Montenegrin women voted Team of the Year

Following the victory at EHF EURO 2012 in December and the silver medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Montenegro's women's national team has been named 'Team of the Year' by the country's Olympic Committee.

"I think nobody believed it could be like this. This is, indeed, a fairy tale which only our athletes were able to write," said Dušan Simonović, President of the Montenegrin NOC.

"I enjoy this tale. Just look at what the women’s handball team achieved. It's more than anyone could have expected.”

The team's head coach, Dragan Adžić, said that this year's results are the “crown of the good work of all those involved and of those responsible within Montenegro's handball federation as well as within Budućnost (the club won the Women's EHF Champions League in May).

Adžić also praised the state support his team received.

"All this is completed by the quality and the character of the women we have and that’s why it has been such a successful year.

"This is a sign to everyone that such results can also be achieved in modest conditions and with great sacrifices to compensate the fact that we don’t have a player’s base and conditions like many of our competitors,” Adžić added.
 
Milo Đukanović, President of the Montenegrin Government, also expressed his praise for the women's national team.

“The place on Montenegro's sports throne belongs to the women’s handball team because of the Olympic silver medal, the Women's EHF Champions League title (for Budućnost) and finally the golden crown at EHF EURO in Serbia.

"And above all they deserve it because of the way the team has won that gold medal.

"When things get tough, only the greatest teams are the strongest. I especially want to highlight the spirit that this team shows and on whose wings it has come to the greatest success.

"You have shown how the colours of Montenegro are to be represented and you have been an example for the nation.”

The team award was not the only accolade the member's of the women’s handball team took during the closing stages of 2012 as Bojana Popovićand Katarina Bulatović were both awarded Athletes of the Year.

Furthermore goalkeeper Marina Vukčević was voted Young female Athlete of the Year. And again Katarina Bulatović was the choice for Athlete of the Year, this time not awarded by the NOC but by the country's sports journalists.