There will be a new name on the women’s Euro Cup trophy as last season’s silver and bronze medallists – Pallanuoto Trieste and ZV De Zaan – are set to contest this year’s prestigious final. The first-leg takes place on Saturday in northern Italy, while the second-leg is in the Netherlands on Saturday, 5th April.
2024/25 Euro Cup Women Final
First-Leg
Saturday, 15th March
(Local time shown)
18:00: Pallanuoto Trieste (ITA) v ZV De Zaan (NED)
ZV De Zaan return to Pallanuoto Trieste’s Bruno Bianchi pool this weekend looking to erase the painful memories of their 10-8 semi-final loss to the Italians in the same arena last season.
‘We’re incredibly excited for this game,’ De Zaan head coach Mick van den Bree told European Aquatics. ‘This game has been our goal since we were eliminated from the Champions League. We know how amazing the atmosphere in Trieste can be, so we’re ready to go out there and give it our all.’
De Zaan are undefeated in the competition so far, having won all eight of their games, including a powerful 20-16 aggregate victory against Greece’s ANC Glyfada iRepair in the last four.
‘As a team, we are really looking forward to the final,’ said captain Lieke Rogge, who is De Zaan’s top scorer in the Euro Cup with 26 goals. ‘We expect the atmosphere in Trieste to be just as incredible as last year, and we’re going to enjoy every moment of it.
‘It’s going to be a tough match, but that’s exactly what a final should be. Our goal is to play a strong game, reach our best level, and hopefully secure the victory.’
This year’s women’s Euro Cup final will feature a team from the Netherlands for only the third time in the tournament’s 25-year history. On the other two occasions, De Zaan finished as runners-up in 2007 (when the club was known as Nereus), while Het Ravijn lost in the 2011 final.
Standing in the Dutch giants’ way are this weekend’s hosts Pallanuoto Trieste, who are aiming to climb to the top of the podium this season, after their narrow 10-8 loss to domestic rivals Antenore Plebiscito Padova in last year’s gold medal game.
‘We know De Zaan well from 12 months ago, and they left a strong impression on us,’ Trieste head coach Paolo Zizza said. ‘They’ve also strengthened their squad further, they have plenty of physicality and they play a solid defensive game.’
Trieste’s journey to the final has seen them win six of the seven games they’ve played so far, with their only loss coming against Rapallo Pallanuoto in the Qualification Round 2.
Despite that defeat, Trieste still topped their group before beating Hungary’s III. Keruleti TVE in the Quarter Finals and breezing past Spain’s CN Tenerife Echeyde in the Semi Finals.
The Italians’ will be hoping their forwards can cause De Zaan plenty of problems, as they’ve scored 81 goals so far, with Arianna Gragnolati leading the way with 17 of those.
‘The final against De Zaan will be a goal-for-goal battle,’ added Zizza. ‘The difference will come down to the smallest details, tactical discipline, and also grit, determination, and the hunger to win.’
