Perhaps it was not expected for many, but football euphoria began to shake the Alpine country very quickly after the breakup of Yugoslavia.
Already during the second cycle of qualification for the European Championship in which Slovenia participated, it "bought" a ticket for the big competition, for Euro 2000 in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Led by Good luck Katanec from the bench and maestro Zlatko Zahovič on the field, the "dragons" only two years later "flew away" to the World Cup, and in 2010, with Matjaž Keko won a trip to the World Championship once again.
It was a decade of success for Slovenian football, and then another 14 years had to pass, for Kek to return to the position of coach and for this selection to be part of the big stories again - Euro 2024 will be the great return of Slovenia.
From 3:3 with Yugoslavia to a new chance
Lottery or fate, only Slovenia had to play the first match in the history of major competitions against the two republics it left behind in the smaller Yugoslavia.
And it was a spectacular start to Euro 2000 - Slovenia is on the wings of Zahovič (two goals) and Miran Pavlin in the 52nd had a big 3:0, and in the same minute the then "blue" selector Vujadin Boskov he sent to the field Sava Milosevic...
Although Yugoslavia was quickly left without one player (excluded Siniša Mihajlović), Slovenia was still inexperienced at the time and did not maintain a big advantage until the end - Milošević scored twice, Ljubinko Drulović once, so the match ended 3:3.
By the end, Katanec's team lost to Spain (2:1) and drew with Norway (0:0), so there was nothing to go to the quarterfinals.
Slovenia did not manage to skip the group in two World Cups, so now under the Alps they are finally dreaming of the knockout stage matches...
Kek, Oblak and Šeško are the main trump cards
How realistic it is that Slovenia skips the group stage in Germany is difficult to assess, only the "dragons" will once again have a rival from the former Yugoslavia (Serbia), again from Scandinavia (Denmark) and another giant (England)...
Unlike in 2000, third place could now bring the knockout stage, so Kek's boys have an absolute right to dream...
Especially since the expert from Maribor once again created an extremely compact team that was barely "broken" by Denmark in the qualifiers, and which in March gave a football lesson to mighty Portugal (2:0) in a friendly match.
In addition to unity and team play, Kek has several interesting players in the selection, but the legendary goalkeeper stands out above all. Jan Oblak and one of the better young strikers in Europe Benjamin Seško from Leipzig.
In Slovenia, they also believe in goal-scoring abilities Jean Celard, the striker from Lugano who was the top scorer of the Swiss championship, although it is expected that Šeška will initially be a company in the attack Andraz Šporar, the striker of Panathinaikos.
The great return of Ilicic
Matjaž Kek especially pleased everyone with an invitation for one guy - the good old man Josip Ilicic is returning to the national team.
The guy who was born in Prijedor 36 years ago, left a big mark in Fiorentina and Atalanta, and then he practically disappeared from the football map due to depression. Maribor brought him back to life, and Kek decided to invite him to thank him for everything...
And maybe it's not just about the emotional moment of the Slovenian coach, since Ilicic also deserved the call by his performances - nine goals and 12 assists during the spring part of the season speak in favor of that, just like the goal for the victory against Armenia in the preparatory match for the Euro.
Slovenia and the Euro
It performs so far: 1
The greatest success: Group stage 2000.
The last Euro: EP 2000, group stage
Most performances on the EP: 11 players of 3 each
Most goals in the EP: Zlatko Zahovič (3)
Captain: Jan Oblak
The first star: Jan Oblak
Matches at the EP: Denmark (June 16, Stuttgart), Serbia (June 20, Munich), England (June 25, Cologne)
Bonus video:
