|
Attacking midfielder Zlatko Zahovic is the undisputed
star of Slovenia as his country's creative catalyst
and all-time leading scorer. Having recently recovered
from an abdominal injury, the inventive playmaker is
anxious to prove his worth to Slovenia at the World
Cup.
His timing couldn't be better, either, as he seems
to have rediscovered his scoring touch, which abandoned
him over his past two seasons in Europe.
"I'm definitely back on the right track,"
he said. "After all the problems I fell into during
the season, I think I've found my rhythm."
While he has claimed he's not a troublemaker, the source
of a lot of Zahovic's problems are rooted in an inability
to get along with coaches and management, whether with
his club teams or the national squad.
"It goes without saying that Zahovic is a phenomenal
player," said Slovenian national coach Srecko Katanec.
"But my players have sacrificed their egos and
individuality for the benefit of the team as a whole."
Operating in between midfield and attack, Zahovic is
a classic playmaker with sublime dribbling skills. He
is expert at taking free kicks and is a clinical finisher
once he gets inside the penalty-area.
Despite his status as Slovenia's marquee player, Zahovic
has never played in the Slovenian league. Instead, he
has spent the past eleven years bouncing around between
the top leagues in Europe.
Zahovic was only 18 when he joined Yugoslavian club
Partizan Belgrade before moving to Vitoria Guimaraes
in Portugal. After three seasons there, Zahovic joined
FC Porto - one of the biggest Portuguese clubs - and
helped them to win three consecutive leagues titles
(1997 to 1999).
From Portugal, Zahovic moved on to Olympiakos on a
Greek record transfer of $15.8 million (U.S.). Zahovic
only lasted a single season in Greece, as he fell out
of favour with the coach and did not see regular first-team
action.
His next port-of-call was Spain, where he suited up
for Valencia.
But like his Greek venture, Zahovic never caught on
in Spain, and at the end of the 2000/2001 campaign,
he returned to Portugal, this time signing with Benfica.
Now at age 30, Zahovic finds himself at the apex of
his career and presented with one final opportunity
to prove his pedigree and quality on soccer's greatest
stage. If Slovenia is to progress beyond the first round,
it will be up to Zahovic to lead the way.
|
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
