There was no change in relation to the EHF week that was ten days ago. Djukic relied on the proven strengths, to the forces that competed with Slovakia, Sweden and Russia won the best-of-breed selection of the Old Continent. Handball fans in Montenegro are still persuading the match with Russia in which Montenegro has won a draw in the so-called European Championship. Everything that happened before that fell into oblivion, and the problem was over. Selector Dragan Djukic, as a top professional, gladly agreed to talk about the national team, the chances for hosting the Olympics, the club handball in Montenegro.
– The placement of every big competition, especially for the European Championship, is a great result in itself, especially given the opponents that we had in our group, as well as the situation in which the team was in the moment when we started together we work. What left me with the strongest impression is the way we did it, solving one by one a problem that would break down in front of us, and growing as a team from the match to the match. The last two, this magnificent victory over Sweden in Niksic, as well as a great result from Moscow, showed that our previous games were not a coincidence and that we were well deserved in the best European selection selections, but also that this team has the right to believe in the future himself and his potential, said at the beginning of the interview, the selector of the men’s handball team of Montenegro Dragan Djukic.
Montenegro will play against Germany, Slovenia and Macedonia at the European Championships in Group Stage, and three group selections will take place in the next phase of the competition.
– If we really see the situation in our group, we are absolute outsiders. It’s not an indication that I doubt the quality of the guys I’m leading, that’s the current reality I would like to change, but the way to it is neither short nor easy! Germany is the champion of Europe and one excellent young team with whom we open the championship. In the second round we are waiting for a sword of truth in which we will probably decide in a direct duel with Macedonia about the passenger in the second phase. Knowing the treatment of handball in Macedonia, as well as what they did and how much they invested in previous years, but also the quality and experience of the team, we are aware that there will be a lot of rehearsals in that match. But I have already said this before, the leadership of this team is a pleasure for me because these guys have a character and a clearly expressed characteristic of people from this space, that they will not be caught by anyone, and those who want to be better must earn it in the field. In the end, Slovenia with the legendary Veselin Vujovic led by the bronze from the planetary championship in France last year, is a great team for the fight for medals in Croatia. It is very important that he will play in Zagreb at home, and probably no less help from the tribune will not have the selection of Macedonia and Germany, countries whose fans traditionally fill the halls and cheer their pets wherever the championships play, „Djukic said and continued :
You can expect us to get everyone on the line and fight from the first to the last minute believing that in the sport of miracles is possible and that they do not always win the favorite on the paper.
Until recently, the European Championship was working as a dream, something that can not be reached. Now ambitions and dreams are greater. Handball lovers are already dreaming of placing handball at the Olympics in Japan.
– You often try to not say what you want most, because it is your personal dream, projection and seeing yourself in the future that is not so far away. Who would not want to be part of the world’s largest sport, where only the chosen ones have the right to find themselves? Of course, the circle of those who like you also believe that it is not small, and handball is today a global sport in which it takes much more than the desire to achieve your dreams. As far as 2020 is at the moment, those who know a little better about the qualification system for the Olympic Games know that the struggle for joining the company of the twelve magnificent starts much earlier, more precisely at this European championship in Zagreb! How? Simply by the fact that entering the second round of the EP in Croatia would mean a better draw for the June barrage, qualifying matches for the next World Cup in Germany, from which they will only qualify best for Olympic qualifications … In the system of connected courts, this is exactly the case It’s working, the fight for Tokyo has already begun, and if you want to find yourself there tomorrow, then yesterday you had to start working on it! Somewhat shy, this question of all questions has quietly and slowly entered our thoughts, in our desires, and that is the first toughest step you must always make yourself, the decision to go on that unique path … I’m sure that at this moment we are not aware of the situation and the opportunity that is offered to us, because the selection of Montenegro is a collection of some new guys eager to prove and their piece of eternity.
What also troubles the fans of the handball in Montenegro is how to improve the club handball without which there is no state team?
– Your question touches the very essence of survival of the handball in this region. The situation, not only in Montenegro, is neither simple nor easy to solve. Clubs, handball schools, do not have basic working conditions, barely survive or go away. On the other hand, players need clubs, and the national team will have some new faces, some players who will play in years, decades to come, and again, we all need a plan together, so far as this generation we are now proud of has been created in some previous years. All of you, colleagues who work often without any or very bad conditions, most often unknown to the wider sports public, are just those who have contributed immensely and contribute to the handball still standing up. And for all that immense love and giving ourselves to the glory of our sport, they deserve respect for all of us and clear support. But, although the problem is clearly visible and saves everything, it can not be solved one-sided, neither the alliance, nor the clubs, nor even the few human resources that exist, can change the situation on their own. Just directed to one another, knowing that there is no help from nowhere, from trusting one another, and from changing one another, because you can not change one another or another, it is possible to find the exit from the vicious maze of the current unbridled reality. Accordingly, I sincerely hope that the little bit of joy that the national team has given to the sports public and to all those who enjoy this wonderful sport at heart, as well as some of the future that will only be developed, our small, personal contribution to the better future of handball in the Black Gore, concluded Dragan Djukic.
