Sandra Kolaković has been appointed head coach of the Serbian women’s national team, following a decision of the Board of the Serbian Handball Federation, marking the return of one of the country’s most emblematic players and coaches to the helm of the “Lionesses”. After 20 years, Kolaković returns to the Serbia women's national team bench, succeeding Spanish coach José Ignacio Prades, with whom the federation agreed an amicable parting due to his inability to relocate permanently to Serbia.

The former left back is widely regarded as one of Serbia’s greatest players, with a club career highlighted by ten national championship titles and nine national cups with Budućnost, plus the EHF Champions League trophy won with Krim Ljubljana in 2003. At international level, she claimed bronze with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia at the 2001 IHF Women’s World Championship in Italy, before moving into coaching in 2005. Her first stint as national team coach came at the EHF EURO 2006, when she led an extremely young Serbia and Montenegro side in the midst of a rebuilt, after eliminating Romania in the play-offs, the runners-up at the 2005 IHF Women's World Championship.

Kolaković has worked extensively with youth and junior teams at Budućnost, Montenegro’s young age category national teams and Serbian club Medicinar, where she reached the Serbian Cup final in 2022. Upon her re‑appointment, she underlined that she returns “with much more experience and a clearer vision”, stressing collective discipline as a core value, and emphasising that stable identity and continuity must come before short‑term results.
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Her nomination also reflects a broader trend in women’s handball, where more federations are entrusting their senior national teams to female coaches. Denmark recently appointed Helle Thomsen to lead their women’s side, making her only the second woman ever in that role. Austria turned to Dutch coach Monique Tijsterman after the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship, with Tijsterman leading Austria at the 2025 IHF Women's World Championship. Closer to Serbia, Suzana Lazović has taken over Montenegro’s women’s team in 2024, while Marizza Faría has been part of Paraguay’s women’s national‑team set‑up, contributing to a growing female presence on the bench in South America. The Islamic Republic of Iran also had Portuguese coach Ana Teixeira Seabra on their bench for the world handball flagship competition in December 2025.

Serbia have finished 12th at the IHF Women's World Championship under the guidance of Spanish coach Jose Ignacio Prades, with three wins, one draw and two losses in six matches, as they aim to return to glories past, after being the runners-up at the 2013 IHF Women's World Championship.

Photo credit: Serbian Handball Federation