Didije Dinar on the bench of the Montenegrin handball players - transferred to the football field something like when his namesake Desan took over the national team of our country.
One of the best defenders of all time, a world champion as a player and as a coach, is the new coach of the Lions.
It was news that resonated in the handball world, and how Montenegro managed to bring such a name to "Vijesti" revealed Petar Kapisoda, president of the Handball Association of Montenegro.
The arrival of dinars is particularly interesting from a financial point of view, since it is known how difficult it is for national associations in Montenegro to attract big names.
- Didije comes from a large world system to Montenegro, which is small for world handball opportunities, but from the first moment it is clear that he has the necessary enthusiasm and good energy, and that finances are not his priority and something that attracted him, but the desire to make his system put it into practice with guys he knows and appreciates well - explained Kapisoda.
DON'T MISS IT
The former member of the Montenegrin national team did not specify which figure it was, but...
- Our possibilities are as they are - and he was offered the same as all his predecessors. If finances, and not the ambitions that coincided with us, were his priority - Montenegro would certainly not be the address Didije would have chosen - emphasized Kapisoda.
It all started from Guadeloupe
How did cooperation with a man who was three times world champion, two Olympic and European...
- It was established last summer when the combined composition of our national team stayed on the island of Guadeloupe, precisely at the invitation of Dinar, who was born in that French overseas territory. He was a great host for our national team, we established a nice cooperation and maintained regular communication - said Kapisoda.
Everything intensified after the "lions", with Vlad Šol at the helm, they failed to reach another major competition.
- We started the negotiations about the possibility of taking over Montenegro after the failure in the play-offs for the World Cup and elimination from Italy. In the end, the negotiations were successfully completed and I believe that his appointment is actually the beginning of a new era for our national team.
Setting up the system, let's not expect impossible things
What was Dinar's reaction when he received the invitation from Montenegro?
- First of all, it is important to emphasize that he was not the only option, nor the only candidate with whom negotiations were conducted. However, the fact is that already in the first conversation he showed professionalism and seriousness, the ambition to create a serious system in Montenegro on which the national team will rest - explained the president of RSCG.
Does the arrival of the world champion make Montenegro's ambitions bigger now?
- His arrival is crucial for setting up the system on which Montenegro will rest in the coming period. And that is exactly the priority, because we don't want to create pressure and unrealistic expectations that we expect impossible things because of his arrival. It is important to set up a system, to valorize in the best way the knowledge of a man who comes from a system that was nicknamed "expert" in the handball world and to which he belonged for 25 years - Kapisoda is clear.
He emphasizes that the word "system" was key in the discussions.
- At every moment, the "system" was what he would insist on in defense, attack and transition. It is crucial that he implements this in our national team, because the generation he belonged to is probably the best in the history of handball. If he succeeds in this, it will certainly bring many benefits to Montenegrin handball - there is no dilemma for Kapisoda.
Just one wish in the contract
How long was the cooperation with the legendary French handball player agreed upon?
- For two years, the same applies to the coach of the women's national team Suzana Lazović. Dinar had only one request, which we accepted, and that is to get permission to leave before the expiration of the contractual obligation, only in case he receives an invitation from the French, that is, his home association - Kapisoda concluded.
Four years without euros from state-owned companies
The fact that the Handball Association still does not have the help of any state-owned company shows that finances were not decisive in bringing in Didier Dinar.
- We are celebrating a kind of jubilee, i.e. four years since no state-owned company has committed even a euro to support the activities of representative selections. So, we ended the Olympic cycle without financial support from state-owned companies, and we just started a new one, also, without any support from that level - Kapisoda explained.
Bonus video:
