Presented by Vlado Šola: We have a large number of players in the most mature sports years and the potential for advancement

Three days before the key match in the qualifiers for the European Championship, which will determine whether the "lions" will go to Germany as first or second from the group, new coach Vlado Šola arrived in Montenegro.

The goalkeeper of the famous generation of Croatian handball, the Olympic and world champion, received a symbolic jersey with the number 1 from the president of the RSCG, Petar Kapisoda.

Šola will have the first training session with the new team tonight from 18:18, and will make his debut on Thursday at XNUMX:XNUMX against Slovenia in "Morača".

"Thank you RSCG and Mr. Kapisoda for choosing me. They showed me a great honor, but also an even greater obligation and responsibility towards everything that the Montenegrin national team has done so far, as well as coach Zoran Roganović, who had a great journey with the national team. I have the opportunity, I want, and I have to continue that path, because I think it was creative and very effective," said the 54-year-old Croatian.

The ninth coach of Montenegro talked about everything with his predecessor.

"I had talks with Roganović when I agreed on cooperation with the Association. That meant a lot to me, he gave me a lot of information that will be useful in the preparation of the match with Slovenia, but also in the following matches. I will continue to communicate with him, because I think he is the right man, in the right place".

He followed the "Lions" even before the call came to take them over.

"I have been following Montenegro for several years, and I paid special attention when they beat Denmark here in Podgorica and Croatia at the European Championship. It is a confirmation of the excellent work of the Federation, the selectors and all the players. We have a large number of handball players in the most mature sports years and the potential for advancement, and I think that with the successful cooperation of all of us, in which we should all have the same goal, a lot of beautiful things can be done".

With convincing victories over Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro practically secured a place at the EHF Euro after only two rounds, but the ambitions do not end there.

"Roganović put me in an awkward position, because he won two games, now a third victory is expected. The first goal is a good match against Slovenia, but of course we want to win and we shouldn't run away from that. Slovenia is a very serious national team, it's not some C group of European handball, so we have to direct all our capacities to that match and play it as best as we can. The primary goal is to qualify for the European Championship, and then we will further determine the goals".

At the previous three major competitions, Montenegro constantly went one step further - in Austria in 2020, it registered its first victory at the European championships, two years later in Hungary even three and passed to the main stage, in which it was also at the planetary championship two months ago. Now he is expected to cross a new step.

"To make a breakthrough, you have to have practice. It is good that Montenegro was present at all major competitions, it is a collection of collective experience. All national teams have gone through it. Now that it's there, maybe it's time to take the leap. There is also a small factor of luck, which determines whether you will be eighth or twelfth. In European handball, there are a lot of national teams in the second echelon, it is very equal and many factors decide. We have to strive to get there, and the way we will do it is a job for us in the profession. If we don't succeed in achieving our goals, I will resign like Roganović, thank you, and if we succeed, we will continue our cooperation", said Šola.

The new selector announced the list last Monday, and a few hours later the talented Cetinje Mirko Latković called him and said that he will play for Slovenia in the future. And he is not the first, but the tenth who decided to do so.

"Everyone has the right to their choice, but there is always only one country where you were born and raised. Maybe people don't understand this when they are young, but when they reach adulthood they know that it is the most beautiful and pleasant thing to return to the country where you were born. I won't go into why and why, those are their choices, but we have a clear goal that only those who are ready to make sacrifices will play in the national team. Representation is not a contractual obligation, but above all honor and sacrifice. For those who are ready to make sacrifices, the door is wide open."

Šola knows well what national pride means, because it was a factor that brought the "fiery" to the top in the golden years of Croatian handball.

"We were all excellent at our jobs, but what made the difference and why we won a medal was the exceptional motivation of playing for the national team. It gave us the strength to endure in any situation. He who is not ready to make sacrifices will never reach his goal. Maybe other teams and players were better than us, but character always finds a way to beat talent. If we have a representative team with character, and I believe we do, we will find a way to get results".

There is also no Vladan Lipovina in the team, who has not been in the national team for a long time due to an argument with Roganović. Now he declined the invitation.

"I talked to him. I think he is an exceptional player, and I would not go into what happened before my arrival. He explained to me why he didn't want to play anymore. He is not changing the national team, he has his own reasons that I don't want to get into. I left him on the 35-man roster, the door is always open for him. When he is ready, when the circumstances are in order, he has a place in this national team. Whoever wants to play will come unconditionally. We have no need to persuade anyone, the national team is open to all who are of good quality. His quality will be lacking, but that is his choice. I wouldn't waste any more words, because we're going to get tangled up. We have a lot of quality players in that position".

Neither is Nemanja Grbović, who has not yet recovered from his shoulder injury in the match with Chile at the World Cup.

"It is a big problem that he is not there, because he is an excellent striker. We also have other pivots, who will surely try and make up for it with quality. I want all my players to play in two phases, both in defense and attack, I think the pivots could react well there. And for Grbović, I can't wait for him to recover and come back for the next round of qualifications".

Stefan Čavor, who returned to the field a month ago after surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament, is in the national team after a year.

"I watched him against Leven. He looks very good on the field, fresh, it doesn't look like he had an injury problem. That makes me happy".

The experienced Stevan Vujović and Marko Lasica, who played at the WC, were not invited.

"I am very sorry that we cannot play with 30 players. Their status is not threatened at all, no one has been written off. I decided to enter these two games with this lineup. It is very difficult to enter the national team, but it is even more difficult to leave. We will not give up on people just like that. They're not there right now, but that doesn't mean they won't be there next time."

Most of the players are in their prime, but there are also youngsters who are making their way around Slovenia, North Macedonia, Hungary...

"The younger ones are scattered around Europe. I am happy that there are many young defenders in various clubs. I call the coaches who work with those guys, I ask questions, I inform them... We have to refresh the staff from time to time, to bring in younger ones so that we don't have downtime. Allow me to get to know all the players a little better, to see what the situation is in Montenegrin clubs. The outflow of players is extremely high in the early stages of development, and exceptional potential is hidden in these players, both physically and handball-wise."

The hope that Montenegro can achieve great results is based on several foundations.

"A lot of players are in the most mature sports years, they have experience from big European clubs. Traditionally, the national team of Montenegro, clubs or players from Montenegro were very combative and characterful. This combination of experience and character can bring a lot", concluded Šola.