Slovenia
Coach: Matjaz Kek
Matjaz Kek was appointed manager of the Slovenia national team in January 2007. Despite having limited top level managerial experience he has guided Slovenia to their second World Cup since they split from the former Yugoslavia in 1992.
World Cup 2010 Qualifying:
Matjaz Kek's side reached their second World Cup finals thanks to a surprise play-off defeat of much-fancied Russia, having finished second in Group Three behind Slovakia. A late reply left them trailing 2-1 after the first leg in Moscow and Zlatko Dedic's goal in Maribor proved enough to earn a victory on the away goals rule. Slovenia coach Matjaz Kek: "They are men of merit for continuing the Slovenian football fairytale. They have become immortal. We were better from the first minute of the game and we earned the right to go to South Africa."Past World Cup Performance:
Slovenia became an independent football nation after their split from the former Yugoslavia in 1992. Before that players competed as part of the Yugoslavian team. Before 2010 Slovenia have only qualified for one other World Cup tournament and that was in 2002 where they came bottom of their group after 3 defeats in 3 matches. In South Africa, Slovenia will face a tough task to progress from Group C where they will face England, Algeria and the USA. Slovenia are currently ranked 27th in the world and a last 16 appearance would surely be classed as a great success!Slovenia - Key Players
Robert Koren - WBA
Zlatko Dedic - Bochum
Valter Birsa - Auxerre
Rene Krhin - Inter
