The final tournament of the Cup „Professor Branislav Pokrajac 2020“ is held in Zrenjanin on Saturday and Sunday. In the men’s competition, Dinamo and Partizan will meet in the semifinals (5 pm), that is, Metaloplastika and Vojvodina (19).
– No one, I would say ever, has been in a situation like this. This happens to the world once in a lifetime. We played preparatory, friendly, matches, and we and Vojvodina, however, such is the situation that we do not have the material, information and video. Compared to last season, I think that Vojvodina is a slight favorite. If I had to turn it into percentages, let the odds be 55-45 on their side. There are unknowns, but it is up to us to try to be better and come out as winners – says the coach of Sabac Metaloplastika, Veselin Vukovic and adds:
– It seems to me that we had the most problems with entering the hall, because we have been in active training in the hall for less than ten days. In the meantime, we had a couple of friendly matches. It is not and should not be an excuse for us, nor do we want to sound like that. We have a few more days to get ready for everything that awaits us. To be honest, we were all shaken and disturbed by the death of Zlatko Portner.
In case of placement in the finals, is there a team you would like for an opponent?
– In the preparation period, we played with both of them. If we passed, I would like Dinamo in the final, because they honestly „kicked us out“ and I am sure that our guys would have a serious motive to take revenge and that would be an additional stimulus. The cup is a huge motive, in itself, but every additional incentive is good and brings us even closer to the goal.
The coach of the Belgrade „black and whites“, Nenad Maksić, is optimistic before the start of the season.
– I am satisfied with how we trained. We are still preparing, we still have time to prepare everything for the semifinals with Dinamo. The expectations and wishes of both the player and me as the coach and the whole club are certainly the greatest – to win. First of all, I would say that it is important that we play a good and mature game, and that will then lead us further, to the finals. The chances are equal in this situation, not only in our game, but also in the second. We are healthy, which makes me happy and therefore we are ready and full of desire to play. I hope that in the final, Partizan will have the opportunity to fight for the trophy after a long time – says Maksić and comments on a possible opponent in the final.
– I can see from the statements and stories of the players that if we pass, they would want Vojvodina in the finals. That is a bit contradictory, but someone would say Metaloplastika, which does not diminish the importance and quality of the club from Sabac. The chances are, realistically, equal here as well. Maybe Vojvodina is a slight favorite because they are an experienced team, they have been together for a long time, they know each other. I don’t bother with that. We will be happy to approach the semifinals, do our best to win, and on Saturday night we will eventually watch and talk about when we would prefer Sunday.
The coach of Pancevo, Akim Komnenić, hopes that Dinamo could repeat the success from 2019, when the final was played in Smederevo:
– We hope the crown will be behind us. We have been preparing for two months, primarily for the semifinals of the cup that awaits us, but also for the start of next season in the ARKUS league. I am always a fighter of great work in training and therefore I hope that with great effort and work the results will come. As for the matches themselves, at this moment, not only Partizan, but also us and Vojvodina and Metaloplastika have equal chances. We don’t know each other, we don’t have videos and information. I think everyone has their chance. We as a club and a team have the highest ambitions. We will do our best to leave a good impression and win on Saturday and qualify for the finals. I think that there will be no advantages, but that everything will be decided on the ball, two or three. I say again, we don’t know each other, and the chances are absolutely 50-50. There will be that period of playing and adapting teams. “
Your team is younger than last year, what do you expect from these guys, but also the more experienced ones?
– We have a much younger team compared to last season. The most experienced Vuckovic, Mitrovic and Distol help me a lot, along with the slightly younger Kostadinovic and Bunjevcevic. We’re mostly woven from younger guys, eager to prove themselves. They work hard, train and progress from game to game.
The coach of Novi Sad’s Vojvodina, the winner of the 2019 trophy, Boris Rojević, announces a great fight in Zrenjanin:
– I am sure that all four teams are going to win the trophy. For a long time there has been no more uniform F4 Cup. We have a great desire to defend the Cup trophy. Although it is coming at an inconvenient time for us, while we are not in tune yet, of all the teams, the largest number of players left our team, with some other important personnel problems. We will have to provide games beyond the maximum in order to reach the desired goal.