and, more importantly, managed to pre- serve the cult of the national team. Savić’s “dolphins” are a family in their own right. There are no quarrels among them and no vanity. These guys, despite being the top stars of their clubs, have subordinate their egos to the team. - This national team has preserved its cult thanks to the fact that the rules are known and respected. It’s great to be a cap- tain of guys who know how to play and know what they want, and who are mo- tivated and hungry to prove themselves. When asked to reveal the secret of the success of the Serbian water polo team, Fil- ipović laughs... - A secret certainly exists, but I can- not reveal it to you because we don’t even know it ourselves. Dejan Savić could tell you about how one becomes a champi- on, how champions are led and how this entire system that we’ve passed through since we were little functions, at least when it comes to training, discipline and matur- ing. I know it’s not clear to anyone how we manage to repeat all our magnificent suc- cesses, but I really don’t consider that there’s any miracle there. Filipović plays for Italian club Pro Recco,
in one of the world’s most beautiful coun- tries. Still, he claims that Serbia is equally rich in terms of natural beauty. - Belgrade can be described in one sen- tence: “Come and feel!” Not for foreigners to come and see, because there are plen- ty of things they don’t need to see, but to come and feel Belgrade. I don’t recall any tourist coming to Belgrade and remaining indifferent. Everyone very happily returns there, because of the rhythm in which Bel- grade lives, but our beauty spreads across the entire country and is not just confined to the capital. Hospitality can be felt at every step, gastronomy in every bite... I think we should all work together as ambassadors of our country to send beautiful images from here to the world. His favourite European city is Barcelona, while elsewhere in world it’s Sydney. He has special memories from Rio, because it was there that the team managed to win Olym- pic gold. He notes that water polo players love the sea and spend their flight time read- ing books or watching films and TV series. - I think we all love to swim in the sea. Water can never become boring. It has en- tered our DNA and become part of us. Af- ter our careers, we will probably make a
break when it comes to the pool, but wa- ter is an integral part of life. I read books in order to better understand other peo- ple and myself. I don’t like to recommend them, because everyone has different tastes. I watch films and series to cheer me up, and I seek lessons in people and books. My role model is Veljko Uskoković, and my motto is “don’t give up!” When it comes to people, Filipović values sincerity the most, and trusts on- ly his family. Fears are also an integral part of his life. - Everyone has some sort of fear, but the problem is that they send you back- wards and don’t give you the opportuni- ty to move ahead. I had a fear of failure, but I haven’t had that in the past five years. He concludes by revealing that he still has unfulfilled desires, even though he’s suc- ceeded in winning everything. - We wouldn’t be here today if there were no motivation and desire. There was a period of about a month or two after the Olympic Games in Rio when we had diffi- culty finding motivation. But I decided that I wanted and would try to push through an- other Olympic cycle with these guys, and I didn’t regret that decision.
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