Bojana Popović: We want to enjoy this year and for the players to gain experience

Budućnosti handball players will open the new season in the Champions League on Sunday (16) in Bucharest against Rapid.

Budućnost has had a turbulent summer - the "blues" were left without a general sponsor at the beginning of July, and then the club was taken over by the capital city.

Now there is a new edition of the strongest competition, and the coach of the team, Bojana Popović, points out that the team against Rapid has no need to feel pressure.

"Simply everything we did in the previous four-five weeks, we need to transfer to the field. The players help each other, we have a good team spirit and I believe that this can lead us to a good result. Rapid is made for long distances and that's why there's no need to feel pressure, but just to deal with us and our game," said Popović.

Buducnost won the tournament in Debrecen during the preparatory period. Bojana Popović's team defeated FTC and Vajpers in Hungary and made a nice prelude before the start of the season.

"It's always nice to enter the season with a certain amount of self-confidence, but the Champions League is completely different compared to the preparatory tournaments. We are working to ensure that the players' adrenaline is at a certain level, which will not burden them. We want to enjoy this year and that the players gain experience," said Popović.

Former Budućnosti handball player Milena Raičević plays for Rapid, while Igor Marković is in the coaching staff. Apart from Rapid, the rivals in the group will be Djer, Vipers, Esbjerg, Odense, Ludwigsburg and Brest.

"The most important thing is to respect the agreement from the locker room. In the preparatory matches, we came back when we were losing, that's brave and when my team manages not to panic when it's in the minus phase, it will be much easier for us," concluded Popović.