Behind the handball players of Budućnosti is a good weekend in Hungary - Bojana Popović's team defeated FTC (34:32) and Vajpers (28:27) at the tournament in Debrecen, won first place and made a nice prelude to the start of the season in the Champions League.
The victories against the participants of the Champions League raised the confidence of the girls before the last two weeks of preparation for the start of the best competition in Europe, said Budućnosti coach Bojana Popović, after winning the trophy at the "Kerman Cup" tournament in Debrecen.
When it is known that due to the financial problems the club faced before the founding rights were transferred to the capital, Ivona Pavićević and her teammates started preparations the latest of all the teams, and that they had only three weeks to prepare for the tournament in Debrecen, editions and results against great opponents, gain additional importance and look forward to the start of the new season.
"We could not talk about the expectations from the tournament, aware that we only had three weeks of preparation, after everything that happened before the start of the new season. It was not even certain that we would participate in the tournament, because we originally canceled the performance, but Debrecin showed patience and confirmed our participation at the last moment. So there were no plans, but the desire was clear - to play our best in both matches, so that the girls would have a good feeling, that is, to start building togetherness through matches with strong opponents two only tests before the start of the Champions League, and the impression is positive after everything we showed in Debrecen. There is no euphoria, nor do we need to talk more about the tournament in Hungary, we turn to the continuation of the preparations and want to make the best use of the remaining two weeks until the start of the League champion," Popović told the club's website.
The atmosphere in the team after the tournament in Debrecen is great, and the victories against quality opponents will mean a lot to the young players to make them aware that they can also play against teams that are participants in the Champions League.
Popović points out that fighting spirit is what will adorn the team in the new season, and it would be extremely important if the fans also recognized what the new generations of the biggest Montenegrin club are doing.
"We don't have key players who were supposed to be the backbone of the team for the next season and make up a squad that will be competitive in the Champions League. It's a shame, but the young girls have taken responsibility and they need to make the most of the opportunity. We want the support of the fans , because Budućnost is a city club and with the support of the local government, it is necessary for the fans to recognize everything that some new generations are doing. The combativeness must be at the same level in the official matches and that is the only thing I will ask of the girls in the Champions League. We will try to function in that way and to bring the audience back to the hall, to turn the situation into something good after everything that happened to us and to be the true representatives of the city on the international stage, with our children who are ready to die for the club in every match. "
Buducnost continues preparations for the new season and the premier match in Bucharest against Rapid on September 8.
"We learned a lot from the two matches in Debrecen. We remember positively when the results are good, just like we learn when things don't go well. It's clear, though, that there are a lot of things we have to fix. The girls can't fly away after these two victories , but to continue to work hard, as it was the case from the first day of preparations. We will miss the matches until the start of the Champions League, because the rivals start playing in the national leagues already this weekend. We have two weeks to prepare for the most important one match, which is the first in Bucharest against the Rapida team, after which we go step by step. It is crucial that all the players are healthy, there must be no jumps, because only with a full squad and with constant work, we can raise the level of form." said Popović.
In the Champions League, in addition to Romania's Rapid, Bućnost will play against Norway's Vipers, Denmark's Esbjerg and Odense, Germany's Ludwigsburg, Hungary's Djerba and France's Brest.
"We are playing against top teams that have budgets of millions. It meant a lot to us that in Hungary we had the opportunity to try out two participants of the Champions League and that the girls felt that they could handle them. It is incredible that we got such a difficult group , which cannot be compared to the other one in which there are three teams that received a special invitation. However, the draw assigned us those opponents and now the most important thing is to direct the positive energy we have in the right way, not to be euphoric, but to in peace and in serious work, let's transfer to the matches everything we do in every training session. This is crucial in order to grow both as a team and individually during the season," concluded Popović.
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