She replaced the green and white Sporting jersey with the blue and white of Porto, and in the meantime she put aside her favorite - red - until next summer, when she will play in it at the European Championship.
Behind Saška Đurović, our great middle blocker, is a memorable season both on the club and national team levels.
It started in February with winning the Portuguese Cup with Sporting, continued with a June transfer to rival Porto - moving to an even higher level, and it all culminated in August's placement at EuroVolley with the national team.
"I wouldn't complain if every year was like this," she says with a smile.
The national team, however, marked the year - victories over Bosnia and Herzegovina and Latvia at the end of the qualifiers are something that will be remembered.
"Impressions have settled, but we still don't believe we're going to the European Championship. We're waiting for next summer, we know it will be hard, but at the same time beautiful and exciting. We're going there to show ourselves in the right light," Saška tells odbojka.me.
Where Montenegro will go, and who they will play in the group, will be known after the draw in Bari on October 4: EuroVolley is organized by Turkey (Ankara), the Czech Republic (Brno), Sweden (Gothenburg) and Azerbaijan (Baku). Saška Đurović, meanwhile, is preparing for a long club season in Porto, the city of wine and football, but also of women's volleyball (the only women's section of a major club that exists).
"I've been here for a month now, it's a different city, the same country, and being in Lisbon has helped me adapt a lot. I'm slowly "getting the hang of" the language, I can figure out the context of a sentence, which is very important."
She received congratulations from her new teammates for qualifying for the European Championship with Montenegro, and she does not hide the fact that her move from Sporting to Porto was not very well received in Lisbon.
"They protested a little, they didn't accept it quite as it should, but that's how it is - rival teams and sports that are followed, people live for their clubs. I also played for Red Star, but I have never experienced such fan passion, such enthusiasm anywhere as is the case here, in Portugal."
By moving to Porto, she took a step forward in her career.
"A great club, a great team, volleyball that is followed and invested in. Compared to five years ago, it is heaven and earth. I don't know of a club that is organized at this level, that is not from Turkey, the top four teams, or from Italy. The fact that we are the only women's club in Porto in all sports speaks volumes. They hold us like a little water in the palm of their hand, like princesses, and we need to justify that on the court."
Porto's goal is to win the Portuguese championship.
"We want to win the league and the Cup, we also had ambitions in Europe, but we were unlucky in the draw for the CEV Cup. We immediately drew Galatasaray, who is very strong, and we will see how it goes," emphasizes Saška Đurović.
Super Cup Final: I'm happy that Montenegro is slowly reaching the level of some other countries
She left Montenegro in 2017, after two seasons spent in Morača, spending four years in Serbian Tenta, one each in French San Rafael and Red Star, before arriving all the way west, in Portugal.
And to see from that distance how volleyball is growing in Montenegro, Saška will also follow the upcoming Super Cup finals in Bar (Budućnost - Budva in the men's competition, Herceg Novi - Luka Bar in the women's competition).
"I am very happy that Montenegro is slowly reaching the level of some other countries, volleyball is growing. The final weekend in the Cup last season was spectacular, it will be interesting in the Super Cup as well. Those matches are special, I realized that playing for foreign clubs, I am very glad that it is now the same in Montenegro. I will follow the women's final with special attention, because several of my teammates from the national team play for Luka Bar or Herceg Novi," concludes Saška Đurović.
Bonus video:
