Marina Rajcic: “Montenegro will wake up the 2012 spirit”

The 15th edition of the Women’s EHF EURO is just around the corner. One of the host nations is Montenegro; the legendary Moraca Sports Centre in Podgorica will stage the group D matches, which also include Germany, Spain, and Poland.

When the event is running next month, many thoughts will go back to 2012, an exceptional year for women’s handball in Montenegro. The symbiosis of Buducnost and the national team resulted in the EHF Champions League trophy and a silver medal at the London Olympics, and ended with the shiniest medal at the EHF EURO in Serbia.

While Buducnost won the EHF Champions League again in 2015, Montenegro’s national team has remained without medals since 2012.

One of the players who has been part of the team throughout, is Marina Rajcic. The goalkeeper had her debut in 2010 at only 17, and alongside Jovanka Radicevic and Milena Raicevic, is still donning the national team colours.

“We have our head coach Bojana Popovic and assistant coach Maja Savic, both with great handball knowledge and experience. Them being here is in a way waking up the 2012 spirit,” Rajcic says.

“Popovic and Savic were leading us to the medal at the Olympic games and I believe they can lead us to new success in upcoming tournaments.”

A lot has changed over 10 years, and Rajcic says it is hard to compare the eras.

“Buducnost used to be the main base for the national team; almost all players were playing in the club. But nowadays the players are playing in different countries, which brings a different mosaic to the team,” the goalkeeper says.

“What has been left the same is our strength, determination, and wish of hearing our national anthem at the end of the tournament.”

16 December 2012 is the day Marina Rajcic and her teammates will remember forever. Watched on by 10,000 fans in the stands in Belgrade, the EHF EURO 2012 final was a repeat of the Olympic final, when Montenegro lost to Norway.

But this time, Montenegro showed why they are called ‘Lionesses’ and ended the eight-year-long dominance of Norway in European women’s handball. After two nail-biting periods of extra time, Montenegro prevailed 34:31.

“There are so many memories about that tournament and that day. First silver at the Olympic Games, then gold at the EHF EURO,” Rajcic says.

“What I remember the most is that we were like one; very tired but boosted by motivation, togetherness, and the will to write history. We showed that the success at the Olympics wasn’t a coincidence, we showed Montenegro are a handball force.”

Rajcic won the EHF Champions League for a second time with Buducnost in 2015 before spending three seasons (“a beautiful time”) at Metz Handball in France.

“But what happened in 2012 is something you live for, success everyone will talk about and a guide for younger generations to aim high,” she says.

Her journey has also brought her to Turkey (Kastamonu Belediyesi GSK) and, since last summer, to Hungary (Siófok KC), as her career that included the EHF EURO gold medal at age 19 is still going strong.

Even though Montenegro has not been on the podium of a major event since, expectations will always be high – and 2022 is no difference.

Montenegro have undergone several changes, welcomed a new head coach, and are working towards a new team for the future with a mixture of experience and talent.

“There are always high expectations. We have it for ourselves, too, because at the moment we put on the national team jersey, we expect to give our maximum for the country,” Rajcic says.

“However, sometimes the public can be unrealistic. We are a small country, have only one strong club, Buducnost, and we are still among the top ten national teams in Europe, not missing one major tournament.”

With young talents struggling to further develop in the domestic league, it took time for them to get to a higher level.

“I think we can finally start our journey back to the top. I honestly think we have good grounds to believe in ourselves,” Rajcic says.

Montenegro will face Spain, Germany, and Poland, respectively, to try to earn a place in the main round in Skopje.

A tough challenge, and that is why having strong support from the stands means a lot to the team.

“We have a challenging group ahead of us which requires good mental preparation. We will be playing in front of our fans and I believe they will be our strength in crucial matches,” Rajcic says.

“Fans will be an additional motivation for us in all three matches. I hope we will make people happy and play on courts in Podgorica, Skopje and Ljubljana… I don't want to put unnecessary pressure, but I just love years that end on a 2,” says Rajcic with a smile on her face.

Much more experienced now, how does Rajcic look back at her younger self 10 years ago?

“'I have to say I was very young but at the same time very brave. It wasn’t easy to be part of such an amazing team; I was still inexperienced but grew with the team,” she says.

The experience from 2012 has had a big influence on her career. She lifted the EHF Champions League again with Buducnost, won three French league and two cup titles with Metz, returned to Buducnost and become a mother, but went on in Turkey and, now, Hungary.

“When I meet with my friends from the golden generation, it feels like we have an anniversary prom night,” Rajcic says.

“Reliving memories, asking questions, talking a lot… but sometimes it is enough just to like into the eyes, and we know what we are thinking about, just like in 2012.”

photos © Jozo Cabraja & Uros Hocevar / kolektif