 While there are no real household names on a team which is defined by its strength and spirit, Kek is not without talented individuals to call upon. Arguably the best known member of Team Slovenia is Cologne striker Milivoje Novakovic, who scored five times during qualifying and, at age 30, comes into the 2010 FIFA World Cup at the peak of his career, while describing himself as making up one-third of Slovenia's "backbone", with goalkeeper Samir Handanovic and team captain Robert Koren, a talented attacking mid-fielder, making up the remainder of this key trio. As a player known more for his leadership skills than any great natural talent, Matjaz Kek was already in his thirties 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 fairly successful six-year run, Kek moved on to Football Association of Slovenia in 2006, initially taking charge of the national U-15 and U-16 teams. However, by January 2007, he had been promoted to the position of senior coach, and has since gone on to exceed all expectations by leading his underrated team back to football's greatest stage, while in the midst of realizing a dream for Slovenia. Given Slovenia only gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, the country's football history is shorter than the majority of their South Africa 2010 foes. They can, however, fall back on the pride of having qualified for the World Cup in what is only the second time they were invited' the first being when a team led by Srecko Katanec defeated teams such as Switzerland and, ironically, Yugoslavia to a qualify for World Cup Korea/Japan 2002. Unfortunately, their debut tournament did not go as planned, as star player Zlatko Zahovic was sent packing after coming to blows with coach Katanec following the first of three consecutive losses during a disappointing group phase. It is a great achievement for such a small country to qualify for a spot on the soccer world's biggest stage, and even greater when that team has the potential to be a spoiler at the group play level. Order your 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa tickets now and be there to see just how far Slovenia can go in their quest for the Cup this summer.
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