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Montenegro women's national handball team

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Montenegro
Shirt badge/Association crest
Information
NicknameZlatne lavice (Golden lionesses)
AssociationHandball Federation of Montenegro
CoachSuzana Lazović
Assistant coachIgor Marković
CaptainMilena Raičević
Most capsJovanka Radičević (192)
Most goalsJovanka Radičević (1103)
Colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
1st
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
2nd
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
3rd
Results
Summer Olympics
Appearances3 (First in 2012)
Best result2nd (2012)
World Championship
Appearances7 (First in 2011)
Best result5th (2019)
European Championship
Appearances7 (First in 2010)
Best result1st (2012)
Last updated on Unknown.
Montenegro women's national handball team
Medal record
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2012 London Team
European Championship
Gold medal – first place 2012 Serbia
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Slovenia/North Macedonia/Montenegro
Mediterranean Games
Silver medal – second place 2018 Tarragona Team
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Pescara Team

The Montenegro women's national handball team is the national team of Montenegro. It is governed by the Handball Federation of Montenegro and takes part in international handball competitions.

History

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Main article: List of official matches of the Montenegro women's handball team

Montenegro's women's national handball team was formed in 2006, shortly after Montenegro gained independence. It was founded upon ŽRK Budućnost Podgorica, a club with numerous European trophies, which produced many famous Montenegrin players.

2006–2011

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Montenegro has been playing in official competitions since 2006.[1] They played for the first time during the qualifying tournament for the 2007 World Women's Handball Championship in Cheb, where they finished second with four wins and one defeat. A year later, Montenegro did not qualify for the 2008 European Women's Handball Championship after a defeat in the playoffs against Croatia. The same result occurred at qualifiers for the 2009 World Women's Handball Championship in China, as Montenegro lost to Sweden in the playoffs.

Montenegro's first significant success came in 2010. After passing the qualifiers without any defeats, the team participated in the 2010 European Women's Handball Championship in Denmark and Norway. Montenegro finished in sixth place, with 46 goals from Montenegro's Bojana Popović.

For the first time, Montenegro played at the IHF World Women's Handball Championship in 2011. After passing the group stage, Montenegro was eliminated by Spain in the round of 16.

Olympic silver and European gold (2012)

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On 11 August 2012, Montenegro won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. On 16 December 2012, they became champions at the 2012 European Women's Handball Championship in Belgrade.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Montenegro passed the group round with two defeats but won elimination matches against France and Spain. In the final match, Montenegro was defeated by Norway 23–26. With their second place title, Montenegro won the first Olympic medal for Montenegro since their country became independent. Bojana Popović and Katarina Bulatović were prominent players on the team during this tournament.

At the 2012 European Women's Handball Championship in Serbia, Montenegro won its first title at a major handball championship. In the semi-finals, Montenegro defeated Serbia 27–26. In the finals, Montenegro defeated Norway 34–31, winning the championship. The players Katarina Bulatović and Jovanka Radičević played significant roles in the team's victory. With 56 goals, Bulatović was the top scorer of the championship.

Montenegro won both medals, in London and in Belgrade, with head coach Dragan Adžić.

2013–present

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After two successes in 2012, Montenegro was eliminated by Denmark in the round of 16 at the 2013 World Women's Handball Championship.

Montenegro did well in the 2014 European Women's Handball Championship. After making it to the semi-finals, the team was defeated by Spain. In the end, Montenegro finished in fourth place.

Montenegro made significant strides in the 2015 World Women's Handball Championship. After a notable win against Hungary 32–15, Montenegro eliminated Angola in the round of 16. However, in the quarterfinals, Norway defeated Montenegro 26–25. That was the first performance of Montenegro in the quarterfinals of a World Women's Handball Championship.

At their second appearance in the Summer Olympics, Montenegro did not perform as well, in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. With five defeats during the group stage, Montenegro finished in nearly last place.

After the Olympics, Montenegro made big changes to the team and recruited many new young players produced by ŽRK Budućnost. The first main competition for the newly formed team was at the 2016 European Women's Handball Championship, where Montenegro had the youngest team. With one win and two defeats, the team finished in 13th place.

In November 2017, The Handball Federation of Montenegro stated that the new head coach of the national team would be Per Johansson instead of Dragan Adžić, who had served the team for seven years. As a coach, Adžić led Montenegro to nine big international competitions, winning gold during the 2012 European Championship and silver during the Summer Olympics the same year.

With a new head coach, Montenegro finished sixth in the 2017 World Women's Handball Championship, with equal wins and losses, 3–1–3. The next year, they played at the 2018 European Women's Handball Championship in France but did not succeed. After six games, Montenegro finished the tournament in ninth place.

Competitive record

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The Montenegrin national team has participated in many international competitions, including the Summer Olympics, World Championship and European Championship.

Tournament Matches Wins Draws Loss
Olympic Games 19 6 1 12
World Championship 52 28 2 22
European Championship 46 27 1 18
Qualifying matches EC/WC/OG 70 56 5 9
OVERALL 187 117 9 61

Olympic Games

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Montenegro has participated in three Summer Olympics (2012, 2016 and 2020). In 2012, the women's handball team won the first Olympic medal for Montenegro since their independence.

Olympic Games Qualification
Year Pos. Pld W D L Pld W D L
China 2008 Did not qualify Did not qualify
United Kingdom 2012 2nd 8 4 1 3 3 3 0 0
Brazil 2016 11th 5 0 0 5 3 2 1 0
Japan 2020 6th 6 2 0 4 2 1 0 1
France 2024 Did not qualify 3 1 0 2
Total 19 6 1 12 9 7 1 3

World Championship

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Montenegro has participated in six World Championships. After failing to qualify for championships 2007 and 2009, they have participated in seven consecutive tournaments. The best results Montenegro had were in 2015 and 2017, when they played in the quarterfinals.

World Championship Qualification
Year Pos. Pld W D L Pld W D L
France 2007 did not qualify 5 4 0 1
China 2009 7 5 1 1
Brazil 2011 10th 6 3 0 3 2 2 0 0
Serbia 2013 11th 6 4 0 2 DNP
Denmark 2015 8th 9 5 1 3 2 1 1 0
Germany 2017 6th 7 3 1 3 2 1 0 1
Japan 2019 5th 9 7 0 2 2 1 0 1
Spain 2021 22nd 6 1 0 5 2 2 0 0
Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023 7th 9 5 0 4 DNP
Germany/Netherlands 2025 to be determined TBD
Hungary 2027
Spain 2029
Czech Republic/Poland 2031
Total 46 27 2 17 22 16 2 4

European Championship

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Montenegro has participated in seven European Championships. After having failed to qualify for the European Championship 2008, they have participated in all subsequent tournaments. Montenegro was the European champion in 2012, the bronze medalist in 2022 when was a co-host along with Slovenia and North Macedonia, and a semi-finalist in 2014.

European Championship Qualification
Year Pos. Pld W D L Pld W D L
North Macedonia 2008 did not qualify 6 4 0 2
Denmark Norway 2010 6th 7 4 0 3 6 5 1 0
Serbia 2012 1st 8 7 0 1 6 5 0 1
Croatia Hungary 2014 4th 8 5 0 3 6 5 1 0
Sweden 2016 13th 3 1 0 2 6 5 0 1
France 2018 9th 6 3 0 3 6 6 0 0
Denmark/Norway 2020 8th 6 2 1 3 Cancelled
Slovenia/North Macedonia/Montenegro 2022 3rd 8 5 0 3 Qualified as co-host
Austria/Hungary/Switzerland 2024 Qualified 6 6 0 0
Czech Republic/Poland/Romania/Slovakia/Turkey 2026 TBD TBD
Norway/Denmark/Sweden 2028
Total 46 27 1 18 36 30 2 4

Team

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Current squad

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Roster for the 2023 World Women's Handball Championship.[2][3]

Head coach: Bojana Popović

No. Pos. Name Date of birth (age) Height App. Goals Club
1 GK Marina Rajčić (1993-08-24) 24 August 1993 (age 31) 1.78 m 162 4 Romania CS Măgura Cisnădie
2 RW Anastasija Marsenić (2004-02-24) 24 February 2004 (age 20) 1.72 m 13 24 Montenegro ŽRK Budućnost
10 CB Matea Pletikosić (1998-04-24) 24 April 1998 (age 26) 1.68 m 54 92 Romania CSM Corona Brașov
11 P Ivana Godeč (2001-05-11) 11 May 2001 (age 23) 1.77 m 24 22 Montenegro ŽRK Budućnost
12 GK Armelle Attingré (1989-01-15) 15 January 1989 (age 35) 1.74 m 7 0 Montenegro ŽRK Budućnost
13 LW Dijana Mugoša (1995-10-22) 22 October 1995 (age 29) 1.69 m 59 121 Romania SCM Craiova
15 RB Jelena Vukčević (2004-12-11) 11 December 2004 (age 19) 1.78 m 3 2 Montenegro ŽRK Budućnost
21 LB Nada Ćorović (2000-12-16) 16 December 2000 (age 23) 1.84 m 14 4 France ESBF Besançon
22 LB Andrijana Popović (2002-04-20) 20 April 2002 (age 22) 1.85 m 25 3 Montenegro ŽRK Budućnost
24 RB Tanja Ivanović (1996-11-05) 5 November 1996 (age 28) 1.82 m 24 25 Montenegro ŽRK Budućnost
25 RB Đurđina Malović (1996-05-05) 5 May 1996 (age 28) 1.82 m 51 69 Romania SCM Craiova
26 CB Nataša Ćorović (1999-05-07) 7 May 1999 (age 25) 1.70 m 28 7 Germany BSV Sachsen Zwickau
33 GK Anastasija Babović (2000-12-13) 13 December 2000 (age 23) 1.82 m 25 1 Montenegro ŽRK Budućnost
34 P Tatjana Brnović (1998-11-09) 9 November 1998 (age 26) 1.84 m 76 198 Slovenia RK Krim
37 RW Nina Bulatović (1996-12-09) 9 December 1996 (age 27) 1.72 m 31 40 Romania CS Gloria Bistrița-Năsăud
43 GK Marta Batinović (1990-04-20) 20 April 1990 (age 34) 1.84 m 39 1 Romania CS Măgura Cisnădie
71 P Bobana Klikovac (1995-07-19) 19 July 1995 (age 29) 1.81 m 49 42 Romania CSM Corona Brașov
80 LB Jelena Despotović (1994-04-30) 30 April 1994 (age 30) 1.83 m 112 178 Montenegro ŽRK Budućnost
91 LW Ivona Pavićević (1996-04-21) 21 April 1996 (age 28) 1.67 m 84 117 Montenegro ŽRK Budućnost
96 CB Itana Grbić (1996-09-01) 1 September 1996 (age 28) 1.69 m 103 229 Slovenia RK Krim

Current staff

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  • Montenegro Head Coach: Suzana Lazović
  • Montenegro Assistant Coach: Maja Savić
  • Montenegro Fitness Coach:
  • Montenegro Goalkeeping Coach: Mirjana Milenković
  • Montenegro Physiotherapist: Andrija Damjanović
  • Montenegro Physiotherapist: Mitar Vujović
  • Montenegro Physiotherapist: Anđelka Lekić
  • Montenegro Head of Delegation: Arijan Efović

Head coaches

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Since independence, Montenegro has been led by six different coaches. During the first years, the head coach was Nikola Petrović. After Petrović, Montenegro was led by Gyula Zsiga and then by Dragan Adžić, who was the most successful head coach.

Coach From To Record* Championship
M W D L Win %
Montenegro Nikola Petrović 2006 2008 11 8 0 3 072.73 None
Hungary Gyula Zsiga 2008 2010 13 10 2 1 076.92 None
Montenegro Dragan Adžić 2010 2017 92 59 5 28 064.13 EC 2010 (6th); WC 2011 (10th); OG 2012 (2nd); EC 2012 (1st); WC 2013 (11th); EC 2014 (4th); WC 2015 (8th); OG 2016 (11th); EC 2016 (13th)
Sweden Per Johansson 2017 2020 30 21 1 8 070.00 WC 2017 (6th); EC 2018 (9th); WC 2019 (5th)
Denmark Kim Rasmussen 2020 2021 8 3 2 3 037.50 EC 2020 (8th)
Montenegro Bojana Popović 2021 2024 31 15 0 16 048.39 OG 2020 (6th); WC 2021 (22nd), EC 2022 (3rd), WC 2023 (7th),
Montenegro Suzana Lazović 2024

* Data are only for official matches (qualifiers, European Championship, World Championship, Olympic Games).

Notable former players

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Record against opponents

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Main article: List of official matches of the Montenegro women's handball team

Since independence, Montenegro played official games against 41 different teams. The only national team against which Montenegro has never played is Brazil. Below is the list of the performances of Montenegro national handball team against every single opponent.

Opponents' country G W D L
 Angola
6
5
0
1
 Azerbaijan
2
2
0
0
 Belarus
4
3
0
1
 Bosnia and Herzegovina
1
1
0
0
 Brazil
3
0
1
2
 Bulgaria
3
3
0
0
 Cameroon
1
1
0
0
 China
1
1
0
0
 Croatia
7
2
0
5
 Czech Republic
9
7
0
2
 Denmark
11
4
0
7
 Dominican Republic
1
1
0
0
 DR Congo
1
1
0
0
 Finland
1
1
0
0
 France
12
3
0
9
 Germany
4
3
0
1
 Greece
1
1
0
0
 Great Britain
3
3
0
0
 Hungary
5
4
0
1
 Iceland
5
3
1
1
 Italy
4
4
0
0
 Japan
5
3
0
2
 Kazakhstan
1
1
0
0
 Lithuania
1
1
0
0
 Netherlands
5
2
0
3
 North Macedonia
2
2
0
0
 Norway
7
2
0
5
 Paraguay
1
1
0
0
 Poland
10
9
0
1
 Portugal
3
2
1
0
 Romania
7
3
1
3
 Russia
13
4
2
7
 Senegal
2
2
0
0
 Serbia
7
5
1
1
 South Korea
2
2
0
0
 Slovakia
6
5
0
1
 Slovenia
6
5
0
1
 Spain
9
4
1
4
 Sweden
8
4
1
3
  Switzerland
1
1
0
0
 Tunisia
2
2
0
0
 Turkey
2
2
0
0
 Uruguay
1
1
0
0
OVERALL
187
117
9
61

As of February 2024

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "RUKOMETNI SAVEZ CRNE GORE (MNE) - Handball Montenegro | EHF".
  2. ^ ""Lavice" počinju pripreme za Svjetsko prvenstvo, na spisku 19 igračica". rscg.me (in Montenegrin). 19 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Team roster: Montenegro" (PDF). ihf.info. 29 November 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
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