By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Nov 2011) US Soccer Players -- In their last game of 2011, the United States takes on Slovenia in Ljubljana on Tuesday in a rematch of the thrilling 2010 World Cup opening-round contest that ended 2-2. The game comes at a time when Slovenia, failing to reach the 2012 European Championship, is in the midst of rebuilding after the firing last month of coach Matjaz Kek.
Don’t let the fact that this game is a friendly fool anyone into thinking the Slovenes won’t be taking it seriously. For starters, posters and web advertisements promoting the game feature the Statue of Liberty kicking a ball while donning a Slovenia jersey. If that good-natured ribbing wasn’t enough, new Slovenia coach Slavisa Stojanovic will be motivated to do well before the home crowd in his debut.
Slovenia’s football association terminated Kek’s contract on October 24th and replaced him the following day with the relatively inexperienced Stojanovic, who last served as an assistant coach of the United Arab Emirates team that qualified for this year's Asian Cup. As a manager on the club level, Stojanovic had won back-to-back league titles with Slovenian side NK Domzale in 2007 and '08.
“We had a big dilemma who to appoint after we parted company with Kek and we opted for Stojanovic because we are convinced he is capable of guiding the team at the top level,” Slovenian Football Federation president Aleksander Ceferin told reporters during a news conference last month. “Stojanovic will be in charge for the duration of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers and his contract will be extended automatically for the rest of the tournament if we qualify for the finals in Brazil.”
“I am aware of the responsibility attached to the task ahead of me," Stojanovic said after his appointment as head coach.
Despite the recent poor form of the Green Dragons, Slovenia has achieved much over the past few years. They reached the last two World Cup finals, finishing third just a point behind the USA and England in South Africa last year, and have produced players like goalkeeper Samir Handanovic and attacking midfielder Valter Birsa.
“Slovenia is a small nation that has achieved big results," US coach Jurgen Klinsmann said. “To have qualified for two World Cups in such a short time is an incredible achievement. I've seen them play in Qualifying and the last World Cup and I was very impressed.”
Under Kek, Slovenia played a straightforward 4-4-2 formation, relying on a physical style of play to impose their game. In other words, this is no Brazil.
One fact the Americans need to keep in mind is that Slovenia scored seven out of their 20 goals during World Cup Qualifying in the final 10 minutes of the game. At the World Cup, the USA and Slovenia played to a draw at Ellis Park in Johannesburg – with the Americans the ones to come back after being down 2-0 at halftime. However, the United States was robbed of a victory when a Maurice Edu goal was controversially, and mysteriously, voided by referee Koman Coulibaly in the 86th minute. TV Replays later showed that Edu was not offside and that the pushing and shoving inside the box was coming from players on both teams.
Ranked 27th by FIFA, Slovenia is not an exceptional team by any stretch of the imagination. Although it will be a tough game, the United States needs to shut down Birsa, who is really the only creative player in the squad. Stojanovic is likely to do what Kek did and allow the attack to flow from the 25-year-old winger, who likes to use crosses and looping passes to get the ball to teammates.
For the upcoming friendly at the 16,000-seat Stozice Stadium, Slovenia will be without Hull City midfielder Robert Koren, who has served as Slovenia’s captain in the past and has scored three goals for his club in England’s Championship. He last played for the team in September, but was not called into camp for the US game.
The Americans don’t need to worry about players who are not there. Instead, Birsa and Zlatan Ljubijankic, who scored against the USA at the World Cup, are on the team and likely to figure in the starting lineup. Also picked for the squad were defenders Bostjan Cesar and Bojan Jokic, teammates of Michael Bradley at Chievo Verona.
For the USA, the game comes four days after losing 1-0 to France. The Americans spent all of last week training in Paris ahead of the game and the past two days in Slovenia. The game against Slovenia should provide Klinsmann’s squad a sturdy test. Slovenia may be an up-and-coming team, but it does not have the tradition and talent of France. The USA has a real chance to grab a win Tuesday on European soil and end the year on a positive note.
Clemente Lisi is a New York-based writer. Contact him at: CAL4477@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/ClementeLisi
