By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
In an interview with FIBA, Miroslav Raduljica discussed his return to the Serbian national team for the World Cup Qualifiers and what it’ll mean to him playing in front of thousands of home fans in Belgrade.
He also reveals that even though he was absent in the EuroBasket, he was nervous enough that he couldn’t sleep, the night before the title game.
Can you talk about what it’s like to play for Serbia?
Honestly, for me it’s extremely important, because it represents a chance to do something good on behalf of my nation. And you will agree that it is a very, very huge thing for any individual to have that kind of chance.
You played for Serbia in Belgrade at the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Are you just as pumped up to play at home in the World Cup Qualifiers?
The excitement is always there when we play in front of our fans that really are the best in the world. This time, I’m especially glad that they’ll have the chance to see national team since not all are able to travel when the championship is in some other country. It really is special feeling when the national anthem is playing and your fans, in your city, are singing together with you.
This time it’s different because you’re taking a break from the club season to go home, just like they used to do to play qualifying games for the EuroBasket.
It’s going to feel fine, especially when you are so far away from your family and friends (in China), and when the schedule is so tight there’s no room even for someone to come and visit me. Serbia is my country, of course it’s great to go back anytime to my homeland. For me, that moment always brings positive impatience.
How difficult was it this summer when you had to miss the EuroBasket with an injury?
It wasn’t pleasant, not at all. You feel like you are a part of the team because you grew up with those guys, but you can’t be with them and help them. In general, I hate that feeling when I’m helpless, and this one during the EuroBasket was one of the worst of that kind that I’ve experienced. I couldn’t even sleep the night before the Final because I was so nervous. It’s something like I’m in an under-14 team, and now in front of me is a first game for the first team… And I even wasn’t playing, I was in some totally different time zone! Very strange feeling, but I think it pretty much shows the connection between us players, with the national team.
There is obviously going to be a different feeling for you and the players with the Qualifiers being played in international windows, starting this month, and with not much preparation time?
It is different, because it’s not going to be 100 degrees outside, unlike any other year before, since we are always with national teams during the summer. That’s strange, at least for me it is (smiling). Everything else will pretty much be the same. Come on, we had a similar situation before the qualifications for the Olympics when we got together just a couple of days before the competition started. And we all know how it ended. But I know we’re all happy that we will get together, even for a short period of time, because I know very well how much the national team means for everyone. We all need a break from the season, at least mentally. By saying that, I mean that we will be in our country, our city, with family and friends… It’s a kind of an active vacation, without truly relaxing. At the end, we all very well know what is written on the front of the jersey, and also on the back!
What are the moments with the national team that you will always remember?
The Olympic games, for sure, was a beautiful experience – hanging out with all of our sports friends at the Olympic village, and of course playing well. I will also remember the 2014 World Cup, when this story started to develop (with Sasha Djodjevic as coach). Together, with our coaching staff, we laid the foundation of how our national team needs to look and how to behave. That year everything started kind of quiet and fearful, and it finished with a big bang!