The head coach of the Serbian women’s water polo team, Miloš Bradić, analyzed the recently concluded European Championship in Funchal, where his team took tenth place. Serbia’s goal was to reach the quarterfinals, but they were defeated by Croatia in the decisive match after a poor performance in the second half.
– We finished the competition in 10th place, which represents a continuation of the results from previous cycles, but does not meet the competitive goals we set before the start of the championship – says Miloš Bradić, who took over the national team last year.
Serbia opened the European Championship with a victory against Turkey, followed by an expected defeat against a much better-quality Italy.
– We opened the competition with a match against the Turkish national team, which has been significantly improved this season by the involvement of three Russian players and a Russian coach. Although we had fluctuations in the game, we managed to achieve victory and gain three points. During the championship, it became clear that Turkey is no longer one of the weaker teams, as it was competitive with teams of our rank in most matches. When facing the Italian national team, we had no real chance of an equal duel, but the result of 17:6, in the context of the qualitative difference and the fact that the Italians scored significantly more goals than the other teams in the group, was within expectations.
The most important match followed, against Croatia.
– The match against Croatia was crucial for the final ranking. We played the first two quarters at a high level, with a well-organized defense and a functional offense. In the third quarter, the game dropped, resulting in the loss of that quarter with 3:0. Despite stabilization in the last quarter, poor execution in situations with a larger player made it impossible for us to achieve a positive result. The 10:8 defeat sent us into the play-offs for the 9th to 12th place. – says Bradić and continues:
– In the further course of the competition, with a victory over Slovakia, we took first place in the play-off group, and the match against Germany was extremely demanding and uncertain in terms of result, and with a draw in the regular period, we secured first place in the group.
However, Serbia was defeated in the match for ninth place.
– The Great Britain team, seventh in the previous European Championship and a participant in the World Championship, showed a high level of quality. Although we were defeated, that match was one of our best in the championship in terms of the quality of the game. We had an attack with a player more in the last ten seconds to equalize, but we were unable to realize it. The third quarter proved to be the decisive factor again, which we lost by a minimal score, while the other quarters were tied in terms of scores.
– The overall analysis of the championship shows that the defensive segment of the game functioned to a large extent, while key problems were observed in the attacking organization, especially in the implementation of situations with a player more. Despite the large number of exclusions forced by our centers, we did not have a sufficient number of clearly defined and well-coordinated attacking actions, which directly reflected in the final result. The players showed maximum commitment to their duties and a high level of professionalism throughout the entire preparation period and the championship itself. The goalkeeping line was at a very good level throughout the competition, while the center positions successfully created an advantage in the game, but without adequate implementation in the final moments with a player more.
At the very end, Bradić revealed plans for the coming period:
– In the coming period, a detailed analysis of the performance at the European Championship will follow. A certain number of players have announced the end of their national team careers and the Federation will be officially informed about this after the completion of the conversation with the players themselves. During the summer, the national team program continues through the participation of the junior teams in two world and one European championships. We also expect official confirmation of the participation of the senior national team in the Mediterranean Games. After the analysis of the European Championship is completed, the plan is to start with more frequent gatherings and systematic work on segments of the game that have not reached the required competitive level.
