On the court, she was one of the best of all time, a symbol of the Champions League, a handball maestro who lifted the European Championship trophy six times. Now, as head coach, she is close to the most prestigious club title.
Montenegrin legend Bojana Popović took over ĆSM Bucharest at the end of November, and then in 2026 she revived the club and after eight years - together with Đurđina Jauković and Tatjana Brnović on the field - took it to the final four of the EHF elite.
She was European champion three times with Slagelse, twice with Viborg, and then crowned her playing career by winning the Champions League with Buducnost. Could a seventh trophy come while leading the team from the bench, was the question asked by Romanian journalists.
"That's right, I have six trophies as a player, but now this is something new for me. Yes, it could be the seventh," said Bojana, as reported by "Digi Sport".
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During the previous four seasons, ĆSM's dreams of reaching the final four were shattered three times by Esbjerg - this April everything was different, Bojana, Đina, Tanja and her friends "bought a ticket" to the final tournament in Budapest through the powerful Danish team. "Gazeta Sporturilor" writes that the moment that changed the season was Bojana's arrival.
"What changed? I made them understand that they have to believe in themselves, and then in the team. They prepared intensely for this, they are better individually and now they really believe in themselves. It's incredible how good they look, how well they understand each other, what a cohesive group they are. For me, as a coach, that's the most important thing," Popović emphasized.
It's a great success, but...
"Okay, we made it to the final four, but the fact that we look like a team makes me even happier," added Bojana.
As of today, the rival in the semi-finals of the final tournament is also known - it will be Metz, so considering that ĆSM avoided the great Đer, it is clear that they were lucky in the draw.
"If we play like we did against Esbjerg, we can beat any opponent. We used a lot of players, everyone knows their role and accepts it. That's the most important thing. When you have a team of 12, 13 or 14 ready players who know what to do in such conditions, you can go all the way," Bojana pointed out.
One of the questions was whether this was the most important achievement in her coaching career.
"I think it's an important moment for my career. I won the Champions League as an assistant coach (with Dragan Adžić at Buducnost), but now that I came to ĆSM, from the first moment I felt at home. I felt the potential of the girls and that together we can do great things," concluded Popović, who led Montenegro to a bronze medal at the 2022 European Championship as a coach.
The Champions League final tournament will be held on May 6th and 7th at the "MVM Dom", and in the second semi-final, Győr and Brest will meet.
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