ZV De Zaan’s Champions League fairy tale starts its second chapter tonight. The water polo players will compete in Rome against the European top teams: Olympiacos Piraeus (Greece), SIS Roma (Italy) and NC Vouliagmeni (Greece). “We can lose our established name,” says De Zaan coach Mick van den Bree.
Against all odds, De Zaan survived the first round of the highest European water polo tournament. “It is very cool what we have already achieved,” says player Maud Koopman. She returned to North Holland this summer, after playing for Hungary’s Ferencvárosi for a year. “We have good players this season, but I never expected that we could play such good games.”
“I expect surviving another round is too high”
Coach Mick van den Bree also saw his players rise above themselves in the first round. Due to the success, his team can compete this weekend against Olympiacos Piraeus, the current Champions League winner, among others. “There are nice posters on the schedule, but I expect that surviving another round is too ambitious. We have to watch out for gigantic losses. That often happens when the difference in strength is too great.”
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The Zaandammers are therefore the underdog. Orange international Koopman still thinks that the team can achieve something unique. “Every match someone else is on it. You can also see that in the results, because a different player scores every time. That makes it difficult for other teams to arm themselves against us.”
No school trip
Van den Bree sees it slightly differently. He sees the tension in his players rising. “We’re not going on a school trip. We could lose our established name. The last thing you want is to have absolutely nothing to say. I think that’s why some feel extra nerves.”
“It is not inconceivable that after this weekend we will have to continue at a lower level”
For a longer European adventure, profit or loss does not matter. The Zaandammers will continue in Europe anyway. “It is not inconceivable that after this weekend we will have to continue at a lower level. If we lose everything, we will enter the Europa League. We want to get at least one round further there. Then the European adventure will be really successful,” says Van den Bree ahead.
Fit selection
ZV De Zaan has traveled to Italy with a fit selection. The first match against the current Champions League champion Olympiacos Piraeus is scheduled this afternoon at 5 p.m.
On Sunday you will hear more about De Zaan’s European adventure on NH Radio between 5 and 6 pm in NH Sport.
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