If the Montenegrin water polo players tonight against Romania repeat the editions from the duel with (especially) Greece and Russia, the third game at the European Championship will only be an introduction to the deciding duel that will be played on Saturday with Italy, the direct rival for the 1st place in the group.
And if the "Sharks" enter the match against the Romanians underestimating, anything is possible... In short - everything, but everything, tonight depends on the selected Ranko Perović and his approach, which, if the two matches in Budapest can be a benchmark, is no longer a problem for the current European and world vice-champion.
The Romanians, with the returning Kozmin Radu, a left-handed centre, have the quality to threaten the favourites, but only if they let them...
Montenegro, however, gave them a chance several times in the past, they used one at the European Championship in Zagreb in 2010, when it was a draw. And, instead of a direct placement in the semi-finals, the Montenegrin water polo players had to compete with Serbia in the quarter-finals and that's where the dream of a medal ended...
And that Romania has limits was seen against Italy two nights ago, when they were defeated 9:4.
Čučković: There is no relaxation
Uroš Čučković, a debutant at major competitions, is convinced that the team will be just as serious as against Greece and Russia.
"We watched the Romanians against Italy, it can be seen that they have improved their form under the leadership of coach Dejan Stanojević, a former member of the Serbian coaching staff. They are disciplined, therefore dangerous, but everything depends on us. If we repeat the game from the first two games, then we should not that there will be some surprises. We have to be careful and concentrated from the first minute," said Čučković, who is satisfied that he got the chance to perform in a big competition.
"I feel good, I think the game was fine in the first two matches. There is no better way and place to debut than the championship in Hungary, in a pool like this, with a lot of fans," said the new defender of Hungarian Eger.
After two rounds, Montenegro and Italy have two wins each, they are expected to continue their campaign after tonight's matches ("azuri" meet Georgia) and then wait for Saturday's derby, which at that moment could be as important as the medal won - the winner goes directly to the semi-finals, the loser has to reach placement among the top four the more difficult way, more precisely through a duel with Serbia, Hungary, Croatia or Spain (depending on placement in group B).
"You all know our goal - it's a direct placement in the semi-finals. We'll be one step closer if we beat the Romanians, and then we turn to Italy. At the moment, only Romania is on our minds," Čučković added.
Darko Brguljan: Romanians are tactically stronger than before
Darko Brguljan is expected to work in the attack as he knows how. Maybe tonight is the moment for the best scorer of the Italian championship last season to "adjust" his arm.
"We need to transfer the recipe from the first two games now as well. The defense must be strong, as it has been so far, and we can also be satisfied with how we are doing in attack. All this makes us really believe in victory, which would make things easier for us in the group. We watched the match between Romania and Italy, they were missing two or three players. Coach Stanojević will certainly prepare them well, and you can see that they are tactically better than they have been so far. However, I think that everything is up to us and that we have a great chance to beat them," concluded Brguljan.
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