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Vidi ko je u avionu
/ Look who’s on Board
Z
lato koje su košarkašice Srbije osvojile na
Evropskom prvenstvu u Rumuniji i Mađarskoj,
samo za jednu osobu nije bilo iznenađenje. Ona je
arhitekta tog uspeha koji je zacrtala kada je prihva-
tila mesto selektora reprezentacije Srbije.
Marina Maljković četiri godine vodi ekipu Srbije,
a sa trideset tri godine najmlađi je košarkaški selek-
tor u Evropi. Iako mlada, već ima zavidno iskustvo glavnog trenera
– za dvanaest godina osvajala je brojne titule sa klubovima u Srbiji, a
poslednje dve godine uspešno trenira francuski klub Lion.
Bez njenog liderstva izvesno je da igračice Srbije na terenu ne
bi uspele da izbore zlato. Šarmantna i jednostavna, Marina je žena
koja je ostvarila istorijski uspeh, jer nikada do sada ženska košar-
kaška reprezentacija Srbije, a ni pređašnje Jugoslavije, nije osvojila
najsjajnije odličje na velikim međunarodnim takmičenjima.
– To je rezultat sistematskog zalaganja tokom četiri godine –
ističe Marina Maljković. – Četiri godine paklenog rada. Bio je to
zaista rudarski posao.
e
The gold that Serbia’s
lady basketball players won at
the European Championship
in Romania and Hungary was
a surprise for many, but not for
one person. She is the archi-
tect of that success, which she
planned out when she accepted
the offer to become coach of
Serbia’s national team.
Marina Maljković has been
leading the Serbia team for four
years, and at 33 years old she is
the youngest female basketball
coach in Europe. Although
young, she already has signifi-
cant head coach experience – in
12 years she has won numerous
titles with clubs in Serbia and
France, where she has been
coaching the Lyon team for two
years.
Without her leadership,
there is no doubt that the Ser-
bian players on the court would
not have succeeded in winning
gold. Enticing and uncompli-
cated, Marina is a woman who
has achieved historic success,
because never before has a
women’s basketball team of Ser-
bia, or the previous Yugoslavia,
won gold in any major interna-
tional competitions.
- This is the result of sys-
tematic work over the course
of four years – says Maljković.
– Four years of hellish work. It
was like a mining job.
On route to gold, Serbia’s
players, led by championship
MVP Ana Dabović, left many
basketball powerhouses in their
wake. In the final they over-
came France, having previously
eliminated Turkey and Belarus.
- We are enjoying this
previously unprecedented suc-
cess – says Marina honestly. – I
still think Turkey has a better
team than us, and that France
has better quality in terms of
reference. But the thrill of sport
is that it isn’t only the favou-
rites and the richest who win,
because if that was the case it
would be boring.
During the European Cham-
pionships, the finals of which
were held in the Hungarian
capital of Budapest, Maljković
showed no emotion at any time,
not changing her serious facial
expression. She smiled only
after the triumph.
- Such a great competition
brings with it strong emotions –
reveals Marina. – At that instant,
Rođeni lider, dosledna i autoritativna, postala je košarkaški
trener prvoligaša u dvadeset prvoj godini, selektor
nacionalnog tima sa dvadeset devet, prvak Evrope sa trideset
tri. Četiri godine je od oca, košarkaškog trenera, krila da
se i ona bavi tim napornim, stresnim i, kako sama kaže,
„rudarskim poslom“.
e
A born leader, consistent and authoritative, she became a
topflight basketball coach aged 21, head coach of the national
team at 29, and European champion by the time she was 33.
For four years she hid from her father, also a basketball coach,
that she was doing this difficult, stressful and, as she says
herself, “miner’s job”.