Vukota Čelebić is a 15-year-old rising star from Budva and the best middle blocker of the Winter Nations Cup recently held in Pordenone, Italy, where Montenegro’s U16 national team secured second place.

The significance of competing in an international tournament and measuring strength against highly competitive national teams is best demonstrated by the example of the Montenegrin U16 men’s national team. This is even better illustrated by the words of 15-year-old Vukota Čelebić, the best blocker of the Winter Nations Cup, which took place last week in Pordenone, Italy.

“We saw how good we really are!”

If it were not for the matches against Hungary and Czechia (both 3-0 victories) or the two losses against Japan in the group stage (2-3) and in the final (0-3), perhaps the young squad led by Miljan Bošković would not yet be fully aware of their true potential. Montenegro secured second place in a highly competitive tournament, thereby exceeding their own expectations, but not their abilities.

“We played amazingly, much better than we expected. In some of our own discussions, we thought we might only manage to beat Vojvodina, and when it came to the matches against Czechia and Hungary, we had no expectations in terms of results – just to fight and give our best. After all, these are big nations with a huge volleyball base, and we saw them as favourites. But we crushed them both 3-0! It was a similar story with Japan – a true Volleyball powerhouse. We lost to them narrowly in the group stage, in five sets. By the time we reached the final, we were already exhausted. We relied on a smaller group of players, with six of us carrying most of the load, and we simply did not have the freshness to play another match at that same level,” says Čelebić.

The Winter Nations Cup has opened new horizons.

“Now, we are already thinking about the European Championship qualifiers. We are considering how good, prepared, and confident we are to secure a spot in the final tournament. We have the quality, that is now clear,” he stresses.

Čelebić is only 15 years old, yet he is already a key player for Budva’s cadet, junior, and even senior teams. He plays many minutes in the EPCG Superliga matches, where Budva is defending their double crown. He returned from Pordenone with the award for the tournament’s best blocker, filled with confidence but, as he says, with the same mindset he had before.

“I would not want this award to change me, and I am sure it won’t. I am firmly grounded, I want to keep going, to play in even bigger tournaments and win even greater awards!”

Vukota Čelebić with the award for the Best Middle Blocker of the Winter Nations Cup – standing next to OSCG Secretary General Ivan Bošković

In Budva, he has everything he needs. “Honestly, I did not expect to get this much playing time at my age. I really appreciate that Budva invests so much in its youth categories. Our goal is to win the title and defend the double crown. Budućnost will be a strong rival as they have strengthened their squad and brought back Montenegrin senior national team player Ivan Zvicera, but I still believe we are the better team. I will be satisfied if I continue contributing the way I have so far.”

 

Vukota’s beginnings are quite interesting. It wasn’t long ago, in his hometown of Cetinje, that he fell in love with Volleyball, but he had everything except a club. “I have loved Volleyball since I was little, but I had to wait for a club to be formed. Luckily, that happened in 2022. I played one season for Lovćen, and then coach Miljan Bošković noticed me and invited me to join Budva. I have been here since September 2023.”

Even though there was no volleyball club in Cetinje, Vukota still became deeply attached to the sport in a rather unique way. “All my friends used to watch Japanese animated films or cartoons, whatever you want to call them, especially Haikyu. One of them tells a story about Volleyball ‘To the Top’! I watched it and fell so in love with Volleyball that I told myself I had to start training.”

 

From Japanese anime to the final against Japan, recently played in Pordenone. “I have always wanted to play against big teams, and my wish came true in Italy. Japan is a real Volleyball powerhouse and one of the countries I would love to play in one day. Their discipline and work ethic impress me. I enjoyed playing both matches, and I hope to get the chance again soon, both for me and my teammates.”

Team Montenegro claimed a sensational second place at the Winter Nations Cup held in Pordenone, Italy

Vukota Čelebić is also connected to Volleyball through TV screens. “I follow everything closely. My favourite player is Flavio Gualberto, a Brazilian middle blocker who plays for the Italian team TRENTINO Volley. Among our players, I really like Montenegro national senior player Matija Ćinćur, who was with me in Budva until last season and is now in Slovenia. I can say he has motivated me to become even better.”

Vukota does not neglect school; on the contrary, he is an excellent student at the Danilo Kiš Secondary Mixed School, where he is currently in the first year. His dreams are not only sports-related.

“I have both Volleyball and academic goals, and I want to achieve them. I believe that by the age of 18 or 19, I could become a member of the Montenegrin senior national team. Nothing will stop me on that path!” he concludes.