Representing a small nation with a big goal

It was a summer with a lot of handball news and headlines from the capital of Montenegro, Podgorica. 

First, Buducnost coach Dragan Adzic resigned as Montenegrin national team coach after failing to guide the London 2012 Olympic Games silver medallists past the preliminary round at Rio 2016. Then he reversed his decision and, with it, continues in his dual role and in both cases, six-time Women’s EHF Champions League winner Bojana Popovic will be his assistant coach, after her short-lived playing comeback at the Brazilian Olympic Games.

With the start of the club season, Adzic’s and Montenegro’s handball focus will be on Buducnost, starting their 21st Women’s EHF Champions League campaign. In 2012 and 2015 they won the trophy and along with HC Vardar, Buducnost are the only club who have made it to all three previous Women’s EHF FINAL4 tournaments in Budapest and a spot in Hungary again is the main target for the upcoming season.

Based in Podgorica, Buducnost have signed just two new players ahead of their 2016/7 campaign, including Spanish national team goalkeeper Darly Zoqbi De Paula, arriving from former French champions Fleury. But six players have left the club, including the influential Majda Mehmedovic (to current Women’s EHF Champions League holders CSM Bucuresti) and Radmila Petrovic, who retired, plus, for the group matches, Serbian line player Dragana Cvijic is set be ruled out by a knee injury.

“Our wish is to play at the FINAL4 again, but we have to go step by step,” said the ambitious new captain of Buducnost, Milena Raicevic. “The first goal is the best possible result in the group matches and to find our form. 

“For us, this is important because we do not have strong matches in the domestic championship so we have to work through a Champions League game.”

Alongside the Montenegrin side in Women’s …

continue reading in source www.eurohandball.com