Knežević: We will make life difficult to everyone
With four wins and two defeats, Budućnost finished the Group Matches of Women´s EHF Champions League on second place in Group D. It is already the same number of defeats like in the whole last season, when Montenegrin team won the title. But, having in mind that 10 players from the last season left the club or finished their career, the place in the Main Round is considered a big success for a team of Dragan Adžić.
Milena Knežević, back court player of Budućnost, who managed to be a top scorer of Group Matches with 54 goals, talks to ehfCL. com about the performances in the Women's EHF Champions League and expectations for the Main Round.
 ehfCL. com: How do you look at the results of your team in the Group Matches. Is the second place in the group reality, knowing all the team changes in the summer, or you think that you could have done even better?
Milena Knežević: We are pleased with the results, because we achieved our goal to reach the Main Round, although we had some injured player. But, I am one of those who believe that you can always do better, no matter what result you achieve. The reality is that we are among the top eight teams in the EHF Champions League, and we deserved that on the court.
ehfCL. com: Do you regret that you didn’t reach the first place and get easier opponents in the Main Round?
Milena Knežević: It’s sure that the first place would have given us easier rivals, but I don’t regret it. We will continue to play as usual.
ehfCL. com: How much the injuries of Dragana Cvijić, Elena Gjogrijevska, Clara Woltering and others contributed to losses in away games against Thüringer HC and Zvezda Zvenigorod?
Milena Knežević: We know the best how much each player is important. If we had been complete, I'm sure we would have won the first place in the group. But the most important thing now is to recover all the players for the Main Round and from February prove that we deserve to be there. When we will be at full strength, we hope to be able to compete with all the rivals.
ehfCL. com: Do you expect that you will be the top scorer after the Group Matches?
Milena Knežević: I didn’t expect, nor I thought that it might happen. But, that’s all a product of good games played by the team and me.
ehfCL. com: In the Group Matches you mostly played at the left back position, being the first offensive option, and not as central back as before. Do you prefer that role?
Milena Knežević: I play handball as I know, and I have no problem to play in any position. In Group Matches I constantly played as left back and I have to admit that I prefer to play on that position, even more than as central back. I hope that I will continue with the same pace, and that I’ll have the support of my teammates, as always.
ehfCL. com: In the Main Round you will play in the group with Györi Audi ETO KC, Larvik and Randers HK. Can you surprise big rivals like Györ and Larvik, or that will be just an opportunity to gain experience for next season?
Milena Knežević: We have already achieved our main goal, so we enter into Main Round with no pressure. We want to gain more experience, so those matches will serve for that in the best possible way.
We surprised lot of opponents this season, so I'm sure that we will continue to do so, and that we will make life difficult to everyone. We have our distinctive style of play, which does not suit many teams, which can be our advantage.
Although we are the youngest team in the EHF Champions League, we look at this fact as a great advantage. We hope that we will be able to provide strong resistance to our rivals and prove our value.
TEXT: Saša Jončić / br
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