Pletikosic: “Buducnost have great energy and fighting spirit”

Buducnost failed to qualify for the play-offs last season, ending the group phase in seventh place. Determined to get back on track and progress further this season, Buducnost continued to build on the same team – with two important signings: Milena Raicevic and Adriana Cardoso.

After eight rounds of the top-tier competition, the results are here.

The Montenegrin club have four wins, three defeats and one draw so far, earning them nine points and fifth place in group B; and they will enter the new year on that fifth position regardless the results this weekend.

While the defeats came against the group favourites like Team Esbjerg, Metz Handball, and Györ, Buducnost put on their best performances against the other opponents in the group.

One of the best individuals in Buducnost’s squad is centre back Matea Pletikosic, the team’s second-best top scorer with 37 goals.

Pletikosic reveals it all started with the 13-goal win over Kastamonu Belediyesi GSK at the start of the season.

“Our main goal in the first part of the season was to win as many matches as we can against clubs who are not clear favourites – and we have done that so far,” Pletikosic says.

“We won against Kastamonu and surprised everyone with the goal difference, against Lokomotiva, and two times against Storhamar. We trained well during the whole preparation period and even beat Krim, which gave us an additional boost.”

Buducnost rely on domestic players led by former international and national team coach Bojana Popovic. The team is a good mixture of experience and youth, playing better with each game. The progress of Buducnost started in the 2021/22 season and has transferred into the new season.

“It is very important for us to get new experiences. Even last season, when we did not qualify for the play-offs, meant a lot to us: to get a chance to play EHF Champions League against top teams, and to build the team,” Pletikosic says.

“With the return of Milena Raicevic and the arrival of Adriana Cardoso, it is obvious we have more experience and we are playing even better than last season.”

While Buducnost are on course for a ticket to the knockout phase, the team should have gained some more points, but failed to do because of too many mistakes in the attack, not surprising for a growing team.

“Our technical errors and missed shots were in the way of better results, especially in those defeats and the draw against Rapid Bucuresti. We had a win in our hands against a great team that recently beat Györ, but we made a couple of mistakes, which left us with a draw. Still, we had a good feeling after those matches and we believed we were good,” Pletikosic says.

The MOTW on Saturday (live on EHFTV at 18:00 CET) features two teams with a rich history in the competition and a fierce rivalry against each other.

Buducnost and Györ are going to meet for the 27^th time since their first encounter 16 years ago.

“Györ will come to Podgorica with a great desire to get back to winning ways and they will have only that in focus,” Pletikosic says.

“They have been defeated by Rapid Bucuresti and by FTC in the domestic championship, and they will try to redeem themselves against us. We have full respect towards them and the star players in the team, but we need to trust in ourselves.”

Györ clearly won the reverse fixture in Hungary: 32:19, the biggest winning margin in any of the 26 duels the team have played against each other.

“Of course, Györ are always a favourite, they are the team with amazing players, almost two stars in each position. However, I believe it would not have been such a wide gap if we had not made so many reckless mistakes. It is something we are working on and I hope this match will be completely different.”

Pletikosic is not only the team’s second-best scorer, she is also a leader in the EFH Champions League with 51 assists. Her effort on the court is recognisable, often crucial in creating a chance, but Pletikosic is aware of Györ's strengths and their role of favourites in the upcoming match.

“With patience and long attacks, with fewer technical errors and aggressive defence, we can play against everyone, not just them,” Pletikosic says.

“Györ’s main strength is their easy goals from transition and counter attacks. Maybe they don’t have that sturdy defence and that could be our chance, but we have to be careful of their two very good goalkeepers.”

Buducnost are still living on the confidence earned at the Women’s EHF EURO 2022, where Montenegro defeated France in the bronze medal match. Matea Pletikosic and nine Buducnost teammates as well as head coach Bojana Popovic were part of the success.

“Everyone was amazed by our energy. Maybe we were not a better team than France, but we had that specific team spirit which led us all the way at the EHF EURO,” Pletikosic says.

“That is something we transfer from and to Buducnost. You know, maybe we don’t have star players in the team like Györ and Esbjerg, but we are compensating it with our togetherness and fighting spirit, and I believe it stands out.”