Less than two years ago, he played in the Second League of Montenegro and, like every boy, dreamed big dreams. Even in his wildest days, however, he could not "see" what would happen to him as an 18-year-old, when life became more beautiful than any dream.
Suffice it to say four goals and six assists in one Champions League match, against the biggest club in the world, Barcelona.
Such a performance in a duel with the nine-time European champion would be an undertaking for anyone, not for the boy from Pljevlje, who played only 12 games in the First League of Montenegro, before leaving for Celje last summer.
His name is Arsenije Dragasevic.
The young left back, 202 centimeters tall, made his way in the Slovenian giants faster than anyone expected. As the season progressed, he got more and more chances to play, and the crowning moment was the duel with Barca, in which Celje took the last lead (27:26 in the 47th minute). Unfortunately, it was not enough for a sensation.
- I had a good feeling from the beginning. I didn't have any nervousness, because everything passes in time. After a few games on the biggest stage, it's a completely different story. I didn't make a name for myself in the first game against Barcelona, now I played much better. All comments are positive, everyone around me is satisfied. I gave my best, something good had to come out of it - Dragašević said.
When he went to Celje, he himself did not expect that he would quickly debut in an elite competition.
- I didn't expect to get this many chances, to be honest. I knew I would earn minutes at some point, but I didn't think it would be this fast. With the right attitude in training, everything comes into its own. The coaches don't praise me much and it's not good for them to do that, because I'm a young player, so I don't "fly away".
In the "package" with him, another pearl of Montenegrin handball, Radojica Čepić, arrived in Celje from Rudar. Both were born in July 2002 (Arsenije is 11 days older), they started school together and have been in the same clubs for a long time.
- It means both of us that we are together. We have been friends since the 1st grade, except that he started training handball a year and a half before me. Miljan Vujović from Cetinje (defending for Slovenia, op.a.) and Josip Šarac from Croatia mean a lot to us, who welcomed us brilliantly and made us feel at home.
The young people from Pljevlja have contracts until the summer of 2024 and day by day they show that they are the future of Celje.
- They wouldn't have given us a chance in the Champions League to just enter the field and see how it is, if they didn't expect something from us. Maybe they didn't think that we should bring something now, but that we should gain experience for the next season. We have contracts for three and a half more years and we will see what will happen, how the situation will develop... Ours is only to train and improve. I don't know if someone will leave and free up space for us, but we will definitely stay in Celje, because there is no talk of a loan.
How many steps Dragašević and Čepić have jumped in just over a year is also shown by the gradation of the young left back.
- The First and Second Montenegrin Leagues are heaven and earth, and only that applies to the Champions League and our championship. We slowly got used to that difference, through good training you can see progress.
The first meetings with the stars of world handball were unusual.
- Until recently, I only watched the Champions League on TV, and then I played in that competition and asked myself if these are real people I'm running into. When I got into duels with them, I realized that they were all ordinary people, who only trained a little more and played a little more than me.
Who made the best impression on you?
- Nenadić from Vesprem in the attack, and Brazilian Dos Santoš from Barcelona and Blagotinšek from Vesprem from the defenders. Of course, Barca also has Cindrić, Palmarson, Mem, Janc... You don't know who is better, faster, stronger, who is a bigger athlete - Dragašević concluded.
If Denmark could fall, Sweden will too
Čepić already played in the qualifiers for the European Championship in Hungary and Slovakia, and Dragašević was on the list for the two-match match against Sweden, which was not played.
It is expected that he will be in the competition again for the duel with the Swedes on March 9, and he believes that a surprise is possible in at least one duel with the giants of world handball.
- I hope we will get at least a point against Sweden, I believe we can do it. I'm talking as if it's Romania, not the vice-champion of the world, but when we win Denmark, we'll also win the Swedes and go to the European Championship. As far as the future is concerned, I hope that we will create a national team that could achieve a more notable result - said Dragašević.
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