FORMER TEAMMATES JOIN FORCES IN DEVELOPING THE LATEST GENERATION OF THE WORLD’S FINEST WATER POLO PLAYERS
Predrag Mihailovic has come to an agreement with Dejan Savic and the Serbian National Water Polo Federation and will be joining the National Team as soon as December this year.
In July, Predrag refused the offer from the Turkish water polo club Galatasaray, due to his commitments to Australian Water Polo. Turkish team has gone above and beyond in an attempt to recruit the coach that has brought glory to the club in the past, with 7 consecutive titles and unprecedented success in the European competitions. However, Predrag’s loyalty and determination to Australian Waterpolo will appear to be a costly mistake as a sudden change has left the coach stripped of his dreams to have an Olympic podium finish with the Stingers.
During his short stay with Stingers, Predrag has managed to bring Australia back on the map, with the Silver Medal at World League Intercontinental Cup and Bronze medal at FINA World Championship in Gwangju, which was the first one for Australia since 2013. The team also managed to end USA’s impressive winning streak at Brisbane during Test Series and at Tokyo, they finished at respectable 5th, which is more than one could hope, given the team was not able to play an official game in over 16 months.
Whilst Predrag’s efforts and achievements might not have been enough for the WPA who is run by a CEO with past experience in cricket and netball, one of the world’s best Water Polo nations saw this as an excellent opportunity, to cash in on the Australian debacle.
Dejan and Predrag will face a massive task. With the retirement of the magnificent 7 and a large generational gap, they will have to work hard to produce the new generation of the world’s most elite water polo players. Predrag, who generally refuses to provide any comments to the media simply added. “It will be an absolute honour to join the Serbian National Water Polo team. Dejan and I had a dream when we were younger that one day we will coach together, and it is surreal that this dream will come true. Being part of the Serbian National Team also comes with great responsibility. The Nation expects constant results. Our job is to rebuild the team after the departure of our older and experienced players and create a strong foundation for Paris and beyond”
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