Mixing it with the best

Katanec has a small pool of players to choose from

When Slovenia qualified for Euro 2000 courtesy of a shock 1-all draw against Ukraine in Kiev, the party went on for weeks.

Skiing, basketball and hiking may be the preferred activity in this sports mad country, but for the time being, football, as they say, is coming home.

Both team and supporters can't quite believe they're about to mix it with the best in Europe.

Their coach Srecko Katanec has been there before, he played for Slovenia's old masters Yugoslavia at the World Cup in Italy in 1990, but he admits that his latest mission is all together different.

Little experience

His squad desperately lack experience at the top level with many of them playing in Europe's second rate leagues, such as Austria and Belgium.

The only genuine star of the squad, Zlatco Zahovic, hasn't played for his club side Olympiakos of Athens since his suspension for walking out at the beginning of April.

Other key members of the side, such as Miran Pavlin, are desperately short of match practice due to injury.

It's not as if Katanec has an endless pool of talent to fall back on.

Maribor - champions

The national champions Maribor provide three players, the only home based players in the squad. They won the title by 19 points, and Katanec maintains there's nowhere else to look.

Hoodwink

This may be a ploy to hoodwink their Group C opponents, although Yugoslavia, Norway and Spain will have noted with interest Slovenia's performance against the World champions last month.

Slovenia miraculously took a two goal lead before the French fought back to win 3-2.

That defeat was blamed on Slovenia's lack of fitness, although Katanec, himself a fitness fanatic, claims to have sorted that out.

Don't expect elaborate technique and fancy football from Slovenia.

They will be well organised, relying on their top scorer in the qualifiers Zahovic to provide the inspiration.

Whatever happens, football will at last command attention among Slovenia's two million population, although by the time the snow returns to the slopes it will likely be long forgotten.