Matjaz Kek won just one cap for Slovenia as a player but during two spells as manager of the national team the former Maribor defender is having a far more significant presence.
Victory over Algeria at the 2010 World Cup is their only success at a major tournament and came under Kek, who embarked on his second stint in 2018 and has engineered the latest qualification.
Participation in Germany will mark only the fourth major international tournament for the former Yugoslav republic, who have been playing as an independent entity since 1992.
As well as Euro 2000, where they drew two games and lost the other in the group phase, Slovenia also qualified for the World Cup in 2002 and 2010 but have yet to go beyond the group stage.
This time round they will be hoping to make more of an impact in Group C where they meet qualifying rivals Denmark first in Stuttgart on June 16 and then Serbia and Euro 2020 runners-up England.
We are a relatively young national team and the potential is huge, Kek told the media. There are quite a number of players who have come through the youth ranks and are already now senior regulars.
Jaka Bijol has evolved into a fantastic player, [as has Adam] Gnezda Cerin. It makes you think that we won’t have to wait another 24 years or even 12 to 13 years to qualify for our next big competition.
I’m convinced that Slovenia won’t be at [Euro 2024] to do sightseeing. We are not going there as tourists. We are going there to compete. I want the guys to be competitive and they will take that attitude. Why should we not think about progressing through the group stage?
Slovenia made the most of a favourable draw in the qualifiers for Germany 2024 to reach their second European Championship, 24 years after their debut appearance at the tournament.
They lost only twice as they finished second in Group H, level on points behind Denmark and ahead of Finland, Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland and San Marino, to book a place at the finals.
Slovenia collected seven wins and 22 points in qualifying, both records for them in a major tournament qualifying campaign.
Kek, 62, leads a team with little in the way of experience, save for captain and goalkeeper Jan Oblak, but with several exciting prospects.
The best of the lot is 20-year-old forward Benjamin Sesko, who scored five goals in the qualifying campaign.
He is the modern striker par excellence. I don’t know where he will play next season, he will decide but, for now, I’ll enjoy him this summer, Kek told Italian reporters.
We’re talking about a physically strong centre-forward who has made great progress also technically, month after month.
He came to [the national team] when he was just a lad: a 17-year-old boy, and since then I have been watching him grow into a man. He has become a very important part of the team. Despite his youthfulness, he carries a sort of energy – the character of a diligent boy who would train day and night to achieve his goal.
Slovenia will be making their second appearance at the UEFA EURO, their first participation dating back to 2000. 24 years equals the second longest gap between two appearances at the tournament, the longest belonging to Hungary (44 years).
From time to time, I have to stop him a bit and calm him down: it’s just the amazing energy [that he has]. He is like a magnet, and such a positive one. It is clear that his likeability and splendid public appearances are making it known to little boys and girls that there is a lot of work, training, and sacrifices behind this [success].
The 31-year-old Oblak is regarded as one of the best keepers in world football and in his 10 seasons at Atletico Madrid has won the Europa League and been to the Champions League final.
Given Benjamin Sesko’s impressive performance in the Bundesliga and his contributions to the Slovenian national team during the qualifiers, there is a good chance that they can reach the round of 16 in the European Championships. Sesko’s goal-scoring ability and his experience playing in Germany will be valuable assets for Slovenia in their quest for success in the tournament. However, they will need to perform consistently and overcome tough competition to make it to the knockout stages.
Overall, Slovenia’s team is well-structured, tactically sound, and with individual quality players like Benjamin Sesko and Josip Ilicic, they have the potential to surprise in the tournament. The fans have high expectations for their team, and with their strong defensive shape and dangerous offensive capabilities, they could certainly cause some upsets. It will be interesting to see how they perform against tough opponents like England and Serbia, but they have the belief and support of their country behind them.