Miloš Ćuk captain of Novi Belgrade: Team rejuvenated, goals remain the same
For the third year in a row, the Novi Beograd Water Polo Club is hosting the international Vlaho Bato Orlić tournament with the participation of six teams.
The matches will be played from September 5 to 8 at the pool of SC „11. April". In group A, in addition to Novi Belgrade, German Spandau and Valis from Valjevo will also play, while group B consists of Primorac, Vašaš and Novobeogradski Vukovi. According to the competition system, the first-placed teams will win direct placement in the semi-finals, while the second- and third-placed teams will play for the remaining two places in the semi-finals.
New Belgrade's water polo players have been training in Niš for the past few days, and the duels in this tournament will be the first tests for coach Živko Gocić's team, which won the triple crown last season. The new team captain will be Miloš Ćuk, who won gold with the national team at the Olympic Games in Paris:
– We traveled to France as only the sixth or seventh favorite for gold. That's how it was in the eyes of our public, as well as others. We got the impression that the other national teams underestimated us a bit - Ćuk summarizes another impression from Paris and adds:
– We prepared really well, we trained very hard and the most important thing is that we believed that we could succeed. We got off to a sloppy start, we were maybe a little crampy in the first two rounds, but after the match with Spain, which we admittedly lost, we started to play better. When we survived the group we were much more relaxed, everything started to work better. We timed our form for that quarter-final, which was our goal, and we were at our best when it was most needed.
Serbian water polo players became Olympic champions for the third time in a row, which is an unprecedented result in the history of our sport:
– For me personally, a dream has come true. It is a great success for our country. It is my second Olympic gold medal. However, in Rio 2016, due to a broken hand, I could not play in the final, I watched it all from the sidelines, but somehow I believed that I would also play in my final. My wish came true and I'm really happy about it.
Miloš Ćuk will be the new captain in the ranks of the current Serbian and regional champions in the upcoming season.
– The team has been significantly rejuvenated. We lost our old aces, players who are irreplaceable. You simply cannot find such water polo players anymore. A lot of new, very young and I must say very talented players joined the team. Although the team has been rejuvenated, our goals are identical, and we will see how far we can go. However, a great motivation and their desire to prove themselves is already evident, every training session is at its best, a good atmosphere has been created and this should bring the desired result.
The first rival of New Belgrade in the "Vlaho Bato Orlić" tournament will be the German Spandau team tonight from 7:30 p.m. at the SC "11. April".
– We have just left the basic part of the preparations. These few matches will help us to see first of all what is not working well, so that we can fix it. The season starts on September 21, it will take some time to get used to it and that's why this tournament will be valuable for us - concluded Ćuk.
Schedule of matches at the "Vlaho Bato Orlić" tournament
THURSDAY: Novi Beograd – Špandau (7:30 p.m.), Primorac – Vašaš (9 p.m.)
FRIDAY: Vašaš – Novobeogradski Vukovi (09h), Valis – Špandau (10.30h), Novi Beograd – Valis (19.30h), Primorac – Novobeogradski Vukovi (21h)
SATURDAY: 2A – 3B (09h), 3A – 2B (10.30h). Match for fifth place (4:30 p.m.). First semi-final at 18:00, second semi-final (19:30)
SUNDAY: Match for third place (09:00). Final (10.30am)
