Buducnost begins preparations, captain's armband for Itana Grbić

The OTP Group Budućnost handball team has begun preparations for the season, which they will open on the first weekend of September.

Then the EHF Champions League starts, which will be the 30th for the most trophy-winning Montenegrin club in the elite competition.

There were not many changes in the lineup compared to last season.

Three reinforcements have arrived - Montenegrin national team player and center back Itana Grbić, who will be the new captain, Polish Dagmara Nocunj on the left wing and Senegalese Ava Endiaj (center).

At the first training session, coach Bojana Popović had 16 players at her disposal, and Elena Mitrović and Anđela Guberinić will join the team after the end of the European Women's U19 Championship.

"We have almost two months until the start of the new Champions League season and enough time to get ready for what awaits us from the first weekend of September. There have not been many changes in the squad compared to last season, except for the left wing and pivot positions, while Itana Grbić should be our biggest reinforcement and team leader," said Popović.

Plan I:

"We will do the first part of the preparations in Pljevlja, in mid-August we will train in Zagreb and play a friendly match against Lokomotiva, then we will play against Thuringia in Germany, and at the end of August, before the start of the Champions League, we should participate in the tournament in Skopje with the champions of North Macedonia and Serbia. The most important thing is that all the girls are healthy during the preparations, that those who were on break due to injuries return to full capacity and that will give us the opportunity for quality work. We also have a good schedule in the Champions League, because at the start we play at home against Debrecen, and during the season there will be more time to prepare for the next match and the players recover from the hard travel," said Popović.

Right-back Tanja Ivanovic is returning to training after taking a break due to back problems, while left-back Nina Ramusovic will work on a special program after a long break following anterior cruciate ligament surgery.

Budućnost's squad: Goalkeepers - Armel Atingre, Marija Marsenić and Andrea Škerović, left wings Dagmara Nocunj and Nađa Kadović, right wings Nina Bulatović and Dunja Radević, pivots Ivana Godeč, Anđela Guberinić and Ava N'Diaj, left backs Jelena Radivojević and Nina Ramusović, center backs Itana Grbić, Mari Plamenova Tomova, Nikolina Marković and Elena Mitrović and right backs Tanja Ivanović and Jelena Vukčević.