Olympic champions Vanja and Nikola Grbić were among the famous representatives of Serbian volleyball who supported the student movement that won the snap parliamentary elections on October 25. A post by national team player Hena Kurtagić, a friend of Bulgarian star Alex Nikolov, also attracted attention. And the story has a curious continuation – the coach who led the Grbić brothers to Olympic gold in Sydney is now the Minister of Sports in the government of the defeated Aleksandar Vučić.
The victory of the "Students Win" list sparked mass celebrations in Belgrade and other Serbian cities. According to preliminary estimates by IPSOS and CeSID, students received nearly 53% of the votes against about 39% for Vučić's party. The Serbian president conceded defeat on Sunday evening.
Among the crowd gathered at Slavija Square in Belgrade was Vanja Grbić. A Telegraf Sport team filmed the legendary volleyball player with his wife and children among those celebrating the election victory.
His brother Nikola Grbić, who is currently the head coach of the Polish national team, expressed strong support for the student movement on the eve of the vote. In a special statement for the Polish portal SportoweFakty, he explained his motives.
"I supported the students last year and I support them today. They are fighting for justice, truth, and a system that works for all Serbs, and these are my values too," said Nikola Grbić.
The coach of Poland also used a volleyball comparison to urge his compatriots to participate in the elections: "No match is won while you are sitting on the bench. That's why I call on everyone to go and vote. Your vote is our strength."
On the morning after the elections, Serbian national team player Hena Kurtagić, who plays for the Italian Vero Volley Milano, also attracted attention. The middle blocker, a friend of Bulgarian national team player Alex Nikolov, posted a photo on Instagram from a protest gathering in Belgrade.
The photo shows a poster with the inscription "I don't want to see mom and dad only through video call," accompanied by the song "Zemlja" by the Serbian rock band "Ekatarina Velika." The message draws attention to emigration and separated families – one of the problems affecting the younger generation in Serbia.
Telegraf Sport presented the publication as Kurtagić's reaction after the students' election victory. However, the volleyball player herself has not explicitly commented on the result, nor has it been confirmed that she attended the Sunday celebrations.
Kurtagić is also well known to Bulgarian volleyball fans. In September, she was among the spectators in Sofia during the European Championship and supported Alex Nikolov from the stands.
From Olympic Gold to Political Differences
The curious thing about the whole story is that Zoran Gajić is at the head of the Serbian Ministry of Sports – the man under whose leadership the Grbić brothers became Olympic champions in Sydney in 2000, and a year later also won the European title.
However, Gajić is part of the current government of Serbia. In 2022, he resigned from the presidency of the Serbian Volleyball Federation to head the Ministry of Sports, after receiving an invitation from the ruling party. Subsequently, he retained his post in subsequent governments.
His political support for Aleksandar Vučić is no secret. According to the investigative publication KRIK, Gajić's name was among the famous personalities who supported Vučić in presidential elections. Upon his appointment as minister, he stated that when the ruling party and the president give him such trust, there is not much room for hesitation.
Even more interesting is that the relationship between Gajić and Vanja Grbić has its own backstory. In 2016, the two were competitors for the presidential post in the Serbian Volleyball Federation. Gajić won the vote, and Grbić left the general assembly meeting and announced his retirement from volleyball.
Ten years later, Vanja Grbić celebrates the election defeat of the ruling party in Belgrade's Slavija Square, while his former coach continues to hold a ministerial post in their government.
Thus, 26 years after the Olympic triumph in Sydney, three of the main protagonists of the greatest success in the history of Serbian volleyball find themselves with different public roles at a time of political change. The two brothers support the students, and Gajić is among the ministers of the current government. Whether he will retain his post will become clear after the formation of the new cabinet.
collage:volleyweek
