Kek returns as national football team hits rock bottom
Ljubljana, 17 December - Matjaž Kek has been appointed the new head coach of the Slovenian national football team, with the 57-year-old returning to the helm of the team after a successful stint in 2007-2011, when he led Slovenia to their last major competition, the 2010 World Cup.
Ljubljana
A friendly match between Slovenia and Belarus
Photo: Anže Malovrh/STA
Kek returned in November in the hope that Slovenia could bounce back from a dismal performance in the UEFA Nations League, with the team being relegated to the lowest tier of the new international competition. He replaced Tomaž Kavčič, who had struggled to make order in the team which had also faced a number of injuries and cancellations by key players, including the star goalkeeper Jan Oblak of Atletico Madrid.
After an improbable five-year run with the Croatian club Rijeka, which included the national title, Kek will now look to take Slovenia to the Euro 2020, with the recent draw putting the team in Group E of the qualifiers alongside Poland, Austria, Israel, Macedonia and Latvia. Kek will also coach the team in the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup.