Slovenia World Cup Squad Preview

Written by Kris Mole Wednesday, 26 May 2010 12:07

World Cup Squad Previews

Slovenia will arrive in South Africa to take part in only their second World Cup finals, which is actually more impressive than it sounds if you consider that the country has only been independent since the early 1990s and has a population of just two million.

 

While they might have asked for an easier group than the one they share with England, USA and Algeria, surely the Slovenes will be feeling confident of progression after a successful qualification campaign that saw them finish above the likes of Poland and Czech Republic in the group before overcoming the highly rated Russians in the play-off.

After spending the last few years (since 2002, really) in the international wilderness, the Slovene team has been brought right back into shape by the no-nonsense management of Matjaž Kek, who has instilled a team spirit within the squad comparable with any of the top teams in world football. In a team of no superstars, the whole play is based upon creating space and making yourself available when in possession, and working hard as a unit to close down and win the ball back when not. And so far, it's looked a formula for success for the small Central European nation.

Calling Slovenia a team without superstars doesn't mean that the squad is without accomplished players. Milivoje Novakovič earns his money in the Bundesliga with FC Köln, and since signing for the German outfit in 2006 has scored an impressive 51 goals in 108 games, not to mention the 14 international goals he has from 37 caps. And if he's having an off day, Slovenia need not lose hope, as in Zlatan Ljubijankič (he scored against England at Wembley), Walter Birsa (he scored in the away win over Slovakia in qualification) and Bochum's Zlatko Dedič (he scored against the Russians in the play-off), they have three equally capable front men. On top of that, they can also expect goals to come from the middle of the park from players such as West Brom's Robi Koren who has found the net nine times already for his country.

During qualification, Slovenia's defence was rock solid, conceding just four times in ten matches. This was down to a mixture of the team spirit mentioned earlier in this article, and also the individual quality of players like Matej Mavrič of German side Koblenz, Lokomotiv's Branko Ilič, who has been an established national side player since 2004, and the hardman at the back Boštjan Cesar who plays his football in Serie A with Chievo.

In the middle of the park is where you'll find captain Koren running the show, in a similar fashion to that of the old Milenko Ačimovič, surrounded by hard-working compatriots like Dare Vršič who has already scored twice for Slovenia in just five appearances, and Andraž Kirm who possesses some real quality.

The players of the current Slovene national team have been playing together right the way up through the levels since their youth days, and the understanding between them on the pitch is evident when watching them play. Only three of the provisional squad of thirty ply their trade in the Slovenian league, meaning a whole wealth of European experience for the boys that are spread out across the leagues of Germany, Italy, Russia, France, and a few others. These are no amateurs. Even the goalkeeper Samir Handanovič is the regular between the sticks for Serie A side Udinese.

This young and capable squad will definitely fancy their chances of joining England in the second round, and at 15/8 with Betfair it might just be a nice little investment.

Slovenia Squad:

Goalkeepers: Samir Handanovič (Udinese), Jasmin Handanovič (Mantova), Aleksander Šeliga (Sparta Prague), Jan Koprivec (Udinese)

Defenders: Boštjan Cesar (Grenoble), Branko Ilič (Lokomotiv Moscow), Bojan Jokić (Chievo), Matej Mavrič (Koblenz), Mišo Brečko (Köln), Marko Šuler (Gent), Suad Filekovič (Maribor), Dejan Kelhar (Cercle Brugge), Elvedin Džinič (Maribor), Aleksander Rajčević (Koper)

Midfielders: Robert Koren (West Brom), Andrej Komac (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Andraž Kirm (Wisła Kraków), Dalibor Stevanovič (Vitesse), Aleksander Radosavljevič (Larissa), Mirnes Šišić (PAS Giannina), Darijan Matič (Rapid Bucharest), Dare Vršič (Timisoara), Rene Krhin (Inter)

Forwards: Milivoje Novakovič (Köln), Valter Birsa (Auxerre), Zlatko Dedič (Bochum), Zlatan Ljubijankič (Gent), Nejc Pečnik (Nacional), Miran Burgič (AIK), Tim Matavž (Groningen)

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