Winner

DUŠAN MANDIĆ, MEMBER OF THE CHAMPION AND LEADER OF THE NEW GENERATION OF SERBIAN WATER POLO
The Golden Traces Squad
You cannot cheat victory, especially not the one over the greatest rivals. You are either up to it or not. With your character, will, faith, calmness when necessary, explosion when needed. The fact that we had it all that proves that we were a supreme team with a great heart. Traces are deep and we should follow them. It will not be easy for the new generation, it takes patience and courage, a lot to do, but the successors will certainly not bring into question the ranking achieved by the golden boys

By: Dejan Bulajić
Photo: Personal archive and Serbian Water Polo Federation

There is a God!
Where there is heart, courage, sweat and willingness for sacrifice.
There is a God!
Where weakness is not accepted.
There is a God!
Among those who can outgrow themselves.
This is what Serbian water polo players are like. For whatever they are capable of doing, it is not sufficient to be talented, better than others, have a wish… it takes more. It is necessary to have the power to extract wishes from thoughts and turn them into actions.
The golden generation knew how to complete their story at the Tokyo Olympics, a confession of those leaving and promise of those who stay. On their behalf, with an emotion of a calming tempest, Dušan Mandić had the right to cry to God.
– It was a sincere outpour of emotions after the game with Spain. After the drama in the pool, injustice of the referees, efforts to the utmost limits of endurance, feeling we were drowning and returning, I couldn’t believe that we won. Everything seemed lost after the non-existing goal they had been given. It seemed they were so far away and then… As if some new strength entered us, a scream of wish and nonacceptance. I had to say something after the game and I wanted it to be something great, something to describe what we went through. Can you say anything greater than God? Many understood it and I’m glad for it. Those who didn’t… they can think what they want.
Enough time has passed since the triumph. Passions have cooled.
– Passions have cooled, but the feeling of fulfilment with something big and special still lasts and I don’t think it will ever pass. When you decide to enter sports, the Olympic Games are a distant objective and your most daring wish, something incomparable. Only appearing at the Olympics is a great achievement, let alone a medal. The triumph at the Olympics is not just a title, it’s history. It’s a victory carved in time. And we won two successive titles – Rio and Tokyo. Everything is in them, every moment we spent together, encouraging each other, the great atmosphere we created with our coaches and people that accompanied us. We know what we had gone through, how much we invested and what we wanted. That is why this feeling will last long.
Water polo players showed that the heart is actually the pedestal which only the best climb up to.
Each step we take on our road towards triumph is a test to the ultimate limits. You saw the semifinals. I know such a game will not be repeated for a long time in any big competition. You cannot cheat victory, especially not over the greatest rivals – you are either up to it or not. But only provided that everyone in the team is on that level – with their characters, will, calmness when necessary, explosion when needed. The fact that we had it all that proves that we were a supreme team with a great heart.

PRIDE AND OBLIGATION

The way our water polo players are defending the flag of our country is first an impressive humane and then a sports story.
– It is a kind of a cult. Being part of the national team has always been a particular mark. And it has been so for decades. Those who enter the national team know what is awaiting them and what they can hope for – the sacrifice, efforts, dedication, although no one can ever be certain that his place in the team is definite. Many players spend the entire summer at preparations, knowing how difficult it is to enter the first team; still, they are proud of being part of a great story which leaves golden traces. If it weren’t for that, glorious Serbian water polo wouldn’t exist. Many good players and experts are built into every performance of our national team, although you cannot see it from aside. And the only thought for everyone, together with the first team, is not to break the thread of victories. We keep it by by starting all over in every new competition. We can be considered favorites as much as we want and it can be flattering, but if the tempest in the pool is not mixed with the sweat of our bodies, we will become easy pray for those who would gladly see us sunk.
People recognize that, both in Serbia and in Montenegro, in Dušan’s homeland of Boka, where people celebrated as joyful as they did in Serbia.
– They showed it when I was visiting my homeland. They gathered, welcomed me, spontaneously and emotionally. I am very happy because, with our results, we brought joy to many people in Montenegro as well, at least I know it is so in a major part of Boka, and because I contributed to it as well. In these difficult times, when there is too much burden on people, it seems that athletes know how to bring joy. It is nice to know that you contributed to someone’s joy.

GOOD SIGNS FOR THE FUTURE

The triumph in Tokyo is shaded with a particular emotion. It was a farewell from the national team for many players.
– Six of them are ending their national team story in the best possible manner. An athlete could only wish for something like that. The emotion is certainly strong, both among those leaving and among us who are staying. I’ve been with them for ten years. I matured with them, learned lessons about celebrating victories and handling defeats. They helped me develop both as a human and as an athlete. I am grateful to them and proud of everything we did together. They left deep traces and we need to follow them.
The leader of those who will follow those traces will be Dušan.
– We are all aware of the challenge before us. Keeping the level we have been on up to now will be very difficult. It will certainly take time for the new generation to pick it up and patience until things fit into their place. However, although we cannot expect everything at the very beginning, we should not think that successors in the national team will let go of the rating which the golden generation had been gaining for so long. The value of the future team will probably be measured at the next Olympic Games in Paris. There is time and a lot to do by then.
This year, we will watch Dušan again in local club water polo.
– I am returning to our club water polo with great pleasure. We will have a very strong local championship, because ”Partizan”, ”Zvezda”, ”Radnički”, ”Šabac” and my ”Novi Beograd” are much stronger. We will have the opportunity to build our new national team story through our clubs. We will host the Champion League final eight, so many things will be on high level in the season ahead of us. We shouldn’t forget the fact that next year we’ll have the World and European Championship, so I’m certain there will be real water polo treats for all those who love this sport.
He constantly talks and thinks about the future of Serbian water polo.
– If we consider this season, in which, besides us, two younger selections also won golden medals, we have reasons to believe that the future will be bright. It is good it’s so, because our water polo was facing serious temptations for years, due to bad situations in clubs, which actually create national team champions. Now I see they began working seriously with younger categories, with a growing number of talented boys, and that’s great. Already this year they will have the opportunity to play with us, who have been in the national team for a long time, which is the best motivation for them to reach such a level themselves. I believe in the future of Serbian water polo.

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Biography
Dušan Mandić (Kotor, 1994) began playing water polo in ”Primorac” from Kotor and continued in ”Partizan” in 2010. In five years, he was champion of Serbia and winner of the Cup, as well as winner of the Euro League. Since 2015 he continued his career in Italian ”Pro Recco”. He was champion of Italy, Euro League… In June 2021, at the final tournament of the Champions League in Belgrade, he won the title of champion of Europe and was declared best player of the tournament. He moved to ”Novi Beograd” last summer.
Already in 2010, he decided to play for the Serbian national team. To this day, he has played more than 200 matches and scored 289 goals. He won Olympic gold in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, world champion title in Kazan in 2015, European champion title in Budapest 2014, Belgrade 2016, and Barcelona 2018. He won the World League four times: in Chelyabinsk 2013, Dubai 2014, Bergamo 2015 and Belgrade 2019...

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About Courage
– You carry courage inside of you. Boldness is gained with time and experience. In accordance with what they are and what they are growing up to be, one’s character is developed along with the face of courage. Whether it will be virtuous, strengthened by humaneness or something else, depends on our doings or wrongdoings. Fighting for yourself, for your home, country, is an issue in which courage requests the support of honor. Only that way, we can be proud of and remember our victories. Only that way we can confront what is coming.