Montenegrin water polo players traveled to Los Angeles yesterday, where they will continue their preparations for the Olympic Games, and in Paris at the end of July, Draško Brguljan will not be wearing the "shark" cap.
The legendary ace, who was supposed to participate in the Olympic Games for the fifth time in his career in the City of Light (and would become a record holder when it comes to Montenegrin athletes), probably said goodbye to the national team after a hard and long season in Primorac.
For some, that decision was expected, some may be surprised, but the guy who turns 40 in December believes he did the right thing.
"I just can't imagine training all summer to be ready for the Olympics." "I had a very busy club season, maybe I could play in Paris, but I think it's right that at this age I don't take space for anyone if I'm not sure I can give everything in the preparations," Brguljan told "Vijesti".
With Primorac, Brguljan won the title of national champion, which he had been waiting for since 2008, he is part of the team that won a return to the regional Premier League, and during the season he participated in two major competitions - the European Championship in Croatia and the World Championship in Doha.
"I gave everything for Primorac, in addition to that I participated in the European Championship and World Cup, the season lasted until about twenty days ago... There was a possibility to join the national team after a few days of rest, but I thought for a long time in the conversation with Vladimir Gojković - who was very correct - he decided that it was best not to be part of the team", pointed out Brguljan.
The regret remains...
"Of course I regret it, but I made a decision after thinking it over. It is true that I would be participating in the Games for the fifth time, but some of the guys will go for whom it is their debut at the Olympics and for whom the competition in Paris means a lot for their career," concluded Brguljan.
Gojković took 18 players to the United States: Dejan Lazović, Kanstantin Averka, Aljoša Mačić, Vlad Popadić, Stefan Vidović, Đur Radović, Vladan Spaić, Dušan Matković, Vasilij Radović, Petr Tešanović, Marko Mršić, Jovan Vujović, Darko Đurović, Bogdan Đurđić, Martin Gardašević, Danil Radović, Andrija Korać and Dimitrija Obradović.
As announced by the Water Polo Association, Miroslav Perković and Dušan Banićević have not yet started their preparations due to obligations in the clubs, while the wider list of candidates for the Olympic Games includes Luka Murišić, Uroš Vučurović, Đorđije Stanojević, Ilija Radović and Lazar Andrić.
Montenegro will play two matches in Los Angeles with the Americans, who are rivals in the group at the OI. The tournament in Paris starts on July 28, and the group also includes Croatia, Italy, Greece and Romania.
Bonus video:
