For the first time since 2010 and after 17 major competitions in a row, Montenegrin handball players will not be part of the most important stories. More specifically, those stories that are above all others in sports.
The hope of the "lionesses" for a fourth consecutive appearance at the Olympic Games "sunk" to the bottom of the Danube - Slovenia and Germany were better, so they left Ulm for Paris, while the girls will Bojana Popović this time watching the Games next to the TV screen.
Maybe everything sounds like a disaster at the moment, but it's far from it - our selection showed great desire and fighting spirit in the south of Germany, dreaming of the Olympic rounds, but this time it just didn't work out and the rivals were better.
Something was missing for Paris, and perhaps that very shade that would make a difference and light the way to the City of Light remained far from Ulm - healthy, ready and in good shape.
- Slovenia was better, they currently have a better rotation, better defenders - after all, those who can hit from outside - said Bojana Popović after the defeat against the national team Dragan Adžić.
The national team of Montenegro consciously chose to start the biggest challenge in the last three years without the strongest team. On two injuries Djurdžine - Jauković i Malović, of course, she could not influence, as well as the absence Ivan Godech and several other players for the same reason, but she decided to fight for Paris without a handball player, which Slovenia does not have. A, who plays exactly in the fullback position.
There is no guarantee that Montenegro would Milena Raičević went to Paris, especially because she is not a back-shooter, which was the most lacking in Ulm, but the chances would be incomparably higher, because the other players in that position would also have more freshness, and Milena's lucidity and assists would "play" all the others "lionesses".
After all, the current Rapida handball player from Bucharest showed in the last match for Montenegro against Turkey at the start of the qualification for the EHF Euro how much her entry can change the rhythm, and at the same time it was also seen how much she was missed at the World Cup, and in the matches with Serbia, the rematch with Turkey and finally in Ulm...
The selector's right is to work with those in whom she has the most confidence and who she believes will not disturb the atmosphere, she is ultimately responsible for the results and therefore must have autonomy in her work, but she must also look at the bigger picture and put the interests of the national team in front of club and personal. And the Federation insists on that...
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For the "Paris 2024 project", Slovenia returned the phenomenal "bomber" to the national team Anna Gross, and it turns out that even at such an important moment for Montenegrin handball, Milena could not be forgiven for suing Buducnost Bemax for unpaid wages.
The price was paid dearly, and for Bojana Popović, if she continues to lead Montenegro or any future coach (or coaches), the lesson is that the best must play.
As early as November, when the European Championship starts and practically the new Olympic cycle begins.
Bojan's successor? Maja Savić, Igor Marković, Suzana Lazović...
After the failure in the qualifications, Bojana Popović said that even in the case of qualifying for the Olympic Games, she was considering leaving the helm of the national team to someone else.
The defeats in Ulm seem to be only a confirmation that the legendary handball player will not lead the "lionesses" in the future and that the Handball Association of Montenegro must look for a new solution.
The closest to succeeding Bojana is her assistant and former teammate, the legendary Maja Savić, who led many of the current senior national team players in the younger selections.
Apart from her, the former handball player of Montenegro is also an option Igor Markovic, who at the start of his coaching career stood out in his work with the women's junior national team, but also with the handball players of Rudar.
A possible solution could be i Suzana Lazović - the former pivot of Montenegro is doing an excellent job in the junior selections of China, and she led the juniors of that country to the finals of the Asian Championship.
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