The Serbian national water polo team was unexpectedly left without a coach on Monday, and without its best players on Thursday. All this because of the new president of the Water Polo Federation of Serbia, the man Aleksandar Šapić, Slobodan Sora.
Quietly, just as he came in October 2022, Uroš Stevanović left the helm of the Serbian water polo team. The strategist from Kragujevac Radnički, which is probably the biggest problem, took over the national team after the departure of trophy coach Dejan Savić.
At the moment when it was the most difficult, Stevanović's decision to accept a responsible job was very brave. It was expected that Stevanović would have a calmer period of preparation for the Olympic Games, but the change of leadership in the Water Polo Federation of Serbia wanted otherwise.
It is important to note that the only consultant of Slobodan Sor in the Supreme Court will be Aleksandar Šapić. There is no dilemma, that's how it is in New Belgrade, and that's how it is now.
Before this engagement, Soro worked as the director and president of the Water Polo Club Novi Beograd, so he obviously has emotions related to that organization, and now it bothers him that Stevanović is the coach of Radnicki.
"The selector will not be able to be a coach in the home club. We have had these overlaps for a long time since Nenad Manojlović in Niš, Dejan Udovići in Partizan, Dejan Savić in Zvezda, Petr Porobić in Jadran and now Uroš Stevanović in Radničko. It is not fair to our sport," said Soro.
Novi Beograd v. Radnicki
"In the last few days, we have all witnessed the public appearances of the new president of the HSC, which are completely contrary to my views, as well as the feeling of the entire nation for the Olympic and European champions," pointed out the now former coach Stevanović.
However, after everything seen and said, it is clear that this is only the result of Stevanović's bad relations with people from VK Novi Beograd. Until recently, Slobodan Soro was precisely one of the key people of the club behind which Aleksandar Šapić stands.
If we leave aside the sports rivalry between Radnicki and Novi Belgrade, the best teams in Serbia in the past few years, what remains are the relations that VSC with Stevanović as a selector had with Novi Belgrade.
In March 2023, Stevanović openly opposed the decision of New Belgrade not to allow the roving Nikola Jakšić to go to the preparations of the national team ahead of the World Cup qualifiers, and there was a serious disruption of the relationship between the two parties.
Photo: Tanjug/Amir HamzagićSerbian water polo players, champions of Europe in 2026
At the end of the same month, Novi Beograd suspended Dušan Mandić, so the best water polo player in the world unprepared also missed the World Championship in Fukuoka in July 2023.
In that competition, the best player was Nikola Jakšić, who had previously, unexpectedly, received from Novi Belgrade the opportunity to find a new club with a large compensation or to sit in the stands otherwise. As Jakša excelled in Fukuoka, he stayed at the club for another year and then went to Radnički. In New Belgrade, Šapić, Soro and Živko Gocić asked about everything.
Stevanović understood the message. He did not want to make a scene and said a dignified farewell to the bench of the national team. He eased the pain for himself and the leadership after the opening words of the newly elected president.
What the coming days will bring remains to be seen. But even though no one from the world of sports wants that, SNS will also wonder because everything happens around their people.
Serbian water polo players: We will not play for the national team
Alliance: Not all players are current
The Water Polo Federation of Serbia addressed the public today (May 8) with a statement on its official website, in response to the players' letter.
The Supreme Court notes that 'only' four players whose signatures are on the announcement are actually current in the national team, while seven were out of the national team's last competition under the command of Stevanović.
"We considered that the public is obliged to be informed and that, if it is already insisted that the players are national team members, which certainly they all were in different periods of their careers, then it should be precisely stated who are current and who are former national team members," points out the Supreme Court of Justice.
However, the Supreme Court does not deny the large participation of politics in the whole situation, but is convinced that it is external factors that 'push' their political goals into this sport.
"We are a sports, not a political organization, and whoever of the current or former water polo players, coaches or members of the Association wants to engage in politics, has the full right to do so, but what he does not have the right to do is to use his sports, current or former position for these purposes. It is an obvious desire and it is completely clear that someone is trying to achieve their political goals through water polo, and this confirms the way in which a significant part of the political public is turned on like a button. The Water Polo Association does not want to participate in that." it is stated in the announcement.
No comment
After all the events in the Serbian national team, the new president of the Supreme Court, Slobodan Soro, spoke about the whole situation, very briefly.
"I will not comment for now," Soro said briefly to the "Telegraph".
After the statements by which Soro directly tried to discredit and disparage all the successes of the past few years, the water polo players themselves, 11 of them to be exact, spoke out about what "Time" has already written.
Someone still stayed.
Eleven water polo players signed a statement in which they explain clearly and in detail why they are leaving the pool of the national team as long as Soro is at the top of the HSC.
However, the national team members who are currently water polo players from New Belgrade seem to have no problem with the fact that Slobodan Soro is the new president of the Water Polo Association of Serbia.
The question immediately arose as to who are the four water polo players whose signatures are missing from the announcement. They are Miloš Ćuk, Milan Glušac, Vasilije Martinović and Nikola Lukić, and all four of them have in common that they perform under the cap of New Belgrade.
Support from all sides
The students in the blockade of the Faculty of Medicine in Novi Sad spoke about the decision of the Serbian water polo players to withdraw from the national team as long as Slobodan Soro is at the head of the Association.
Students shared a photo of the water polo player's statement with one sentence.
"Golden water polo players with an unbreakable backbone," the students wrote.
Photo: AP Photo/Luca BrunoThe water polo players of Serbia throw coach Uroš Stevanović into the pool after the final of the Olympic Games.
In addition to students and fans, support, in the form of posts and likes, also came from numerous athletes. Damir Mikec, Vladimir Štimac, Bogdan Bogdanović, Nikola Jović, Tijana Bošković and Milena Rašić are just some of the names.
Branko Lazić, a former basketball player and captain of Crvena zvezda, shared their post with an emoticon telling them to have a face.
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