Last Saturday something historic happened in Munich’s Olympic swimming pool. And even though the world didn’t necessarily take notice because the historic game took place in the niche sport of water polo, those involved could still be a little proud. For the first time in the water polo Bundesliga, which has existed for 53 years, SG Stadtwerke Munich played a game in the upper house – and promptly beat SSV Esslingen 14:12.
Around 300 spectators came to the historic site to watch the game, an outstanding number by water polo standards. “The hall was boiling,” said Munich coach Ivan Mikic, who was still in the water for the SG until last year. And the fans saw that Munich had already arrived in the top German league. Esslingen is not just any team; Last season she played in the A group, from which she was then relegated to the B group. You have to know that the best eight Bundesliga clubs play in the A group, the worse eight clubs in the B group.
In October, 18 water polo players lived in a house in Zadar: training camp in Croatia
Even though the A group with professional clubs like Spandau Berlin and Waspo Hannover is still very far away for the Munich team, the win against Esslingen is a milestone: “I never thought that we would keep up so well, tactically and swimmingly,” said Mikic. In addition to Munich’s captain Marko Ristic, who scored five goals, many others were convincing, including young players such as Thomas Perschthaler and goalkeeper Philip Siebenhaar, both born in 2004, and Wladimir Wiesner, born in 2005.
You can feel the euphoria everywhere, “the pride in promotion and the desire for the first league runs through the entire club,” says Mikic. Pre-season preparation began on August 1st, earlier than ever, and for the first time they also completed a major training camp abroad, in Zadar in Croatia. At the beginning of October they simply rented a house by the sea, which, like the flight, was within reasonable price. Some players slept on the coach because there was no more room in the bedrooms for everyone in the group of 18. The training facility was a ten-minute walk away, and there were up to four practice sessions a day, including training games against Zadar. In addition: extensive team building, even in the evening – and swimming in the sea.
Open detailed view
The beginning has been made: On Saturday, the beautiful backdrop in the Munich Olympic swimming pool offered first division water polo for the first time.
(Photo: Claus Schunk)
Munich and water polo have been a difficult relationship in recent years. For a long time, the SG stayed in the second division with its player-coach Mikic and became more and more successful, but there were no real plans for the first division. Also because they were afraid of the high costs and logistical effort. Uerdingen, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Plauen: That adds up to a few kilometers. In addition, because the Olympic swimming pool was being rebuilt, they played for a few seasons in a pool in a basement in Giesing that was much too small, which was everything but not ready for the first league.
But last early summer, the SG seized its opportunity, organized a promotion tournament and, somewhat dramatically, qualified for the upper house in the last game. There she is now trying to do the balancing act: the players see the sport as their hobby, according to Mikic they don’t get any money and the budget isn’t growing either. The sound and image in the live stream also had a problem on Saturday; according to Mikic, the time system was “not worthy of the first league,” and the side lines in the water would have to be color-coordinated differently. So it all seems a bit improvised, but the SG water polo players are happy to be able to pay the registration fee of 7,500 euros and the referee advance of 7,000 euros – these alone are very high expenses for them. “The Bundesliga is a completely different ball game,” says Mikic.
Their goal now is to stay in the league, “we won’t freak out because we beat Esslingen,” says Mikic. In any case, your first away trip next Saturday promises to be exciting. The first Bavarian first division derby with Würzburg 05 is coming up. The Lower Franconians are already under pressure, they lost their opening game in Plauen with their new Romanian coach George Mihalache. “Let’s see if there is a new Bavarian ranking,” said Mikic. A first division victory in the Bavarian derby – that would of course be sporting history for Munich’s water polo players.
