Zagreb, Croatia. Sanja Gamma, a ‘Volleyball brand’ that has been running for 23 years, does not intend to stop here. Throughout her career, she has played for as many as 19 clubs in nine different countries, including South Korea. A career worthy of all respect, with the addition that Sanja always comes to the club as an ‘added value’, not as a player who fills in the number or a seat at the end of the bench, as evidenced by the many trophies listed in her resume. Born a winner, always and everywhere able to lift her team, ‘emotional to the strongest’, Sanja is playing this season in Budapest for Vasas Obuda.
The way she plays, she does the lion’s share of work in such a renowned club, which, until recently, had not achieved as much success in Volleyball as in other sports. “I have a great time here, I am satisfied, the club is organised in the right way, the atmosphere inside the team is great, and I can say that I really enjoy it,” says Sanja, who plays in Hungary as an opposite hitter, along with another member of the Croatian national team, middle blocker Ema Strunjak.
“I could play here for another ten years, but as I signed for one season, we will see for the next one. I get many balls, and I am the best server and scorer in the league, so I am extremely happy. As a team, we are constantly ‘patching up’ due to injuries because one of the players is always ‘on sick leave’. That is how I was as well, because of COVID-19, which I caught in September, and in January I missed one game due to a minor operation,” she continues.
10Ð01-2020 NED: Olympic qualification tournament women Germany – Croatia, Apeldoorn Last poule match for Germany – Croatia /
Her club Vasas Obuda, after successfully passing the quarterfinals, will play in the semi-finals of the Hungarian national league, which starts in three weeks, against Fatum Nyiregyhaza, for which another member of the Croatian national team, Karla Klaric, plays. “At the beginning of the season, they even aimed at winning the championship, but over time, those ambitions were slightly corrected, mostly due to frequent injuries in the team. However, the semi-finals will definitely be interesting because I think that all four teams are equal in strength and there is no clear favourite. The league ends in the second half of April.”
Early enough to rest and prepare for a ‘long warm summer’. “I am in constant contact with people from the Croatian Volleyball Federation, I know what this year’s plan is and I can say that I am looking forward to the reunion of the national team and meeting with my teammates. My performance in the national team has never been questioned, I am always available, and I am especially looking forward to the European Championship in Zadar. Especially since here in Budapest there is still a very hard lockdown, curfew from 8 pm to 5 am, a lot of things are not working or closed, matches are without spectators, and going home for some days off has become too complicated due to COVID-19 testing. Although Osijek, where my husband’s mother lives, is a two-hour drive from Budapest, unfortunately I cannot go there. I am sorry no one can come to me either. I was really looking forward to visiting friends, but after a long time in a neighbouring country, where it is not a problem to jump home for a day or two, this does not work for now,” she continues.
Finally, one last anecdote about life in Budapest and at Vasas Obuda: “It was a little strange for me at the beginning in the club because both coaches, head and assistant, are younger than me, but we established a great relationship full of respect and appreciation, so everything fell into place in an instant.”
News:
CEV – European Volleyball
HOS – Croatian Volleyball Federation
