Great successes are yet to come

For a long time, Montenegrin handball players quietly went to major competitions, and returned in even greater silence.

Everything has changed in the last few years, because he is a talented generation, for which he was the coach at the time Ljubomir Obradović said that he would achieve great deeds, began to bring results.

Four years ago in Graz, the first victory at the European championships was recorded, two years ago all boundaries were moved with three triumphs and 11th place on the Old Continent, and it seems that now they have gone one step further.

Not so much with the results, because the "lions" played "only" three matches, but with a game that hints that the prophecy of the famous Professor, the coach from 2014 to 2016, could be fulfilled.

Tim Government of the School played all three matches at the European Championship in Germany with one ball - against Hungary and Iceland he missed attacks for a draw, and defeated Serbia with a goal Nemanja Grbović in the last second and won a place in the 1st hat before the barrage for the World Championship.

The "Lions" arrived in Podgorica this evening, and were met at the airport by about 100 fans.

"Thank you for coming in their own way to thank us for everything we did at this championship. It is very nice to see these children and their smiles. This tells us that we are doing the right things for Montenegro, and I am sure that this will be the case in the future as well," he said Miloš Vujović.

Montenegro will wait for its rivals in the play-off for the championship in Norway, Denmark and Croatia until Saturday, January 27. The matches will be played on May 8 or 9, that is, on May 11 or 12, and the most difficult opponent would be Serbia.

It would be good to avoid the ever-improving Faroe Islands, Greece and possibly Switzerland, and possible opponents are also Georgia, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the four winners of the pre-qualifications: Belgium or Italy, Estonia or Ukraine, Finland or Lithuania and Slovakia or the better of the two matches Israel - Luxembourg.

"I can't wait to see who will be our rival. We are waiting for the next matches with great optimism and of course we believe in qualifying for the World Cup", said Vujović.

He was the "target" of young fans the most Nebojsa Simic, from whom everyone asked for an autograph. The "lions" goalkeeper admitted that it was very difficult for him to watch the end of the match with Serbia from the stands, because he received a red card in the 36th minute.

"It's much easier when you're on the field, because you're thinking about the game, about the shots that are coming. When you're in the stands, you see everything, and every break lasts forever. I don't know how I would have coped if I had been banned earlier. In the last action I saw that Čavor kicks, yes Cupara defended and sat down. Suddenly I saw Grbović flying, I don't even know where, and scoring a goal. I realized that we ran, I even hit the cameraman with my head, but I didn't even feel it, he told me about it later. Those are the most beautiful moments, which we will always remember," said Baranin, who celebrates his 31st birthday on Friday.

Although they eased their way to the World Championship by winning over Serbia, Šola's team regrets not reaching the main stage in Cologne, where they could have claimed a place in the Olympic Games qualifiers.

"The situation was ideal as far as crossing was concerned. Spain was eliminated, and Austria passed, which, like us at the European Championship in Hungary, came from the shadows. Now we will see how she will be under pressure. It would be very good if we could test her, because we have more experience than her. I think we would have an advantage in that match, and we played with Croatia in Poreč and were equal until the very end. The match in Cologne would not be any different, that's why I can only regret", said Simić.

WE ARE WAITING FOR A CENTER BACK, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE ANOTHER TWO METERS PIVOT

With the return of Vuk Borozan, Montenegro got a big boost in both defense and attack, but it seems that something is still missing for great results.

"The return of Borozan means a lot to us. With his individual quality, with two top goals, he won the match against Serbia to our side. Defensively, he is incredible, he went through the best coaching schools, he tries to pass that on to his teammates," emphasized Simić.

"Lions" also have great right backs, excellent wings, but it is not known who is the first organizer of the game.

"We have Branko and Miloš Vujović, we also got Luka Radović, Nemanja Grbović is always there when we need him. A very good center back must also be found. Radojica Čepić now plays a bit of middle, a bit of left back, that's how it is at the club. Sometimes we need a faster game, we need a middle back who will play the team a little more and take more responsibility on himself".

Šola is one of the rare selectors who took only two pivots to the championship, because Miodrag Ćorsović dropped out in the first filter, so Nemanja Grbović was the mainstay in the attack, and Vuk Lazović in the defense.

"We know that Vuk Lazović takes on a lot of responsibility in defense. That is his main task, offensively he is quite limited in terms of movement and blocks. Nemanja is certainly, in terms of movements and opening along the line, a top pivot. But we certainly need a big 'Krkan', who will make blocks for the defenders so that there is more space for shots. Maybe he could help us in defense, so that we don't have to constantly change. We are waiting for him, I don't know where he is," Simic said in his own style.

The goalkeeper of Melzungen did not even see Ćorsović, because he was recovering before the pivot Trimo Trebnja was dropped from the list.

"I wasn't there at the beginning of the preparations, I don't know how it looked with him. When I came back, it was already decided that we would go with two pivots. I would like to see a big pivot, of two meters, to bring some freshness. Now we have two excellent players in each position, we can also rely on the depth of the bench for the first time. We will see what the future will bring," concluded Simić.