "VLACHOPOULOS Angelos". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  16. "GALANIDIS Konstantinos". olympics.com. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
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