The new strength of BiH handball is Sloga from Gornji Vakuf. The club with the largest audience in the local Premier League, under the baton of conductor Aleksandar Sasa Radosavljevic, for the first time in its significant history won a place on the Euro scene, winning fourth place in the domestic championship, interrupted by a coronavirus pandemic.
The Serbian coach, who gained a reputation in his homeland by winning titles with the women’s team of Radnicki from Kragujevac, placing in the finals of the national cup with Zajecar, and who was the selector of the Serbian cadet national team until a year ago, succeeded what his predecessors did not. He put the city from the coast of Vrbas on the European handball map, but that is not the only reason why he deserved a special place in the heart of Sloga fans.
In the midst of a pandemic that continues to turn the world upside down, Radosavljevic decided to jump from the coaching bench into the „white coat“ and find himself at the local health institution after an invitation to all medical school graduates and retired doctors to help at a specific time. Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the whole world.
-I have to admit that I enjoy being here, people accepted me extremely nicely, especially when I volunteered to help during the crown. The whole city lives for our sport, handball lives in every house. You come to the matches as a family, you can clearly see the atmosphere in which people can hardly wait for the day of the match in Gornji Vakuf. How much the club is loved in Gornji Vakuf is also shown by the fact that the hall is always full regardless of the opponent, more space is sought every time we are the hosts, and membership cards are sold out seasons ago. This is a small place with a huge handball tradition, in practically every home there is someone who was or is still in handball. In each of our matches at home, there are 2,000 souls in the stands, and it would be even more if the capacity was higher – Radosavljević begins the story for Balkan-Handball.com.
How did such an audience receive its debut placement in Europe?
– It is a phenomenal thing for them, everyone can hardly wait for the game, and they still hope that they will be able to support their team from the stands, and they still believe in that. Those fans are the essence of everything we do at the club, it would be horrible if they were not able to watch and experience the first game in Europe, which they have been waiting for for decades. They really don’t deserve such a scenario, but nothing depends on us anymore, it will be as it should be.
There was no luck in the draw for the 2nd round of the newly formed EHF European Cup, Sloga won against CSM Bucharest ri
– We definitely couldn’t get a tough opponent. The fact that they won the Challenge Cup in 2019, and that they have six members of the national team in their ranks, speaks enough about the fact that they are the absolute favorites. It remains for us to play the best we can at a given moment and to present ourselves in the best possible light. It will be a historic match for the club, I have no doubt that the team will give everything it has and can, and we will see how much that will be enough.
What will Sloga look like next season, to what extent are you satisfied with the quality of the team?
– The situation around the coronavirus pandemic did not allow us to adequately strengthen, and we are certainly missing at least two more defenders. We had no choice, we kept the team from last season, with one reinforcement in the position of pivotman.
Sloga should start at full speed by the end of September…
– The final four of the Cup for the previous season should be held on the 19th and 20th of this month. We wanted to host that tournament, but without the audience we don’t have any calculations, because we are still largely filling the budget from the tickets sold. We are playing the semifinals with Izviđač (Sloboda Tuzla – Borac Banja Luka will play in the second semifinal), we expect a victory, especially if we are all healthy. Shortly afterwards, the championship begins, on September 26/27.
What are Sloga’s ambitions for the next season of the BiH Premier League?
-Our ambition is clear, to keep the position from last season. The main favorites for the very top are Borac, Sloga from Doboj and Sloboda from Tuzla, I would be pleased to meet right behind them, and everything beyond that would be a huge success. The scout has rejuvenated the team, so that they, along with us, Bosnia Visoko and Vogošća will look for a place at the top from the background.
How do you assess the quality of handball in the BiH Premier League?
-Believe me, the quality is at a much higher level than any general rating that the competition enjoys in the handball audience from the side. People’s interest is huge, and the quality is growing. For example, we won the „Aca Raskovic“ tournament in Belgrade, defeating Obilic and Partizan. In Serbia, in my opinion, only Vojvodina, Metaloplastika, Zeleznicar and Dinamo are better teams. Borac, Sloga from Doboj and Sloboda have quality, but also money that is regular, Vogošća brought players like Lojaničić and Prodanović last season, with very decent contracts. At the same time, the audience is phenomenal everywhere – concludes Radosavljević
