"Everything in my career happened so fast"

"Everything in my career happened so fast"

One of the handball youngsters who is capable of extending the long tradition of amazing shooters from the Balkan region is Montenegrin left back Vuko Borozan.

The 21-year-old left back takes to the court for TuS N-Lübbecke, but what took him there in the early days of December 2014 is a journey that started in the small team of HRK Karlovac in Croatia, temporarily stopped at HC Metalurg in FYR Macedonia and eventually led him to the German Bundesliga.

"First of all I want to say that nothing would have happened without my grandfather Nikola who took me to the first handball session at Cepelin handball school in Cetinje," says Borozan.

"Everything in my career happened so fast. I went to the EHF EURO 2014 with Montenegro as a player of HRK Karlovac.

"Only a month later I signed with HC Metalurg. It was an ideal situation for me. I had good coaches; I was feeling like at home without language barriers with my old roommate from Karlovac, Luka Cindric.

"We won the championship in Macedonia, it was a great experience to be a part of that team," says Borozan, who was born and grew up in Cetinje, the native city of PPD Zagreb coach and handball legend Veselin Vujovic.

"Metalurg created a fantastic mix of young and experienced players for this season. My fellow Montenegrin Vladan Lipovina came to Skopje, but also great Serbian talents such as Mijailo Marsenic and Darko Djukic.

"We had a great atmosphere in the team and enjoyed really unbelievable support from the fans, but as people say ‘all nice things pass quickly.’

"The club’s financial problems became obvious, and I still feel sad because of this. Metalurg were a really good team which had built a reputation for itself in European handball in recent years."

Moving time

As many players left the Skopje club, Borozan became a target of many European teams, and eventually he signed a two-and-a-half year contract with German Bundesliga side TuS N-Lübbecke.

"I‘m very happy in Germany and I feel very comfortable at Lübbecke. This is a perfect choice for me. I‘m in the Bundesliga, and it is honest to say that I’m living my dream.

"The only problem is language for now, but the good thing is that I have a few Balkan guys in the squad -Drago Vukovic, Ales Pajovic and Nikola Blazicko - who help me a lot. Of course, I am taking German classes in order to get 100 per cent settled."

The tall back court shooter’s skills literally exploded at the start of the Men’s EHF EURO 2016 Qualification last year when Montenegro beat Iceland 25:24 with Borozan scoring 10 goals.

"Exploded? I don’t know if it’s a good word for the match in Bar. Yes, I played well, but it wasn’t anything special, I can be even better.

"We have a new team which would be even stronger with two, three experienced players in the roster.

"However, players don’t make decisions; we are there to give our best. Everything else is up to the coaching staff.

"We have huge chances to qualify for the final tournament in Poland. That victory against Iceland is a great step forward, but if we want to qualify, two victories against Israel in April would be necessary.

"That won’t be easy, but we have to stay calm and focused until the end of qualification when the crucial encounters against Iceland and Serbia come in June."

Some see a new Nenad Perunicic in Borozan. The young Montenegrin also, like Perunicic, towers at 2,03 metres.

But apart from his height it is also his shooting power that reminds people of one of the greatest shooters in the EHF Champions League.

"Being linked with his name is a big honour for me, but Nenad played in a different handball era. A lot of things have changed since then, and I need to gain much more experience in order to reach that quality level. That is for sure."

The rising handball stars of 2015

Part 1: Niko Mindegia (ESP) / Pick Szeged: "I dream of playing at the next EHF EURO"

Part 2: Kentin Mahé (FRA) / HSV Hamburg: Walking proudly in his father's steps

Part 3: Sander Sagosen (NOR) / Aalborg Handball: "I want to be the best in the world"

Part 4: Nikola Bilyk (AUT) / Fivers WAT Margareten: "Dreaming of becoming handball's Michael Jordan"

Part 5: Michal Szyba (POL) / Gorenje Velenje: A 'watchmaker' on his way to the peak

Part 6: Michal Kasal (CZE) / Futebol Clube do Porto: A new Jicha on the horizon

Part 7: Nikola Portner (SUI) / Kadetten Schaffhausen: A new ambassador for Swiss handball

Part 8: Dario Polman (NED) / Targos Bevo HC: Like brother, like sister

Part 9: Filip Ivic (CRO) / PPD Zagreb: A ‘Zagreb kid’ dreams of winning the EHF Champions League

Part 10: Dejan Malinovic (BIH) / US Creteil: Dejan Malinovic is ready for the big splash

Part 11: Paul Drux (GER) / Füchse Berlin: Drux moves from village to capital, rises from zero to hero