Australian Captain Aaron Younger made history at the 2018/109 Champions League final winning his second Champions League title, this time with Ferencvaros.

One of the biggest water polo events on the calendar, the final lived up to the hype with the match going into a penalty shoot-out with Ferencvaros coming out on top 14-13.

Younger, a Perth native, has forged a name for himself on the international stage having lived and played in Hungary for a number of years.

A dual Olympian and current Captain of the Australian Men’s Water Polo Team, Younger won his first champions league crown at the 2016/2017 final with Hungarian club, Szolnok VSK. Never before has an Aussie won two Champions League titles. 

It’s been a stellar 12 months of the Aussie, who captained the Aussie Sharks to a historic silver medal victory at the FINA World Cup in 2018, where he was also awarded the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament. 

Younger wasn’t the only Aussie to feature during the Champions League Final, with Rio Olympian Joe Kayes lining up for Italy’s Pro Recco.

Kayes’ Italian side narrowly missed the final but managed to walk away with a bronze medal. 

Both Kayes and Younger will now re-join the Aussie Sharks as they prepare for the FINA World League Super Final as well as the FINA World Championships next month.

2019 Champions League Final I Match Recap

By www.waterpology.com 

Ferencvaros wins Champions League after thriller in Hannover 

Hungarian champion Ferencvaros won the 2018/19 Champions League. Today, in the last game of the Final Eight tournament in Hannover, Ferencvaros beat 2018 champion Olympiacos after penalty shootout – 14:13. Pro Recco took the bronze medal, as it edged out Barceloneta in the game for the 3rd place (8:7).

Ferencvaros water polo players started the Champions League season in the Qualification Round 2 and they arrived at the Final Eight from the fourth place in the group A. Their long  Champions League journey was ended with the trophy! They didn’t earn a single point against the top three teams in the group stage (Pro Recco, Barceloneta, Brescia). This weekend in Hannover Ferencvaros downed 2016 champion Jug Dubrovnik in the quarterfinals. The Hungarians defeated 2014 winner Barceloneta in the semis and finally edged out title-holder Olympiacos in a great final game.

Ferencvaros (2017 and 2018 Euro Cup winner) had never played in the Champions League final before Hannover. The Hungarians kicked off the match in style, as they netted three action goals for 3:1. By halftime, the Budapest-based side led 8:5, while Olympiacos’s goalkeeper Josip Pavic, posted just one save in the first two quarters.

Before the last eight minutes, Ferencvaros had a nice 10:7 advantage, but the Hungarians lost their captain Denes Varga, who ended the game in the 26th minute with three fouls.

Olympiacos was able to “come back from the dead” in the 4th quarter.The season’s top scorer Konstantinos Genidounias came up with a great action shot from the first possession in the last period. Fountoulis finally netted for  9:10 with 2:12 remaining on the clock. .Genidounias scored his 5th goal in the evening from an easy man-up (they were 4 on 2 at the end of the counter) so Olympiacos equalized 96 seconds from time. The Magyars had a man-up in their last attack (0:28 seconds before the end) to win the match. But Pavic managed to save Kallay’s shot.

For full results and details – click here.