Suzana Lazović

{{Infobox handball biography

| name = Suzana Lazović

| image =

| nationality = Montenegrin

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1992|1|28|df=y}}

| birth_place = Podgorica, Montenegro

| height = {{height|m=1.76|precision=0}}

| position = Pivot

| currentclub = Retired

| clubnumber = 92

| years1 = 2007-2018

| clubs1 = ŽRK Budućnost Podgorica

| nationalyears1 = 2008-2016

| nationalteam1 = Montenegro

| nationalcaps1 = 97

| nationalgoals1 = 111

| medaltemplates =

}}

Suzana Lazović (born 28 January 1992) is a retired Montenegrin handballer that played for ŽRK Budućnost Podgorica and the Montenegro women's national handball team. She was also a Serbia and Montenegro national junior judo champion.

Handball and coaching career

Lazović was part of the Montenegrin teams that won silver at the 2012 Summer Olympics,{{Cite web |title=This is me: Suzana Lazovic |url=https://www.eurohandball.com/en/news/en/this-is-me-suzana-lazovic/ |access-date=2024-12-14 |website=www.eurohandball.com |language=en}} and gold at the 2012 Women's EHF European Championship. She was also on the Budućnost team that won the 2012 EHF Women's Champions League and 2015 EHF Women's Champions League. The team were also runners up in the 2013-2014 season. Lazović won the award for best defender in the 2013 Champions League.

Lazović participated at the 2011 World Women's Handball Championship in Brazil, but Montenegro did not progress from the group stages.{{cite web|url=http://www.ihf.info/files/CompetitionData/121/PDF/MNE.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226135121/http://www.ihf.info/files/CompetitionData/121/PDF/MNE.PDF |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 December 2011 |title=XX Women's World Championship 2011; Brazil – Team Roster Montenegro |publisher=International Handball Federation |accessdate=10 December 2011 }}{{cite web|url=http://handball.sportresult.com/HBEM14W/PDF/MNE-R.pdf|title=2014 European Championship Roster|publisher=EHF|accessdate=7 December 2014|archive-date=13 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213012821/http://handball.sportresult.com/HBEM14W/PDF/MNE-R.pdf|url-status=dead}}

Lazović had to retire at the age of 25 due to injuries, including a severely herniated disc, heart ablation and a neck injury, and moved into handball coaching. She coached the Montenegrin junior team. She then moved to China and coached their youth, junior and senior teams. During her reign, the Chinese junior team reached the last 16 of the IHF Women's Junior World Championship, for the first time in 33 years. She has also coached at club level with the Hungarian team, Alba Fehervar. Lazović was Montenegro's coach at the 2024 European handball championships, taking over from Bojana Popovic.{{Cite web |title=IHF {{!}} Suzana Lazovic takes over Montenegro's senior team |url=https://www.ihf.info/media-center/news/suzana-lazovic-takes-over-montenegros-senior-team |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=www.ihf.info}} Prior to their April 2025 match against Portugal, Lazović talked about 'rejuvenating the line up' of the team.{{Cite news |date=7 April 2025 |title=Lazović before Portugal: If we play like we know how, no national team can match us |url=https://en.vijesti.me/sports-e/handball/753381/Lazovic-vs-Portugal--if-we-play-like-we-know-how--no-team-can-match-us.-a |access-date=9 April 2025 |work=Vijesti}}

Judo career

Despite her success at handball, Lazović's original sport was judo. As a junior, she won the Serbia and Montenegro national championship. She signed her first professional contract at 16, for Budućnost. She played for them for her entire career.