Beta Dumancic
After Czech Olomouc, Polish Pile and German Schwerin, she played this season in Italy, in the team of Zanetti Bergamo. And…
“I wasn’t the happiest,” said Beta, who recently celebrated her birthday at the end of March. – We lost in the first round of the playoffs, which is a failure in relation to the set club goal, so I can not be satisfied with the season,“ – says honestly Beta, who has already spent the Easter holidays at home. About whether or not he stays in Italy, in a Bergamo jersey, she says:
„I don’t know anything yet, the season has just ended, so negotiations and agreements are just starting. As for that, I would love to stay in Italy, great volleyball is played here and this is definitely a step forward for me compared to previous clubs. Also, life in Italy is great, I like everything there, I’m even relatively close to home. But because of Covid 19, nothing was normal, and so, unfortunately, life in Italy.“
We heard the terrible news about Bergamo last year regarding the coronavirus, what was the situation in that Lombard city later?
„Much better, they went through their worst phase right at the beginning of the pandemic, but precisely because Bergamo is part of Lombardy we were in the red zone for most of the season, in the lockdown, especially from Christmas until Easter. Bergamo was not as problematic as Milan, but measures were taken for the whole area. So actually from that real life in Italy and I haven’t felt too much. But well, what’s there is, one gets used to everything, even to constant testing, lockdown, halls without spectators…“
And how did Beta adjust to playing in one of the world’s strongest volleyball leagues?
„From the beginning, I needed to adjust to the way I work in Italy, but the game is different here than in Germany, where I was the season before. I also had a knee injury, which I successfully healed, so I played a big part of the season, and from that side, I am not dissatisfied, I saw that I can play at that high level.“
Beta will soon be preparing for the Croatian national team, which, she says, she is looking forward to.
„We haven’t seen each other for a long time, since the beginning of 2020 and the qualifying tournament in the Netherlands for the Olympic Games. We hear each other occasionally, we have communication, but that’s not it, until we see each other. I know we have a lot of work to do this summer, there is a lot of competition ahead of us, the Golden Europen League, the Challenge Cup, the European Championship, and I’m really looking forward to it. There is always good energy and a great atmosphere in the national team, and I am looking forward to working with coach Santarelli again and raising the level of my own game through his training. This summer there will be some new, young girls on the national team, I believe that my role will be somewhat different than usual. And these are all reasons why I am looking forward to the preparations in Zadar with impatience and excitement. Until then, I’ll be able to rest, but also to train with Osijek, so I will be ready for the first day of preparation. By the way, the fact that the preparations are at sea also has its charms,“ says in the end, Beta Dumančić, a standard 189 cm tall middle blocker of the Croatian national team.
