Montenegrin juniors finished their performance at the World Championship two nights ago, which, looking at it from two angles, would have to receive a high rating.
A medal (silver) was won, that was the goal, but the long-term plan is much more important for our water polo, for a start, looking towards Tokyo in 2020 - if nothing else, the juniors announced that Montenegro has a future in this sport.
For all these years, there have been few, too few players from the junior national team of Montenegro who are ready to accept responsibility in senior water polo, and that is what everyone in VPSCG should be a guide to when it comes to this generation.
In question are Darko Brguljan, Filip Klikovac, Uroš Čučković, and Aleksa Ukropina (debuted in Kazan last year with Ranko Perović), who was not even at the preparations with the A team for the Olympic Games this summer.
Because of all that, one should be more careful with the generation that won silver in Podgorica. More cautious in ratings, which was often not the case in Montenegrin water polo...
The fact is that none of the juniors at this WC became a player for great deeds, such announcements would be wrong, but at least some of these guys have shown that they must be paid attention to in the near future.
"This silver medal is a good result. The team made a step forward compared to some earlier competitions and it was seen this summer - first at the Mediterranean Cup and now at the World Championship. So there was continuity. We played a good tournament, without a single easy game, and maybe that was felt at the end", said coach Veljko Uskoković.
Croatia was simply better on Saturday at the pool of SC "Morača", the impression is that they knew how to play the relief card, but also to punish everything that Montenegro gave them. And she gave away a lot more in front of both goals.
"We tried everything to relieve the team as much as possible before the final. But there were a few banal mistakes and they shouldn't happen. I think they are the result of the atmosphere at the pool and the pressure to which we may have succumbed a bit," added Uskoković.
The boys' tears after losing to Croatia in the final say it all, the players wanted this title more than anything, but sometimes painful defeats can be more beneficial in the long run, no matter how cruel it sounds now...
"I claim that we are individually the strongest team and time will tell." We have to work, to earn an invitation to the senior national team and bring new successes", said Ukropina, the captain of the team that brought the first world medal to the Montenegrin junior categories.
Radović: We will be even better
One of the players who left a particularly good impression at the WC is Đuro Radović, Jadran's left-handed striker.
"We were focused on the final, but the Croats were simply better. After the match, we were overcome by emotions, but we quickly became aware that being second in the world is no small thing," says Radović.
Montenegro has long had a problem finding a left-handed player, now they have even two in this generation - Radović and Aleks Ukropin.
"I think that Ukropina and I, on the difficult side, played a good tournament. We support each other when things don't go our way, and I think we have shown our potential and will show it at the upcoming EP in the Netherlands," Radović points out and adds: "I am satisfied with the games and the result we achieved."
Radović also mentioned the new rules.
"We trained all summer according to these rules, so now I'm used to it. But I wouldn't change anything for the senior competition. There are many dangerous shooters, and with a small ball I think it's impossible for goalkeepers to defend," says Radović.
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