The Kragujevac Wild Boars will be the first team from Serbia to play a game in Slovenia this season. The current Serbian champions will play on Saturday, May 13, in Ljubljana against the Silverhawks who were defeated in their opening game last weekend in Belgrade, 34-14. It will also be the first official game with full protective gear for Kragujevac.
The match preparations are almost done and the intense everyday practices prior to leaving for Slovenia are being held in Kragujevac. The Boars are full of confidence, the Silverhawks have done their scouting, and around 35 team members had a chance to see and get acquainted with their opponent at FK Obilić stadium.
An additional boost of confidence for the players and staff comes from the fact that some minor injuries that gave the team problems during preparations for the league are cured, and they will be going to Slovenia with all of their available players. Besides the players that represented the team base in past seasons, head coach Vujica Samailović and the Wild Boars training staff is also counting on several rookies who have made a serious effort toward earning playing time.
The Boars` and Serbian national team linebacker Dragoljub Zivadinović said that anything but a win would be a surprise. “Even though this is a tough away game, us winning shouldn`t be questioned. We studied our opponent very well, saw them in Belgrade, watched game tape, so the Silverhawks can’t surprise us. Tiring traveling to Slovenia could somehow affect our game, but not the final result”
His optimism is shared by DE Darko Milenković, also a member of the national team.
“We`re not afraid of them anymore. We respected them too much before the Serbia-Slovenia match because of their experience with protective gear. Nevertheless, we can’t underestimate them, especially not on their field, because it could backfire. We prepared ourselves well, worked hard and I believe it`s going to pay off already in our first match. We want to be the league champions, so we can`t choose who we are going to beat,” said Milenković.