Dejan Savic : « I haven’t signed any contract with Red Star because I want to work for pleasure »

Interview with Dejan Savic

réalized by France Water-polo

You have almost won everything as a coach (Champions league with Red Star, and European Champion, World Champion, Olympic Champion and winner of the World League with the national team). What motivates you to continue this profession ?

Considering myself a great sportsman and professional coach at the same time includes the attitude that I don’t need motivation but goal.

You have been considered as the best coach in the world on several occasions. Who or what you are inspired to become the coach you are today ?

I think that I’m not the best coach of the world because that is just one consequence of the results that my team do. The big inspiration of my work are my players themselves and each one of those players with whom I used to play in the past.

After being European Champion, World Champion, winner of the World League, and Olympic Champion, Serbia has finally lost a title at the last World Championships at Budapest. Is it the end of an era ?

After the Olympic Games in Rio 2016, we closed on the best way one circle. So, this year, 2017, we have started new olympic circle still Tokio 2020 with one aim of wining gold medal and each competition until then will be just one more step to win the Games one more time.

How do you explain that in the national team Serbia dominates the world of water polo, when the clubs no longer shines in the cup of Europe ?

Until 2014 Serbia had three extremely strong teams : Radnicki (Kragujevac), Partizan and Red Star. We didn’t use that much posibilities of final scores of those teams to continue the high level because of the fact that many great players went to different foreign clubs and the selection of Serbia is the only organization that still mantains the sport of waterpolo in our country.

You have just signed a coaching contract with Red Star. What are the objectives of the club ?

Are you going to continue the national team in parallel ?

Yes I am.

Since the participation in the last Olympics, many French players have gone to the biggest European clubs (Romain Blary to BPM, Mehdi Marzouki to Kazan, Rémi Saudadier to the Spandau, Ugo Crousillat to Szolnok). The latest, Guillaume Dino, has just signed a contract with Radnicky in Serbia. What do you think about France ?

France has a potential. Especially now knowing that Olympic games, 2024 will celebrate in Paris so you have time to make a strategy and prepare your team to enter into the battle for one of medals.

We usually finish our interviews with the silly question : Is there a French player you would like to naturalize to play for Serbian national team?

I allways give the advantage to Serbian players. There is one simply reason: they must be inside of the sistem at least eight years.