05.11.2010, 10:23
"We let the others think about us"

Budućnost right back Katarina Bulatović talks about their great season start.

"We let the others think about us"

With all three victories in Group A, Budućnost is very close to the Main Round of the EHF Champions League. On Sunday the Montenegrin champions will meet Viborg HK and have a chance to seal the next round.

ehfCL.com: Budućnost has positively surprised in the EHF Champions League, together with Larvik you are the only team with three victories out of three games. Did you expect such a good start?

Katarina Bulatović: The first place in our group and our results so far are indeed a pleasant surprise, having in mind our results of the previous season. However, the effort we made, by adding players to the squad in order to complete the team on all positions, in addition with not suffering from any major injuries, gives me the right to consider this placement deserved and predictable.

ehfCL.com: Your first round victory at home against Dinamo was crucial for the ambitions to proceed to the Main Round. The away victory against Sävehof was expected, but the triumph over Viborg HK in Denmark was a big surprise, especially because of the way you came to victory. How do you look back on the victory in Viborg, was it the team’s best game since you are in Budućnost?

Katarina Bulatović: The opening match of every season for a new team is a burden, especially if you play against an opponent such as Dinamo and in front of the home crowd. In Denmark, the presence of Bojana Popović vaporized the complex of seeing Viborg HK as an invincible team. In that game we showed our individual and team qualities, so the final result was a mix of all those circumstances. Although I think Viborg HK also had a bad day against us.

ehfCL.com: With three wins you are just one step away from the Main Round. With all necessary caution, do you believe that you more or less cannot miss the next CL stage?

Katarina Bulatović: I do not think that we are already qualified, we are seriously preparing for each opponent and each game as it is decisive. After all, we are first in the group and we let the others think about us.

ehfCL.com: Viborg, winners of the CL title in the last two seasons, is in crisis and risk elimination after the Group Phase. With a positive result from that game, Budućnost is in the position to secure their Main Round place and at the same time to eliminate Viborg HK. What kind of game do you expect on Sunday, bearing these facts in mind?

Katarina Bulatović: The fact that this match is crucial for Viborg does not make it more important to us. In our group every game can be considered decisive. After all, Viborg is still the reigning champion of Europe. That is a sufficient motive for us to give our best and to prove that the victory in Denmark was not coincidental. And of course to prove that we are more than a surprise.

ehfCL.com: You started this EHF Champions League season with modest ambitions, setting the next round as first goal. Is it now more difficult because the expectations after your three victories are bigger? How far can go Budućnost go in this season?

Katarina Bulatović: Because of the bad experience from last year, when all of us expected that we could achieve much more that we finally accomplished, this year we were more cautious in the statements and expectations. We are working hard and serious, and we are having a more objective look on our possibilities.

ehfCL.com: The team remained practically the same as last year, plus Bojana Popović. How has everything changed after her arrival?

Katarina Bulatović: The team is definitely not the same with Bojana Popović. Her handball and human qualities certainly contributed to the results we achieved.

ehfCL.com: In the first three games you scored 23 goals with the average of nearly eight goals per a game. How satisfied are you so far? Do you believe that you can beat your personal record from the 2008/09 CL season, when you scored 75 goals for Budućnost?

Katarina Bulatović: I'm totally looking at the interest of the team, and do not care about the number of goals I score. I will try to avoid any injuries, and that the goals will come by themselves.

The EHF Women's Champions League top game of Group A, ŽRK Budućnost (MNE) vs. Viborg HK (DEN) on Sunday 7 November 2010 at 19:30 hrs (local time), will be broadcast live on our free-of-charge web stream on ehfTV.com.

TEXT: Saša Jončić