He crafted the most remarkable Olympic narrative for Montenegro in London, and now, twelve years later, he has a new aspiration—to rewrite history alongside Slovenia.

The renowned Montenegrin coach Dragan Adžić aims to achieve what has never been accomplished before: leading Slovenian handball players to their first Olympic Games.

By fate or coincidence, Slovenia will face their familiar opponents, Montenegro, in the quest for Olympic qualification.

“I am confident that my players will be prepared to confront top teams such as Montenegro and Germany,” Adžić stated, as per RTV Slovenia.

The qualifications for Paris kick off on April 11, featuring Montenegro, Slovenia, Germany, and the underdog Paraguay—only the top two teams will secure Olympic spots.

“Despite the strength of these teams, I believe we can triumph over Montenegro and Germany,” Adžić added.

Slovenia now stands as a much stronger squad under his guidance, as evidenced by their eighth-place finish at the 2022 European Championship—their highest ranking ever—and an eleventh-place finish in the recent World Cup.

“The World Championship highlighted the increasing motivation and competitiveness among the players. We’ve done enough to qualify, but now we are a formidable team ready to represent Slovenia with pride in the Olympic battles,” Adžić concluded.

Before the pre-Olympic tournament, Slovenia, like Montenegro, will engage in EHF Euro qualifiers against Latvia and Italy. Adžić has prepared two distinct rosters—one featuring younger players for the Baltic trip and another aimed at Olympic qualification.

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