As in 2020, when he left an excellent impression after leading Buducnost Voli for the second time, Petar Mijović was waiting for the decision of the management of the biggest Montenegrin club whether he will get a new contract. And now, just like that June, he welcomed - 41-year-old Baranin will lead the "blues" in the next season, with whom he won two titles and the Cup of Montenegro on three occasions.
Mijović took over the team for the first time after the debacle in the 2019 ABA League playoff final master instead of Jasmina Repesa and became the national champion, but started the next season as an assistant Slobodan Subotić. He quickly succeeded him, however, but resigned in January 2021 due to great pressure.
The third time he sat on the "blue" bench in April, instead Vladimir Jovanović and briefly awakened the team from a deep sleep, but could not prevent a deluge in the semifinals of the regional competition by Crvena zvezda, which celebrated in two matches with a total goal difference of plus 79. He somewhat got the season out by easily winning the title of champion of Montenegro against SC Derby.
And what kind of work awaits him and the administration in assembling the team, is best told by the fact that the Podgorica team has only two players under contract - Petar Popović i Igor Drobnjak. They also have agreements for the next season on paper Alpha Kaaba i Cameron Reynolds, but we are looking for a way to end cooperation with them.
- Under the contract we have Drobnjak and Popović, and Reynolds and Kaba. They are there for me, I will see together with the management to decide what will happen in the near future. I wouldn't prejudge anything. Team selection is one of the most important moments, which largely determines the situation during the season - Mijović pointed out.
The budget will be higher than the previous season, because it belongs to the president Dragan Bokan at a meeting with the mayor Oliver Injac it was promised that the capital and state companies would give the club around two and a half million euros. It will be half of the budget, and the rest will be financed by Bokan and members of the Board of Directors.
The president of the Voli company previously asked that the Capital City, which owns the club, and the state bring 50 percent of the money, now he has "boxed" that. Given that around three million euros will be earmarked for the players' salaries, it is clear that an extremely competitive team can be made for the Eurocup, but the question is how long it will take to get used to it.
- A complex and significant job awaits us. The administration provided the means to form a respectable squad, which could make a breakthrough in the Eurocup and remain competitive for the very top of the ABA league. We have to bring people who can respond to the competitive level in terms of character, and only then with the amount of talent, and we set that as one of the priorities. We have to minimize possible errors in the selection, so that the team functions from the beginning of the preparations - emphasizes the 41-year-old strategist.
DON'T MISS IT
Apart from Popović and Drobnjak, Budućnost must have at least a few more domestic players in the team. There are plenty of free agents (Bojan Dubljević, Marko Simonovic, Vladimir Mihailović, Danilo Nikolic, Aleksa Ilic...), it is not unrealistic for them to come either Andrija Slavkovic from SC Derby or Andrija Grbović from Mega, but the question is which of them would agree. As for the foreigners who were there last season, new contracts could only be offered To JJ O'Brien i Eric Green.
- I am sure that I plan to bring several Montenegrin players, one of the most important things is to return the nucleus of local basketball players. We will be looking to bring in guys who can immediately bring more quality to the team, or talented ones who can upgrade themselves and be there for years to come. It is clear to us that there is a certain number of players that we cannot bring due to various reasons - concluded Mijović.
Whatever team Budućnost puts together, it is clear that they will not be able to fight for the title in the ABA league, because Partizan and Crvena zvezda have huge budgets, worth over 15 million euros.
In the Eurocup, however, with a good selection, there is a chance to go far, because the competition is not as strong as it used to be. The draw is on July 7, and it is already known that the "blues" will play the finalists of the last edition, Gran Canaria and Turk Telekom, as well as the German champions Ulm, Aris and Trento.
Radonjić gave up because of the fans
Due to the ambition to go as far as possible in the Eurocup, the president of Budućnost Dragan Bokan wanted to bring back the coach with the most trophies in the history of the club and one of the best free agents on the market, Dejan Radonjic, but it turned out to be an impossible mission.
Admittedly, the 53-year-old from Podgorica was interested in trying to do great things with the club for which he played and which was in his heart, but he gave up because of the fan rebellion.
Although people from the administration negotiated with the "barbarians" not to hinder the return of Radonjic, the most ardent fans did not forgive him for taking over Crvena zvezda for the second time in 2020, which they proved by drawing offensive graffiti all over Podgorica. This is why the man who, along with Duško Vujošević, is the most decorated coach in the ABA League with five championship rings, "pulled his hand" and gave up the offer.
Earlier, it was mentioned that the former coach of Primorska and Cedevita Olimpija, Jurica Golemac, could also come, but the Board of Directors gave their trust to Mijović, who with the "Blues" was twice the champion and once the winner of the Montenegrin Cup.
Bonus video:
