Today and tomorrow, Budapest will host the fifth final four in the history of the Champions League for women's handball. And for the first time, there will not be a team that in the previous four years, along with Vardar, was the only constant in the "Laslo Pap Arena" - Budućnost.
If there is no longer the biggest Montenegrin club, at least four Montenegrins will fight for the title - Katarina Bulatović with Rostov, Jovanka Radičević and Andrea Klikovac with Vardar, and Majda Mehmedović with ĆSM Bucharest, which is again led by Montenegrin coach Per Johanson.
Last year, the Swede arrived to "put out the fire" in the Romanian club, was in the capital of Hungary, but failed to defend the title of European champion. Now he arrived again near the end of the season, instead of Dane Hela Thomsen, and will try to bring the second cup to Bucharest with Majda, as well as Kristina Neagu and numerous other stars.
"We were lucky that Per took over and not another coach. She knows most of the players, which made it easier for us to fit in. We slowly arranged the dice. everything that wasn't there in the beginning we fixed well and now everything looks much better", said Mehmedović for "Vijesti".
The team from the capital of Romania will play against the host, the current champion and the first favorite for the title - Đero in the first semi-final, from 15.15:2016. Ambrose Martin's team will be stronger for two great center backs, Stine Oftedal and Nike Grot, compared to the double-header against Budućnost in the quarter-finals. It will be a repeat of the unforgettable final from XNUMX, when the team of then coach Kim Rasmussen celebrated after a penalty.
"Đer has been playing the standard system for years and is always up to date. This season she is playing really well, regardless of the fact that there are a lot of injured players. All the new girls that come in enter the system, which is very difficult to defend, especially in front of their fans. A very difficult game awaits us, 60 hellish minutes, in which quality or tactics will not prevail, but the head", notes 27-year-old Baranka.
The tactics have long been ready...
"The key is to stop Oftedal and Grot, who are Djer's biggest drivers in attack and cause a lot of problems for everyone. The team looked even better when they had Nora Merk, but Eduarda Amorim, who is a pillar of the defense, is back. It will be difficult, but not impossible. I see a big chance and I hope we will take a step closer to the title than last year".
ĆSM Bucharest was convincingly defeated by Vardar in the semi-finals last year (33:38), but now it is stronger for the best player in the world Neaga, the Norwegians Marit Malm Frafjord and Amanda Kurtović, and the Swedish Natali Hagman and Sabina Jakobsen. With them came the experience of winning big trophies, which, besides Mehmedović, few female players of the Romanian club had.
"Playingly, we are much stronger than last time. I think that experience can help us a lot, because now we practically know how to play the final four. Those of us who have won the Champions League are here to help the girls who haven't so far, and it is crucial that we are stress-free, because it is very difficult to deal with it. These are the last two games of the season, the pressure is there, but I hope the experience will help us".
Mehmedović, like everyone in Montenegrin handball, cannot "see with her eyes" Charlotte and Juli Bonaventura, who prevented the "lionesses" from taking the gold from Norway in the final of the Olympic Games.
"I hope we'll see each other now, that would mean I'm in the final," Majda concluded with a smile, alluding to the fact that the French twins are refereeing the title match.
In addition to the four national team members and the coach, Montenegro will be represented in Budapest by Jelena Mitrović and Anđelina Kažanegra, who will share justice in the match for 3rd place.
Today
ĆSM Bucharest - Djer (15.15)
Rostov - Vardar (18)
Tomorrow
Final (18)
Match for 3rd place (15.15 p.m.)
Bonus video:
