At the end of the preparations, and a few days before the first qualifying match for the European Championship, away against Greece, Montenegrin volleyball coach Dragan Nešić radiates optimism, like no one before him, nor anyone else in our selection, that the "reds" can reach the championship for the first time Old continent.
"We have been together for a month, we worked seriously, not only preparations, but we also had a good atmosphere, so I am very positive before the first match in Greece," said Nešić at a press conference in Bar.
"We are going to win in Greece, we are going to the first place in the group. We cannot be afraid of difficult statements, when we are in the Balkans where you need to be winners in order to be followed. There is nothing to lie to ourselves and tell some fairy tales and protect ourselves , because we didn't come together to protect ourselves, but we came together to go to the European Championship," added Nešić.
The Montenegrin coach is also pleased by the fact that the team is healthy and complete.
"Certainly, each of us can do more and better. However, what we have at this moment is quite enough to do the first part of the qualifications well and to enable us to achieve the desired result," concluded Nešić.
Any success, apart from quality, requires hard work.
"A busy month of hard work is behind us. Thank God, we are all healthy, although there were minor problems, viruses, but we also overcame that. We are going full speed ahead to Greece, I think we are ready. I would not like to sound overbearing, but I think we are ready to go out on the field for Greece and surprise them, since they are the favorites in this match," says captain Tatjana Bokan.
"There are no less important games, they are all equally important. To be honest, it is my greatest regret that we do not open the qualifiers on our ground, but I hope that on the 19th and 22nd the audience will come in as large a number as possible to "Topolica", because, as and the men's team, the audience is needed as the seventh player, especially for us because we are a young team and I think that the fans would be the wind at our backs for further victories," Tanja Bokan added.
After Greece, Montenegro will welcome Ukraine on August 19 and 22 in "Topolica" in Bar, and then Norway, which they will host on the 25th of this month. The last two matches will be played in January. The two first-placed selections will win a visa for the EP.
"We did this part of the preparations very well, in Pljevlja and Bar, as well as in the control matches with Bosnia and Herzegovina. All of us in the team, the coaching staff and the Federation have the same goal and task, we want to qualify for the European Championship more than anything else. I think that each of the girls will give their maximum, and use the chance they get from the selectors to help the team. First of all, we are focused on Greece, and then we will go step by step," said Danijela Džaković, the left-handed receiver of our national team.
Technicians Tamara Roganović and Marija Šušić, receivers Tatjana Bokan, Ksenija Ivanović, Jelena Cvijović and Danijela Džaković, proofreaders Nikoleta Perović and Neda Vujadinović, middle blockers Ana Otašević, Marija Milović, Andrea Laković and Mina Dragović, and libero Anja Pejović and Anđelija Petrović.
In addition to Nešić, the coaching staff also includes assistant coach Nikola Masoničić, conditioning coach Nenad Đurović, Italian statistician Simone Franćeski and Romanian physiotherapist Bogdan-Pol Rus.
Bonus video:
