if it is tougher to be an ace in the pool or a maestro who leads his team from the edge of the pool. - The role of coach is tougher. The visual effect from the edge of the pool is totally different to the one you have in the pool. On the other hand, every player who has self-confidence knows what they can and can’t do at every moment. A coach has 13 different people available and should assume that the self-confidence of a play- er fits into the whole in order to achieve the desired goal. Is it sweeter to score a goal to win a title or to “devise” such a play? - I have no dilemma whatsoever: it’s definitely sweeter to score a goal. As someone who is a master of his trade, do you think people are born champions or become them? - Both are justified and true. A cham- pion can be born and can be created, be- cause basically everything originates from families and environments, from coaches and teammates. What would Dejan Savić the coach say to Dejan Savić the player? - Get out and go home. You said that you will no longer be a player since you took the position of national coach? - It’s certainly true that a coach essen- tially shouldn’t think like a player. I placed that completely on the backburner, but that doesn’t mean I don’t apply my play- ing experience when working individual- ly with people during training. What wins medals and titles; besides quality, what is your recipe? - After the Olympic Games in Rio I would single out the psychological aspect and psychological preparation, as well as the atmosphere in the team and the mu- tual respect that must exist. How can you find the right relation- ship with players, for you to be the- ir coach, friend, father and mother when needed? - You haven’t seen me when I’m their enemy. I don’t think I need to explain an- ything. What have you learned from them during all these years? - Interesting question. I learned what unity means, as well as a lot of water polo skills that I thought were impossible to per- form; I learned what it means to be loyal and to develop unbelievable self-control. Do you have a favourite match as a player and as a coach? - As a player I wouldn’t single out any match in particular. As a coach I would first
highlight the quarter-final duel against Montenegro in Barcelona in 2013, be- cause you can learn much more from defeats than from victories. I also can’t overlook the semi-final of the 2014 Eu- ropean Championships, when we first saw that self-control and psychological aspect that would come to characterise the team in later years. You’ve won everything. Where do- es the motivation to continue co- me from? - The work of an athlete, or to deal in sport means being motivated. Our motiva- tion always exists and always will exist, it’s as simple as that. And the goals are clear and directed towards the new Olympic cy- cle, or to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. When, if ever, will you jump into the pool as a coach? - Depends on my mood. You once cited laughter as being yo- ur greatest weapon? - I would absolutely place it on a ped- estal as something that maintains me as a coach, and the players as a team. How would you explain the phe- nomenon of our sporting nation and all the successes of our athle- tes, with the water polo team as the pinnacle? Serbia is a small coun- try, yet it has won so many trop- hies and medals. - I am a“worker” in sport, but I don’t re- ally understand the sphere of the organisa- tion side of sports and everything else. The answer fits in just one word – inexplicable. How much do you follow other sports and coaches, and which one of them do you rate highly in particular? - I like to watch volleyball and basket- ball, and when it comes to coaches I really rate Dejan Radonjić. I have great respect for everything he does and everything he’s managed to achieve with Red Star. What is your message to children who are just starting out with water po- lo and who want to succeed your cu- rrent aces? - They shouldn’t think at all about hav- ing to succeed someone. It is enough for them just to start training and set mini- mum targets that will grow into much big- ger targets as they grow up. Ambition is a virtue, while over-ambition is a vice. After completing your coaching ca- reer, would you consider becoming a chef or a pilot, which you once as- pired to become? - I can no longer stand up in a cock- pit, and I’d rather be a cook’s apprentice than a chef.
Zlatni momci iz Rio de Ženeira spremni za nove olimpijske pobede u Tokiju The golden boys from Rio de Janeiro are ready for new Olympic victories in Tokyo
T he one, the only, the inimitable - Dejan Savić. This is the man who, first with his knowledge, then with his charm, turned Serbia’s water polo players into true champions and better people. Our “dolphins” are the incumbent European, World and Olympic champions, as well as being winners of the World League. They won everything, as they like to say, and led by Savić they wrote themselves into the annals of water polo and established new limits. Ahead of them is another turbulent summer and, we hope, many more victories. In June they will play in the final tournament of the World League in Moscow, while in the second half of July they will be in the pools of Bu- dapest for the World Championships. Sav- ić is ready, the boys are ready, and we’re ready for new medals! With this in mind, we ask Dejan Savić, who himself holds the record for the number of national team appearances, with 444 matches played,
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