The Montenegrin women's volleyball team gathered in Podgorica and began "Operation Golden League".
The gathering at the "Voko" complex, the first under new coach Jovo Caković, is, however, much more than preparations for the upcoming competition, in which Mina Dragović and her teammates will play for the first time.
Montenegro will face the final round of European Championship qualifiers in August, and a first-ever, historic finish to the finals is in sight - in the matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina away and Latvia at home, just one win is enough.
A new coach, a new coaching staff, but also the recent great success of the pioneering national team - our first women's team to qualify for the European Championship - all of this has contributed to a new ambience, atmosphere and positive momentum surrounding our women's volleyball.
"I am looking forward to a new beginning and the challenges that lie ahead, both for me and for the coaching staff and players. I hope that we will be diligent and stay healthy without injuries and achieve good results and progress," said coach Jovo Caković.
Our national team will have 20 days to prepare - enough time to get used to the new coaching staff.
The first match with Spain is on May 30th in Podgorica, and two days later, on June 1st, Ukraine will arrive in Montenegro.
"I expect to show ourselves in the best possible light because this is our first time playing in the Golden League. Before that, we played in the Silver League and we deserved a place in a higher tier. We will meet new national teams and see what level we are at and what we can improve in our game to be better. I think that these twenty days of preparation that we will have are quite enough to get used to and get to know the new coach and the rest of the coaching staff," said Saška Đurović, middle blocker for Sporting Lisbon.
On the second weekend of the Golden League competition, Montenegro will play in a tournament in Slovakia, where they will face the Azerbaijani national team on June 7th, and play against the home team on June 8th.
The third tournament will be held in Hungary from June 13 to 15. Montenegro will open with a match against Hungary on June 13, while they will play against Portugal the day after.
"It's good that we play from weekend to weekend, because we have enough time to rest and we are looking forward to a new start. It's great that we are playing the first match at home in front of our audience, so that we can enter the tournament more relaxed. The ultimate goal still remains to qualify for the European Championship and this year we have a great chance to achieve that success, we need one win, but we have to remain focused and cautious and approach it seriously as we have so far. We are looking forward to working with the new coach, who is familiar to us from before, we hope for joint successes and that we will learn something new," said Saška Đurović.
Jovo Caković was just starting out and found fantastic working conditions.
"I expect dedication and serious work in this excellent hall. The conditions are more than good and we must not fall into any comfort zone. In the coming days, we will receive an 'X-ray' of the team, to determine the health balance and to see who we have available immediately at the start. We will miss Danijela Džaković, who announced that she will not be able to be part of this expedition, but said that she will be ready in the qualifications for the European Championship. The return of Nikoleta Perović is very important, but also the fact that some young players will get a chance," adds Caković.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Volleyball Federation of Montenegro, which has really made every effort to provide us with good working conditions. We have support in every possible way. We want to win, victories are the most important, but I also look at defeats as lessons from which to learn," concluded Caković.
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