His father Danilo was beloved throughout the former Yugoslavia, left an indelible mark on the acting scene, but Vuk Lazović set out to prove himself on the handball courts.
The uncompromising fighter has won the hearts of handball fans in Montenegro, because he is the central figure of the "lions" defense, a player who gives more than his best in every match.
As the most experienced member, he is there to help his teammates, but also to spread a positive atmosphere. His words after placing in the main stage of the 15th European Championship, which was expected for him, speak of this.
"It's a nice feeling, it's okay. We made it to the top 12 teams, we received a lot of messages from our fans and I thank them for that. All this is deserved and normal," says the 33-year-old defensive specialist.
Montenegro suffered with the coronavirus, many players were infected, but it seemed to strengthen the team.
"We had problems after the first part of the preparations and the matches with Kuwait, many players were infected, including me. And in the second part, from January 2, there was a new positive case every day, and that hindered us a lot in preparation for the championship. It seems, however, that it turned out well".
The "Lions" lost at the start against Denmark (30:21), but they were real against North Macedonia (28:24) and Slovenia (33:32).
"I can't say that we spared ourselves against Denmark. We gave our best at that moment, but our thoughts were on the matches with North Macedonia and Slovenia, those were our tickets to the best 12. We gave our best, showed our heart, will and desire, the result is here".
The Slovenians had a four-goal difference several times, but no one even thought of giving up.
"Surrender was not an option, we had nothing to lose. We always went head-to-head, with all our hearts. The professional staff did a great job, it was up to us to follow their ideas and pass".
Lazović does not want to characterize the passage to the main stage as a miracle. And he says that ambitions have not been fulfilled.
"It's a great success, but knowing our team, I knew we had potential. This is not a surprise to me, this is normal for me. We should go step by step, prepare for each game and enjoy it, because we have nothing to lose. And when you have nothing to lose, you can win a lot. We are finally in the top 12. We should play as much as we can in every match and enjoy it. There will be more victories," promises Lazović.
The international in Kuwait played for a long time against the Slovenians with two suspensions and lasted. He and Nebojša Simović are the halves tandem that Zoran Roganović relies on.
"Defense is the least problem, we are the ones who do the 'dirty' work." Whatever the national team needs, we are here. The defense is always ready, we will be at a high level", said Lazović.
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