Group F - Slovakia

Group F

Italy

Paraguay

New Zealand

Slovakia

Nickname: Repre (As best I can tell this stands for Representatives of Slovakia. Then again, it could also mean Baby Murderers, I don’t know)

Colors: White and Blue

Current World Ranking: 33

Manager: Vladimir Weiss

Weiss competed in the 1990 World Cup as a player for Czechoslovakia and got his start as a manager at the helm of the Slovakian club team Artmedia. He’s been the manager of the national team since 2008 after the previous manager failed to qualify for the 2008 Euros.

History: The Slovakian national team formed in 1993 after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia during the Velvet Revolution and will appear in their first ever World Cup as an independent nation after finishing first in their qualifying group ahead of Slovenia, Northern Ireland, and former European heavyweights, Czech Republic and Poland. Even though this is their first tournament as an independent nation their heritage dates back to the successes of Czechoslovakia in the 60’s and 70’s. The Czechoslovakian team that won the 1976 European Championship was primarily composed of Slovakians.

Players: While Slovakia has a domestic soccer league it’s virtually nonexistent so most of these players compete for clubs across Europe.

Martin Skrtel – Central Defender

This guy is pretty much badass personified. He’s big, mean, and absolutely fearless. He’s been with my team, Liverpool, since the winter of 2008 and quickly established himself as a no-nonsense, bruising defender. Unfortunately injuries have limited his time on the pitch in both of the last two seasons. I expect him to be fully fit and ready to crack some skulls in time for their opening match.

Marek Hamsik – Attacking Midfielder

Just 22 years of age Hamsik already has 30 caps to his name and is one of the most promising players for Slovakia, having scored 8 intenrational goals since his debut in 2007. He plays for the Italian club Napoli where he has led the team in goals for the past few seasons and looks to still have his brightest days ahead of him.

Stanislav Sestak – Striker

Sestak led the team with 6 goals through qualifying. He didn’t have the most productive of years for German club VFL Bochum scoring 6 in 29 matches but he should still provide the best scoring threat for Slovakia, or at the very least distract defenders to allow Hamsik to sneak in behind him.

Predictions: They could potentially upset a lazy Italy and they certainly have a lot of experience against them having played 27 times dating back to their days with Czechoslovakia, but their likeliest path to qualifying for the knockout round is by taking care of business against Paraguay and New Zealand, two teams they’ve never faced before. Their roster and their pedigree would suggest that they should get past both teams without any trouble.