01.11.2012, 01:53
Legendary keeper Djurić looks beyond EURO

Dragica Djurić speaks about the Serbian women's national team's potential and the advantage of an EHF EURO on home soil

Legendary keeper Djurić looks beyond EURO

With every day that passes, the pressure for Serbia's women's national team is mounting. In just about 30 days they will start their campaign at the EHF EURO 2012, in the very same arenas in which the men's national team celebrated the silver medal in January at the Men's EHF EURO 2012.

“The men’s team gave us some serious homework in January and we will try to give everything on the playing court. Our main objective is to outdo ourselves," says head coach Saša Bošković.

“The girls are in good form at the beginning of the season and all 16 players will contribute in securing a place in the Main Round in Belgrade.”

He gets support from one of the best and most inspiring female handball players of the past two decades in former Yugoslavia.

Last year, Dragica Djurić joined the coaching staff of the Serbian team. The legendary goalkeeper was a witness to the golden age of Yugoslavian handball.

She won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1984 and was the leader of younger generations until the EHF EURO 2002 in Denmark.

With over two decades of experience on the international scene, Djurić has a lot to offer to the team:

“I have played handball for 30 years, but unfortunately my generations did not get a chance to play in front of a home crowd.”

Djurić understands that there a both positives and negatives to playing a tournament at home in front of a partisan crowd.

“It will be a great chance, but at the same time, huge pressure for our girls,” says Djurić, who also underlines the fact that the 2013 World Championship, also to be played in Serbia, will be the right time for the best performance of this Serbian generation.

“This European championship will be a good test and a great basis for the next year and the World Championship, when our team will have an even better chance to achieve an important result.

“Sincerely, despite all the success in my playing career, a medal in Belgrade would be the biggest achievement,” concluded Djurić. 

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TEXT: Žika Bogdanović / cor