Slovenias Srecko Katanec is back and still prickly before England game | Jonathan Wil

[Jonathan Wilson]

Just like in 2002, when Srecko Katanec fell out with Zlatko Zahovic, the Slovenia coach has had problems with his star player, Josip Ilicic, who will not face EnglandGwangju, 2 June 2002. Slovenia were 1-0 down to Spain in their first ever World Cup match when, after 63 minutes, Srecko Katanec took off Zlatko Zahovic for Milenko Acimovic. What followed has become Slovenian footballs equivalent of the Zapruder footage, a clip replayed endlessly on television in search of a meaning. Zahovic walked from the pitch, slapped hands with Acimovic, and then, out of focus in the background, kicked out at a bottle of water. Somewhere in those three or four seconds, the first golden age of Slovenian football came to an end.
Katanec took the Slovenia job for a second time in January last year, after largely unsatisfying stints in charge of Olympiakos, Macedonia and UAE. His return prompted a renewed surge of interest in the national team, but already old issues have begun to resurface. He remains haunted by what happened on the touchline in Gwangju and subsequently at the teams training base in Seogwipo.
Continue reading...

More...