Cvijić: "No place for calculations"

Last weekend, not only Hungary´s Győri Audi ETO earned a semi-final berth in the EHF Champions League, but also Budućnost. The Montenegrin champions also have the maximum points in their account and could finish as group leader if a home victory over Metz is achieved.

One of the most powerful women in the World of Handball, the young line-player of Budućnost Podgorica and the Serbian National Team, Dragana Cvijić talked to ehfCL.com about her experience of reaching her first EHF Champions League semi-final.

ehfCL.com: Budućnost won in Ljubljana against Krim and qualified for the EHF Champions League semi-final with four straight victories in the Main Round. How do you feel about this?

Dragana Cvijić: We expected a very tough game there until the last minute. Our previous week was exhausting, and we spent more time on traveling than actually in the hall, but we wanted two points and a semi-final place two rounds before the end of the Main Round. In our case, more journey time means a bigger wish to win. This success is really important to us. 

ehfCL.com: You played a fantastic match against your former team, Krim Ljubljana. What was it like to play against your former colleagues?

Dragana Cvijić: When you are just 60 minutes from the semi-final, you don’t have emotions for your rivals, no matter who is on the other side (she laughs)…

ehfCL.com: Did you expect to reach the semi-final after only 4 matches in the Main Round?

Dragana Cvijić: Yes, we expected that, even though the game schedule wasn’t in our favour. Only once we played on home turf in Podgorica. Now I can hardly wait to play in front of our fans.

ehfCL.com: In the last two matches, you will play without the pressure of winning. Is there any space for some calculation and picking your opponent for the next stage?

Dragana Cvijić: We will play seriously, and I don’t think there is a place for such calculations. The reason is simple. We will play two games in our hall and want to win for our fans. Calculations aren’t necessary, because all of the teams who could reach the semi-final as our next opponents are very strong.

ehfCL.com: Is it time for Budućnost, after many years of “semi-final endings” to actually play in a final?

Dragana Cvijić: It really is a huge step to reach a semi-final place. Even bigger is to reach the Final. Budućnost are going step by step. Firstly, two matches in the Top 4 and then… 

We have to think only about things which are in front of us. I don’t want to waste my time and energy on dreams, or to think about something that we don’t have in our hands yet. To reach the top, there are thousands of stairs. If we miss one, there is no doubt that we won’t reach the top.

ehfCL.com: Do you feel well in the Montenegrin capital?

Dragana Cvijić: Here, I feel like at home. To play and live with “your” people, there is nothing better. 

ehfCL.com: How do you get on with your team-mate and line colleague, Ana Đokić?

Dragana Cvijić: It’s always nice to be with ‘Šilo’, both on, and off, the court.  The friendliness in Podgorica is really amazing. I can only express my feelings about the atmosphere here with the words of a famous Serbian song for children “In the World exists one Empire, where the Emperor is Friendship…”