From the special reporter "Vijesti"
This is the reality - that Montenegrin water polo players are no longer even safe participants in the knockout phase of the biggest competitions.
At the Olympic Games, they were left behind Croatia, Italy, Greece and the USA, and the key was the defeat by the "Yankees" - they won 12:7 and made our selection a round earlier without a chance for the quarterfinals.
"We didn't expect easy games, not even that we would beat Romania that way. We had a chance against Greece, especially against Italy, and everything would have been different if we had won," says coach Vladimir Gojković.
Against the USA, the stakes were huge and the "sharks" completely stopped.
"We opened the game with bad decisions and allowed counterattacks. We conceded goals easily and it shouldn't have happened and it was 7:2...", added Gojković.
The previous defeats obviously left their mark.
"The one against Greece was not, but we fell after Italy. So far we looked really good, motivated, the players had unity. And those defeats had an impact, but I wouldn't say that we gave in under pressure, because this team is at the EP and WC also had matches without the right to make a mistake, so she won them".
DON'T MISS IT
"We knew that the match with the USA would be decisive, although we could have solved some things earlier. If the match were repeated, we would certainly not have played some things like this, especially it was bad in the attack.
Montenegro had ten more attacks with a player, none of which were used.
"There was fatigue, but maybe the exclusion of Stefan Vidović had more of an effect. Nothing came together, but I certainly believe that we could have done things better in defense. It could have been 4:1, not 7:2...", says Gojković.
Is this the reality of Montenegrin water polo?
"We left Serbia behind in Zagreb, and the USA in Doha. Now here, Australia tied Hungary. I think that we can, first of all, play with the USA, Australia and Serbia, while Hungary, Spain, Croatia, Italy and Greece are currently jumping.
"Sharks" have no leader in the water...
"Ivović, Brguljan, Čučković and Petković left, only two players are over 30 years old. In my opinion, some new leaders are emerging, and we have two exceptional goalkeepers, probably the best in the world. There are also those who need to make the next step to reach the top level. I'm sure there's something to build the team around, we'll see if it continues on the right path. We have a younger generation, but the base is small," Gojković concluded.
Bonus video:
