Budućnost write history in Montenegro

Spring turnaround
Sealing the championship with one match remaining, Budućnost earned their crown thanks to an outstanding second half to the season. They trailed FK Zeta by five points midway through the campaign, but were able to leapfrog their rivals thanks to a run of ten wins and six draws in which their defence conceded only two goals.

Squad additions
That form owed much to changes made during the winter break, with new players coming in to make a difference: not least 20-year old striker Fatos Beciraj, who scored nine goals, and Argentinian playmaker Gustavo López, who received excellent help from 21-year old winger Petar Vukčević and captain Mirko Raičević.

'I can't believe it'
"When I think that we trailed by ten points halfway through the first half of the season, I can't believe we won the title," said defender Nikola Vukčević. "But we found the strength to fight and coach Branko Babić gave us self-confidence. We also took advantage of our opponents' errors and deserve to be champions."

'Biggest satisfaction'
The Pod Goricom Stadium was an emotional place after Saturday's victory and the celebrations soon continued in the city's centre. "The biggest satisfaction for any coach is to see his players celebrate," explained a euphoric Babić. "They deserve that; this is their title. I'm very happy and proud if I helped them to become champions."

Babić dilemma
The man in the dugout would not say if he will still be at Budućnost next season, however: "I am proud to be a part of this club, but there are no emotions in football. I will speak with the club officials next week about the future. There are European challenges coming and this team needs changes if the club wants to do something in [UEFA] Champions League qualification. That will be my demand, because I must be honest – we still don't have a team for Europe. We are on the right track but we can't stop now."

'Historic achievement'
Despite that message, sporting director Mojaš Radonjić is almost certain Babić will stay on, saying: "We had some talks and I think everything will be arranged soon. This is a historic achievement, but from today we must look to the future. We are ready to improve the squad because we don't want to play just two games in [UEFA] Champions League qualification. Now we await the draw, but whoever our opponents are in the first qualification round, our aim will be to go through."