{"id":330286,"date":"2018-09-25T07:58:37","date_gmt":"2018-09-25T14:58:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=330286"},"modified":"2018-09-25T12:12:30","modified_gmt":"2018-09-25T19:12:30","slug":"ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/","title":{"rendered":"Ich Bin Ein der Wasserball Fan"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Michael Randazzo, Swimming World Contributor<\/em><\/p>\n

BROOKLYN, NY. After a respite to take in all that I experienced in Berlin at the FINA Men\u2019s World Water Polo Cup 2018<\/a>\u2014and to finish transcribing an interview<\/a> with Andrey Kryukov<\/strong>, Bureau Liaison for\u00a0FINA\u2019s\u00a0Technical\u00a0Water Polo Committee<\/a>\u2014here\u2019s a stab at what\u2019s going on with polo abroad, and just how radical the proposed changes to the sport are.<\/p>\n

\"fina-berlin-logo\"<\/p>\n

This will therefore be a two-part post; later this week I\u2019ll comment about the impact of the new rules.<\/p>\n

What is happening with the re-emergence of the German men\u2019s national team is nothing short of remarkable. A huge gamble taken by the German Water Polo Federation and its Chairman Rainer Hoppe<\/strong><\/a> succeeded brilliantly. Not only was there compelling action all week in the swimming hall of Berlin\u2019s Europasportpark\u2014including a bruising 10-10 tie<\/a> between heavyweights Croatia and Serbia that may represent a passing of the guard\u2014the home team\u2019s success was noteworthy.<\/p>\n

\"hoppe-sep18\"

Rainer Hoppe. Photo Courtesy: Matthias Beckonert \/ www.wasserballecke.de<\/p><\/div>\n

From a stunning opening night win over Hungary to an inspired semifinal match<\/a> with Australia, the hosts were clear winners. Not only because they pulled off a successful tournament but, by virtue of a fourth place finish, they qualified for the 2019 FINA World Water Polo Championships<\/a>. This has the important effect of accelerating the\u00a0team’s development by four years; meaning that Head Coach Hagen Stamm<\/strong> can focus on a possible berth in the 2020 Olympics, rather than wait until four years later and try for the Paris Games.<\/p>\n

Stamm emerged as one of the event\u2019s most engaging personalities. Regular references to his players as \u201cmy boys;\u201d his background as German polo\u2019s most illustrious player; and his bold decision to step into the breach and coach the national team despite the specter of failure that surrounds Germany’s unsuccessful Olympic effort in 2012\u2014all of these factors point to his continued role in lifting up a program that reportedly will receive the necessary government support to prepare for both the World Championships in South Korea and an even grander prize: an Olympic berth.<\/p>\n

\"german-fans-sep18\"

Carsten Schultz on the far right. Photo Courtesy: M. Randazzo<\/p><\/div>\n

Passion among a small but devoted fan base was noteworthy; Germany hadn\u2019t been in this tournament for 15 years, yet there was excitement in the stands every time the home team played.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis situation here is very good,”\u00a0Carsten Schultz, who played polo for Spandau and other Bundesliga water polo teams, said after the German semifinal loss. “Winning against Hungary, winning against Japan\u2014in Germany, water polo\u2019s not a common sport, so this was a big push for the next step.\u201d<\/p>\n

A shout out must be given to the Australians, who\u2014despite a one-sided finals loss<\/a> to Hungary\u2014 managed their highest finish ever at a World Cup event. Aaron Younger<\/strong> took tournament MVP honors, and it appears an experienced core of Aussie Olympians\u2014goalie Joel Dennerley<\/strong>, Richard Campbell<\/strong>, George Ford<\/strong>, Joe Kayes<\/strong> and Younger\u2014has gelled with a new crop of players, allowing Head Coach Elvis Fatovic\u2019s<\/strong><\/a> squad to take a great leap forward.<\/p>\n

\"14-09-2018:

Aaron Younger. Photo Courtesy: Photo Courtesy: Sportphoto.shop<\/p><\/div>\n

Younger, the Sharks’ captain, was deserving as the MVP due to his 11 goals and, more importantly, leading his team to one of its biggest wins in program history. A 9-8 quarterfinals win<\/a> over Croatia, reigning FINA World Champions\u2014earned on a goal by Kayes with less than a minute remaining\u2014gave Fatovic his first-ever coaching victory over the team that he played with and coached for much of his entire career. What made this win even sweeter is that the Croatians brought nine of the players responsible for their shocking semifinal win over Serbia in last year\u2019s World Championships.<\/p>\n

This is not to slight what the Hungarians accomplished. After the surprising Day One loss<\/a> to their hosts, Head Coach Tamaz Marcz\u2019s<\/strong> team did not drop another match. Most impressive in reeling off a streak of five consecutive wins was a taught 12-11 semifinal win over reigning Olympic champs Serbia. Going down by two goals early was not a problem for the Hungarians, who got a monster game from Bence Batori<\/strong>, in what was a breakout tournament (14 goals) for the 26-year-old, a mere two months after the Hungarians were humiliated by an eight-place finish at the European Championships in Barcelona.<\/p>\n

As things go, if there were some clear winners in Berlin there were also some decided losers. Leading that pack were the Croatians; given the depth on his squad, Head Coach Ivica Tucak<\/strong> had to be disappointed by finishing fifth. There were many extenuating factors\u2014new rules, exhaustion, how esteemed this tournament is in polo circles\u2014but Croatia brought perhaps the most experienced squad to Berlin and they didn\u2019t make the medal round. Somewhere in Zagreb that\u2019s got to hurt.<\/p>\n

\"tucak-mr-sep18\"

Croatia’s Ivica Tucak. Photo Courtesy: Matthias Beckonert \/ www.wasserballecke.de<\/p><\/div>\n

Serbia also missed out, but Head Coach Dejan Savic<\/strong> has this year\u2019s European Championship title\u2014his squad\u2019s fourth in a row\u2014to fall back on. Of course, one has to wonder how it is that neither Croatia nor Serbia advanced to a major tournament final for the first time since the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Was it the grueling schedule\u2014with matches every day and rosters reduced by two players to 11? Or, was it the new rules, meant to reward speedy play and designed to open up offensive schemes; it might be suggested this means transitioning from the dominant Yugoslavian school to a motion offense favored by Japan or other non-Balkan teams.<\/p>\n

Speaking of the Japanese, they finished seventh of eight teams, losing to the Americans in perhaps their most important match. The 11-10 outcome was typical of what is now to be expected when these two teams meet. Only once did either team hold a two-goal lead; when Alex Bowen<\/strong> hit for his fifth goal to give the Yanks an 11-9 lead with 3:20 remaining in the match. That Head Coach Dejan Udovicic\u2019s<\/strong> squad held on for the win\u2014and the prospects of qualifying for a berth at the 2019 World Championships until the last day\u2014is testament to the resilience of an extremely young<\/a> team.<\/p>\n

\"dejan-alex-sep18\"

Not so happy returns for U.S. Photo Courtesy: Matthias Beckonert \/ www.wasserballecke.de<\/p><\/div>\n

That they ended up sixth, while the Australians\u2014who for the past eight years have traded eighth- or ninth-place in major tournaments with the Americans\u2014grabbed silver, has to be an alarming development for Team USA. Fatovic, hired in 2013 within a few months of Udovivic, has been able to retain a core of experienced players who look poised to continue an upward trajectory of success. The U.S. has Bowen, who repeatedly demonstrates that he\u2019s a world-class talent, and players including McQuin Baron<\/strong>, Luca Cupido<\/strong>, Ben Hallock<\/strong>, Alex Obert<\/strong> and Alex Roelse<\/strong> who need to compete at a higher level to realize their potential.<\/p>\n

With a deal on the table<\/a> to play for Pro Recco, Cupido has a path to this opportunity; if Nik Carniglia<\/strong>, Max Irving<\/strong> and Ben Stevenson<\/strong> find their way to play professionally (in Irving\u2019s case, returning to the Italian Leagues) then notoriously fickle<\/a> American polo fans may have some hope that a relatively experienced core will combine with talented youngsters Hannes Daube<\/strong> and Marko Vavic<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If not, then they might dwell on the comments of the Japan\u2019s Head Coach Yoji Omoto<\/strong>.\u00a0In recent international competition his squad has captured two big wins over the U.S. and is now looking to leap-frog the Americans for supremacy in their hemisphere.<\/p>\n

\"berlin-hardware-sep18\"

Will the Japanese get their hands on this someday? Photo Courtesy: Matthias Beckonert \/ www.wasserballecke.de<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe think we have reached the U.S. level, and sometimes we can beat them,\u201d Omoto said in an interview<\/a> during the tournament. \u201cBenchmarking the U.S., we think we are in a good cycle. Now, we think we can look into a little higher stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, there\u2019s the issue of the rules; there\u2019s far too much here to put into this post. It\u2019s a complicated story because in the space of two years Kryukov and many helpers from FINA are seeking to radically transform a sport that has resisted change for much of its existence. Will it work? Kryukov is \u201c100%\u201d certain it will.<\/p>\n

One thing is certain; change is coming to both the structure and the rules of polo.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to adapt rules to modern language,\u201d Kryukov said, \u201cwe need to adapt to the times we\u2019re playing in.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Michael Randazzo, Swimming World Contributor BROOKLYN, NY. After a respite to take in all that I experienced in Berlin at the FINA Men\u2019s World Water Polo Cup 2018\u2014and to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4875,"featured_media":329467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[61651,67045,27250,67543,51833,47738,70911,54133,4256,27241,67036,71085,67042,71086,70839,66899,62597,62761,67043,61882,70836,62606,71087,62274,60192,70965,70895,67132,42722,71084,66898,67501],"class_list":["post-330286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-water-polo","tag-2020-tokyo-olympics","tag-aaron-younger","tag-alex-bowen","tag-andrey-kryukov","tag-australia-water-polo","tag-ben-stevenson","tag-bence-batori","tag-croatia-water-polo","tag-dejan-savic","tag-dejan-udovicic","tag-elvis-fatovic","tag-fina-mens-world-water-polo-cup-2018","tag-george-ford","tag-germany-water-polo","tag-hagen-stamm","tag-hannes-daube","tag-hungary-water-polo","tag-ivica-tucak","tag-joe-kayes","tag-joel-dennerley","tag-julian-real","tag-marko-vavic","tag-matthias-beckonert","tag-max-irving","tag-michael-randazzo","tag-nik-carniglia","tag-rainer-hoppe","tag-richard-campbell","tag-serbia-water-polo","tag-tamaz-marcz","tag-u-s-mens-senior-national-water-polo-team","tag-yoji-omoto"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nIch Bin Ein der Wasserball Fan - Swimming World<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The re-emergence of the German men\u2019s national team is remarkable. A gamble taken by the German Water Polo Federation has\u00a0succeeded brilliantly.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ich Bin Ein der Wasserball Fan\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The re-emergence of the German men\u2019s national team is remarkable. A gamble taken by the German Water Polo Federation has\u00a0succeeded brilliantly.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swimming World\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-09-25T14:58:37+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-09-25T19:12:30+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/real-germany-sep18.jpeg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1125\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Randazzo\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michael Randazzo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Randazzo\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/fb1d58ba008040c3ad837f46defed7bb\"},\"headline\":\"Ich Bin Ein der Wasserball Fan\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-09-25T14:58:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-09-25T19:12:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/\"},\"wordCount\":1483,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/real-germany-sep18.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"2020 Tokyo Olympics\",\"Aaron Younger\",\"Alex Bowen\",\"Andrey Kryukov\",\"Australia water polo\",\"Ben Stevenson\",\"Bence Batori\u00a0\",\"Croatia Water Polo\",\"Dejan Savic\",\"Dejan Udovicic\",\"Elvis Fatovic\",\"FINA Men\u2019s World Water Polo Cup 2018\",\"George Ford\",\"Germany Water Polo\",\"Hagen Stamm\",\"Hannes Daube\",\"Hungary Water Polo\",\"Ivica Tucak\",\"Joe Kayes\",\"Joel Dennerley\",\"Julian Real\",\"Marko Vavic\",\"Matthias Beckonert\",\"Max Irving\",\"Michael Randazzo\",\"Nik Carniglia\",\"Rainer Hoppe\",\"Richard Campbell\",\"Serbia Water Polo\",\"Tamaz Marcz\",\"U.S Men's Senior National Water Polo Team\",\"Yoji Omoto\"],\"articleSection\":[\"-Home Slider\",\"Water Polo\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/\",\"name\":\"Ich Bin Ein der Wasserball Fan - Swimming World\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/real-germany-sep18.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-09-25T14:58:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-09-25T19:12:30+00:00\",\"description\":\"The re-emergence of the German men\u2019s national team is remarkable. A gamble taken by the German Water Polo Federation has\u00a0succeeded brilliantly.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/real-germany-sep18.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/real-germany-sep18.jpeg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1125,\"caption\":\"Photo Courtesy: Sportphoto.shop\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ich Bin Ein der Wasserball Fan\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"description\":\"The Global Leader in Aquatic News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"width\":1799,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Swimming World\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/fb1d58ba008040c3ad837f46defed7bb\",\"name\":\"Michael Randazzo\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f34baabfc0ac0cea197ffefec898a876?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f34baabfc0ac0cea197ffefec898a876?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Michael Randazzo\"},\"description\":\"Michael Randazzo is a freelance contributor at Swimming World focusing on water polo. He covers polo all over the United States for SW and other publications, including the Collegiate Water Polo Association, Skip Shot, The New York Times, Total Water Polo, Water Polo Planet and others. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children and roots for St. Francis Brooklyn polo.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/michael-randazzo\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ich Bin Ein der Wasserball Fan - Swimming World","description":"The re-emergence of the German men\u2019s national team is remarkable. A gamble taken by the German Water Polo Federation has\u00a0succeeded brilliantly.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ich Bin Ein der Wasserball Fan","og_description":"The re-emergence of the German men\u2019s national team is remarkable. A gamble taken by the German Water Polo Federation has\u00a0succeeded brilliantly.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/","og_site_name":"Swimming World","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","article_published_time":"2018-09-25T14:58:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-09-25T19:12:30+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1125,"url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/real-germany-sep18.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Michael Randazzo","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@swimmingworld","twitter_site":"@swimmingworld","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Michael Randazzo","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/"},"author":{"name":"Michael Randazzo","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/fb1d58ba008040c3ad837f46defed7bb"},"headline":"Ich Bin Ein der Wasserball Fan","datePublished":"2018-09-25T14:58:37+00:00","dateModified":"2018-09-25T19:12:30+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/"},"wordCount":1483,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/real-germany-sep18.jpeg","keywords":["2020 Tokyo Olympics","Aaron Younger","Alex Bowen","Andrey Kryukov","Australia water polo","Ben Stevenson","Bence Batori\u00a0","Croatia Water Polo","Dejan Savic","Dejan Udovicic","Elvis Fatovic","FINA Men\u2019s World Water Polo Cup 2018","George Ford","Germany Water Polo","Hagen Stamm","Hannes Daube","Hungary Water Polo","Ivica Tucak","Joe Kayes","Joel Dennerley","Julian Real","Marko Vavic","Matthias Beckonert","Max Irving","Michael Randazzo","Nik Carniglia","Rainer Hoppe","Richard Campbell","Serbia Water Polo","Tamaz Marcz","U.S Men's Senior National Water Polo Team","Yoji Omoto"],"articleSection":["-Home Slider","Water Polo"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/","name":"Ich Bin Ein der Wasserball Fan - Swimming World","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/real-germany-sep18.jpeg","datePublished":"2018-09-25T14:58:37+00:00","dateModified":"2018-09-25T19:12:30+00:00","description":"The re-emergence of the German men\u2019s national team is remarkable. A gamble taken by the German Water Polo Federation has\u00a0succeeded brilliantly.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/real-germany-sep18.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/real-germany-sep18.jpeg","width":2000,"height":1125,"caption":"Photo Courtesy: Sportphoto.shop"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ich-bin-ein-der-wasserball-fan\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ich Bin Ein der Wasserball Fan"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","name":"Swimming World","description":"The Global Leader in Aquatic News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization","name":"Swimming World","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","width":1799,"height":900,"caption":"Swimming World"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld","https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/fb1d58ba008040c3ad837f46defed7bb","name":"Michael Randazzo","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f34baabfc0ac0cea197ffefec898a876?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f34baabfc0ac0cea197ffefec898a876?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","caption":"Michael Randazzo"},"description":"Michael Randazzo is a freelance contributor at Swimming World focusing on water polo. He covers polo all over the United States for SW and other publications, including the Collegiate Water Polo Association, Skip Shot, The New York Times, Total Water Polo, Water Polo Planet and others. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children and roots for St. Francis Brooklyn polo.","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/michael-randazzo\/"}]}},"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"Julian Real, veteran of Germany's 2008 Olympic squad, leads a rebirth in Berlin. Photo Courtesy: Sportphoto.shop","source_text":"","source_url":""},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/real-germany-sep18.jpeg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p56Jja-1nVc","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4875"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}