EHF Champions League

BP’s flying high with BP

Björn Pazen

01 October 2010, 09:47

BP’s flying high with BP

Montenegrin women’s handball has climbed high in the last season – thanks to the leading club Buducnost from the capitol Podgorica.

For the second time after 2006 Budućnost won the Cup Winner’s Cup in 2010, after taking the trophies in the domestic league and cup competition and after winning the international regional handball league WHRL.

Thanks to the youth programme of Budućnost and the Montenegrin Federation the women’s juniors won the first ever World Championship medal in a team sports for their country by taking bronze at the WCh in Korea.

Another successs: the Montenegrin women’s team qualified unbeaten to the EHF EURO in Denmark and Norway including two sensational victories against the current World Champion Russia.

Coach of the successful junior’s team was Dragan Adžic who is now the coach of Budućnost, too. And not only can he count on last season’s winning team but now also on the country’s best player, Bojana Popovic.

It was one of the biggest surprises this summer month when Popovic announced her transfer from EHF Women’s Champions League title holder Viborg HK back to her home country. And that after raising the CL trophy five times in total with Slagelse and Viborg, and despite the fact that she still had a valid contract in Viborg until 2012.

VHK club director Petter Cassoe said: "Bojana has been a unique player for Viborg over the past three seasons. Her name is written in capital letters on all the trophies we won since she arrived. But we must accept that handball is not everything in life, there are also some other things which are important."

Popovic left Viborg due to private reasons. But she will meet her old team mates earlier as thought, as Budućnost and Viborg are both in the CL Group A.

The Popovic transfer puts some pressure on Budućnost, as coach Dragan Adžić mentions: "The return of Bojana, a player who is born for winning, of course increases the ambitions for next season, but also increases the responsibility for all of us to show our maximum and to be much more serious."

This major deal makes Budućnost serious contenders for the title in the upcoming European season – a fact the club representatives see with a relaxed attitude: "Last season we didn’t qualify for the Main Round, this year we’re supposed to be aiming for first place. We for sure have gained more international experience, and we will have to be more carefully in taking our chances," Adžić says – and adds: "Not the players but our experience from international level is our real reinforcement."

For Adžić his team is not the favourite for reaching the final: "Larvik, Oltchim, Viborg, Györ and Volgograd will play the main role in the EHF Women’s Champions League – and as we meet Viborg and Volgograd in the group stage it will be quite a tough challenge for us to go on to the Main Round of the competition. Even as some major players like Bojana left Viborg they’re still a serious candidate for a top result. Dinamo Volgograd can count on the same squad, which means that they are even better then last season when they defeated us with a 13 goals difference."

But Budućnost still hope to repeat history: Between 1992 and 2002 the team from Podgorica managed to reach the EHF Women’s Champions League semi-finals five consecutive times.