2010 FIFA World Cup - Slovenia
2010 FIFA World Cup - Slovenia National Team
2010 FIFA World Cup Slovenia National Team:
Goalkeepers:
1 Samir HANDANOVIC, 12 Jasmin HANDANOVIC and
16 Aleksander SELIGA
Defenders:
2 Miso BRECKO, 3 Elvedin DZINIC, 4 Marko SULER, 5 Bostjan CESAR, 6 Branko ILIC,
13 Bojan JOKIC, 19 Suad FILEKOVIC and 22 Matej MAVRIC
Midfielders:
8 Robert KOREN, 10 Valter BIRSA, 15 Rene KRHIN, 17 Andraz KIRM, 18 Aleksandar RADOSAVLJEVIC,
20 Andrej KOMAC and 21 Dalibor STEVANOVIC
Forwards:
7 Nejc PECNIK9 Zlatan LJUBIJANKIC11 Milivoje NOVAKOVIC14 Zlatko DEDIC23 Tim MATAVZ
Coach:
Matjaz KEK
Top Players Robert Koren (SVN).
2010 FIFA World Cup Schedule & Scores
The star players
Household names are conspicuous by their absence in this Slovenia squad. Yet although his team’s success has been built on collective strength and spirit, Kek is not without talented individuals to call upon. Arguably the best known is Cologne striker Milivoje Novakovic, who scored five times during qualifying and, at 30, is approaching this FIFA World Cup at the peak of his powers. The Ljubljana-born striker describes himself as making up one third of Slovenia’s “backbone”, with goalkeeper Samir Handanovic and captain Robert Koren, a talented attacking midfielder, identified by Novakovic as comprising this key triumvirate.
The coach
A player renowned more for his leadership skills rather than any great natural talent, Matjaz Kek was already in his 30s by the time he won his one and only Slovenia cap in 1992. It was at Maribor, the club with which he won three successive titles in the twilight of his playing career, that Kek was given his first managerial post eight years later. After a moderately successful six-year stint, Kek moved on to Football Association of Slovenia in 2006, initially taking charge of the national U-15 and U-16 teams. By January 2007, however, he had been promoted to the position of senior coach, and has since gone on to exceed all expectations by leading his unfancied team back to the game’s greatest stage. As Kek himself said after seeing off the Russians: “Slovenia has realised a dream.”
Previous FIFA World Cups
Given that they only gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, Slovenia’s football history is shorter than the majority of their South Africa 2010 rivals. They can, however, reflect with pride on having qualified for the FIFA World Cup at just the second time of asking, when a team led by Srecko Katanec pipped the likes of Switzerland and, ironically, Yugoslavia to a place at Korea/Japan 2002. Sadly though, that debut tournament didn’t go as planned, with star player Zlatko Zahovic sent home after coming to blows with Katanec following the first of three straight losses during a disappointing group phase.
Records
1
Slovenia - 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 - Slovenia
The outsiders Slovenia: Matjaz Kek's team were surprise play-off winners over Russia, Dedic's second-leg
strike earning them victory on away goals after a 2-1 reverse in Moscow. Their first major tournaments as an
independent nation came at UEFA EURO 2000 and Korea/Japan 2002 but their current squad lacks that know-how, though
captain Robert Koren needs no introduction to England as he plays his football at West Bromwich Albion. Their main
attacking threat is Milivoje Novakovic, based in Germany with FC Cologne, who hit five goals as they finished second
behind Slovakia in their qualifying group.