Soccer SuperFans

By: Mark Kozar,

More so than the Euro2000 and WC 2002 tournaments combined, the Slovenian community here in Toronto is slowly building into a frenzy for this World Cup, as we wholly anticipate our first win in a major tournament this coming Sunday.

The Slovenian community in Toronto is planning a very big get together at our Community Hall on 739 Browns Line in Etobicoke for our first match on Sunday June 13th at 7:30a.m. We hope to see coverage from the CBC and possibly other media purveyors...it will be a boisterous turn out, and with this first victory, we plan to shut down Browns Line!! (said tongue in cheek ;)

In my first blog I waxed poetic (well, not really) about the frustrations or our last World Cup. We lost every game and the team fell apart, literally, and a slow rebuilding started... But now, the country of Slovenia, and its ex-pats are buzzing with anticipation. We have a solid, well drilled team of relative unknowns (think Fulham in this year's Europa League) and even I must admit to having ballooning expectations for our little nation.

Our first tournament, Euro2000, was a muted success, having tied both our rivals Serbia and group stage adversaries Norway (both, I can tell you personally, really like to drink and party before a game!!). But the loss to Spain by only 1 goal from behind the net only 30ft. away, awesome yet heartbreaking), forced our spirited team out of the tournament.

Our first game of the group stage pits us against Algeria, an unexpected qualifier having eliminated newly (re)crowned African Champions Egypt in a hotly contested playoff.  But to Slovenians,  this is our best chance at our first victory in a final!!  ... mind you we will STILL then defeat England, but that's another blog  :-D

And oh, on a final note, I laugh in the face of the CBC's analysis of Slovenia:

"But their genuine lack of depth will hurt them at the tournament, as they simply can't match up effectively against the U.S. and England."

HA! Fools!

They said that at the start of our group stage of qualification, and then again when pitted against Russia in the playoff... we will prove the "pundits" wrong again!  .........  

Slovenia 1-0 England

Peace,

Kozar