Slovenia / Dave Farrar / 18 May 2010 / Leave a comment Free £25 Bet

Slovenia defied the odds, not to mention Russia, to book their place at the World Cup and now they're out to claim a couple of big scalps. Don't expect to see star names or lots of flair on show but expect a well-drilled and organised side who will be tough to beat.

"The squad is spread all over Europe, with none of them based in the weak domestic league, and international get togethers seem to be characterised by a terrific team spirit. Gone are the days when Zahovic ruled, and the rest were required to follow."

Slovenian football's finest moment is probably still the goal that Milenko Acimovic scored from the half way line against Ukraine in the play off which got them to Euro 2000, and started a wonderful adventure under the Italian trained coach Srecko Katanec.

The Zlatko Zahovic era ended in tears though, and Matjaz Kek has done a fantastic job to have them back in contention at a major tournament this soon. Normally you'd expect the wheel to take a lot longer to turn full circle for a small footballing nation. There was another famous play off win this time, with Russia the victims, and Slovenia have to be treated with respect in a group which is far from the hardest.

The squad is spread all over Europe, with none of them based in the weak domestic league, and international get togethers seem to be characterised by a terrific team spirit. Gone are the days when Zahovic ruled, and the rest were required to follow. Slovenia are excellent defensively, with only four goals conceded in qualifying, and they'll make no apologies for their simple South Africa gameplan. They'll defend stoutly, and try and catch teams on the counter. They'll try and work harder than anyone else, and in fact fit the profile of two of the other teams in this group, the USA and Algeria.
I suppose that whichever runs the hardest, and gets the luckiest, will go through.

Slovenian football should be respected for just getting this far though. Two million people live in Slovenia, and yet they have put out Poland, Russia and the Czech Republic to get this far. Two million beats about 200 million and even though the odds are against them, they clearly don't mind. The recent row about bonuses is being stupidly compared to the Zahovic row of 2002, but I think that it will serve to bond the players together, rather than pull them apart.

COACH:

Matjaz Kek

Kek won only one international cap, although I'm not going to sneer about that, as it's still one more than me. He made his coaching name at Maribor, and then starting to work for the FA, graduating through the youth levels to finally getting the national job. His understated style is in sharp contrast to the man who led Slovenia to their previous big tournament appearances, Srecko Katanec.

Key Players

Samir Handanovic

I still don't understand why a bigger club hasn't come in for the Udinese keeper. One of the curiosities of Serie A is that Udinese possess the division's top scorer and one of its best three goalkeepers and yet still spent much of the season fighting relegation. Handanovic is huge, very agile, and occasionally suspect at set pieces. Kind of a rich man's David James.

Robert Koren

Koren has been quietly excellent for West Brom all season and was the same in qualifying for his country. Those looking to put the smallest country in the competition down will argue that if a Championship player is the pick of your midfield then you're going to struggle. They may have a point, but Koren looks good at this level, and he, along with Auxerre's Valter Birsa, is what makes the midfield tick.

Nejc Pecnik

He only played for 92 minutes in the qualifying campaign, but Slovenia's very own David Fairclough (look him up, younger readers) scored two absolutely key goals, in Slovakia and Russia, and is adept at making the most of tired defensive legs at the end of games. If the bigger names fail to make a breakthrough, then Slovenia will rely on Pecnik to get a late goal.

Recommended Bet:

Back Slovenia to Qualify @ [3.2]

Tags: Slovenia football team, Slovenian footballers, Slovenian pay dispute, World Cup betting, Zlatko Zahovic