Jaukovic: “We believe in us, we dream”

In 2012, when Montenegrin women’s handball had their exceptional year with EHF EURO gold and Olymoic silver for the national team and the EHF Champions League title for Buducnost, a 15-year-old handball talent from Niksic was sitting in front of the TV for hours, getting impressed by those historic moments with players like Bojana Popovic, Katarina Bulatovic, Milena Knezevic (Raicevic), and Jovanka Radicevic.

The tall girl was Djurdjina Jaukovic.

“I was just dreaming about playing a big championship one day with this great team,” the left back reflects on 10 years ago.

And she has made her dream come true. Top scorer and MVP of the W19 EHF EURO 2015, she played her first major event a few months later at the IHF World Championship in Denmark.

Today, Jaukovic is one of the core players in the Montenegrin team and a two-time Olympian. Still, she relives the memories of 2012 every day when she is with the national team.

“From the golden generation, players Mika Raicevic, Joka Radicevic and Marina Rajcic are still in our team – and of course our coaches Bojana Popovic and Maja Savic. We talk a lot with them about those feelings, when they were European champions and Olympic silver medallists.”

Until the age of 23, Jaukovic played for Buducnost, then went abroad to join French side Brest Bretagne Handball in 2020. Right in her first season, she made it to the EHF FINAL4 in Budapest – and even to the final.

But she badly injured her knee after the Tokyo Olympics and was out for 10 months. But with the start of the 2022/23 season, Jaukovic is back on track – and ready for the biggest highlight of her national team career: co-hosting the EHF EURO 2022.

“We are so happy to have this opportunity to play at home. It is the first and maybe the last time in our career to play such an event on home ground. We really want to grab this chance. We cannot wait to start, we are so excited. For two years, we have only been thinking about this championship.” Jaukovic told eurohandball.com on the eve of Montenegro’s opener against Spain on Saturday (18:00 CET, live on EHFTV) in the legendary Moraca Arena in Podgorica.

“This arena means a lot to me. I remember so many games and I have so many positive emotions when I think about this arena,” Jaukovic said.

“We heard that Moraca will be full of fans against Spain – and this is a reason why we play handball: to make our fans happy. I already get goosebumps when I think about this match. I played for Buducnost for five years and I remember all those great games, so I really cannot wait for the EHF EURO to start.”

But is the excitement not blended with a huge portion of pressure?

“For us it is normal to have pressure, as everybody in Montenegro always expects so much from us. We are a small country, but our people love and adore handball. For them it is normal we always have the highest goals and play for something really big – this is sport. We can cope with this pressure and those expectations”, said Jaukovic, adding: “We have a big dream and desire, but we must put some thoughts behind and only focus on handball. We are ready, everything is on us.”

Judged by the top scorer list of the EHF Champions League Women, Montenegro are definitely ready to rumble. Three of their EHF EURO stars are among the 12 best scorers: Milena Raicevic (Buducnost) is ranked second with 48 goals, Jovanka Radicevic (Krim) ninth with 35, and Jaukovic 12^th with 31 – with one match outstanding.

“It is good for our national team that so many players are playing in the Champions League as the biggest competition to gain experience, all players play good in the clubs, this shall help us at the EHF EURO now,” Jaukovic said.

Still, Spain are opponents which Jaukovic has a lot of respect for.

“The first match is always the hardest one in any tournament, and when you face a great team like Spain, it is even harder. Since 2012, we have not beaten them in any important match, so I hope that the time has come for us, that we are ready to start with a victory.”

Her motto is to keep calm: “Everybody wants to give everything in the first game, and sometimes you get under pressure in those situations, but we are experienced enough to stand the heat,” she said.

And her memories from 2012 will come back to life once again on Saturday, as the Montenegrin Handball Federation will use the EHF EURO opener in Podgorica to say farewell to two of their biggest heroes, who have retired from the sport: Katarina Bulatovic and Andrea Klikovac.

Will this special moment boost Jaukovic’s hopes for a successful tournament even more?

“Of course, we again dream of a medal this time, as every player dreams of a medal when playing a major tournament,” she said. “We believe in us, we dream.”

Photos (c) Anze Malovrh, Uros Hocevar / kolektiff