Matjaž Kek
Kek as Slovenia manager in 2009
Personal information
Date of birth (1961-09-09) 9 September 1961[1]
Place of birth Maribor, People's Republic of Slovenia, FPR Yugoslavia
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Slovenia (manager)
Youth career
Maribor
Železničar Maribor
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1980 Železničar Maribor
1980–1985 Maribor 114 (36)
1985–1988 Spittal/Drau 98 (32)
1988–1995 GAK 113 (19)
1995–1999 Maribor 126 (17)
International career
1992 Slovenia 1 (0)
Managerial career
2000 Maribor
2001 Maribor (interim)
2002–2004 Maribor
2006 Slovenia U15
2006–2007 Slovenia U16
2007–2011 Slovenia
2011–2012 Al-Ittihad
2013–2018 Rijeka
2018– Slovenia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Matjaž Kek (born 9 September 1961) is a Slovenian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the Slovenia national team.

Playing career

Kek started his career at his home club NK Maribor, before moving to another Maribor-based team, Železničar Maribor.[2] In 1980, he returned to Maribor.[1] In 1985 he joined the Austrian club Spittal/Drau, where he stayed for three seasons. Kek then transferred to another Austrian club, GAK of the Austrian Bundesliga where he played for seven years. After that, he returned to Maribor, where between 1995 and 1999 he won three Slovenian league titles, before retiring. Overall, Kek made 280 appearances for Maribor in all competitions over the span of eleven seasons.[3] He spent most of his career playing in defense, mostly in the centre-back position and was known for his leadership abilities.

He was capped once by Slovenia, in a 1992 friendly match against Cyprus.[4]

Managerial career

Maribor

After finishing his career as a player, Kek stayed at Maribor, serving as an assistant manager for one season, before being appointed as manager in March 2000 after Bojan Prašnikar left the club.[5] He immediately won the league title in the 1999–2000 season.[6] He resigned in September 2000 after a 3–1 defeat against Korotan Prevalje.[7] In October 2001, Kek returned to Maribor as an interim manager after Ivo Šušak resigned.[8] A couple weeks later, he was moved to the assistant manager position after Bojan Prašnikar took over the managerial role.[9] In September 2002, he once again became a manager of the team,[10] and won the league title in the 2002–03 season.[6] Kek was sacked by the team on 20 September 2004 after a string of poor results.[11]

Slovenia national team

Between 2006 and 2007, Kek was the head coach of the Slovenian under-15 and under-16 national teams.[1] On 5 January 2007, Kek was appointed manager of the Slovenia national team,[12] which he led to the 2010 FIFA World Cup after beating Russia in the play-off. On 24 October 2011, after the unsuccessful UEFA Euro 2012 qualifications, Kek and the Football Association of Slovenia came to a mutual agreement on the early termination of his contract.[13] He was succeeded by Slaviša Stojanović.[14]

Al-Ittihad

On 20 December 2011, Kek became the head coach of Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad, however, his brief encounter with the Arabian football finished abruptly when he was sacked less than two months later, on 8 February 2012.[15][16]

Rijeka

On 27 February 2013, after more than a year without contract, Kek took over Croatian top division club HNK Rijeka.[17] He led Rijeka to the group stage of the UEFA Europa League in both the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons. In the 2016–17 season, Kek led Rijeka to their first-ever championship title and the historic double. He also won the 2013–14 and 2016–17 editions of the Croatian Cup, as well as the 2014 Croatian Super Cup.[18] In the 2013–14, 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons of the Croatian First League, Rijeka finished as the runners-up. With over five years at the club, Kek holds numerous club records, including for most wins and appearances for a manager. On 24 October 2016, he became Rijeka's longest-serving manager by single appointment.[19][20] In June 2017, Kek signed a new three-year contract with Rijeka, which ties him with the club until June 2020.[21] On 7 September 2017, Kek became the longest-serving manager by single appointment in the history of the Croatian First Football League.[22] He resigned on 6 October 2018 after a 2–1 defeat against HNK Gorica.[23]

Return to the Slovenia national team

On 27 November 2018, Kek was appointed as the manager of Slovenia for the second time in his career, replacing caretaker manager Igor Benedejčič.[24] He managed the team in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers, where Slovenia finished in fourth place with four wins out of ten games.[25] In 2020, Slovenia went undefeated for a record eight consecutive games, and also finished first in Group 3 of the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League C and was thus promoted to League B.[26]

In the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers, Kek guided Slovenia to second place in the group after defeating Kazakhstan 2–1 on the final matchday, securing the country's first European Championship appearance in 24 years.[27]

Personal life

Matjaž's father, Franc Kek, played for NK Maribor during the early 1960s, earning 51 appearances for the club and scoring one goal in the process.[28][29] His son Matjaž is also a footballer.[30]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 20 November 2023
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record Ref.
PWDLWin %
Maribor 9 March 2000 10 September 2000 25 21 2 2 084.00 [31][32]
Maribor 9 September 2002 20 September 2004 80 41 20 19 051.25 [33][34][35]
Slovenia 5 January 2007 24 October 2011 49 20 9 20 040.82 [36]
Al-Ittihad 20 December 2011 8 February 2012 11 3 2 6 027.27 [18]
Rijeka 27 February 2013 6 October 2018 275 164 66 45 059.64 [18]
Slovenia 27 November 2018 Present 50 24 14 12 048.00 [36]
Total 490 273 113 104 055.71 —

Honours

Player

Maribor

Manager

Maribor

Rijeka

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matjaž Kek.
  1. 1 2 3 "Strokovno vodstvo" (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. Archived from the original on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  2. ↑ "Matjaž Kek: Po zmagi nad Rusi so nas gledali, kot bi padli z lune". Metropolitan.si (in Slovenian). 23 March 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  3. ↑ "Kek Matjaž – nastopi" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  4. ↑ "Matjaž Kek, international football player". eu-football.info. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  5. ↑ "STA: Kek namesto Prašnikarja". sta.si (in Slovenian). Slovenian Press Agency. 9 March 2000. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Nekdanji podprli zdajšnje" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  7. ↑ "STA: Matjaž Kek ponudil odstop". sta.si (in Slovenian). Slovenian Press Agency. 9 September 2000. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  8. ↑ "STA: Šušak ni več trener Maribora Pivovarne Laško". sta.si (in Slovenian). Slovenian Press Agency. 11 October 2001. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  9. ↑ "Novi trener vijoličastih je Bojan Prašnikar" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. 28 October 2001. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  10. ↑ "Matjaž Kek na čelu vijoličastih" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. 9 September 2002. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  11. ↑ "Matjaž Kek nič več na mariborski klopi". sta.si (in Slovenian). Slovenian Press Agency. 20 September 2004. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  12. ↑ "Na vročo klop bo sedel Matjaž Kek" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. 5 January 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  13. ↑ "Kek No Longer National Football Team Coach". Football Association of Slovenia. 24 October 2011. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  14. ↑ "Slaviša Stojanović novi selektor reprezentance Slovenije" (in Slovenian). Football Association of Slovenia. 24 October 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  15. ↑ Suhadolnik, Jernej (20 December 2011). "Kek ob Rdečem morju: Ittihad zame velik izziv". Delo (in Slovenian). Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  16. ↑ Somerford, Ben (8 February 2012). "Saudi Arabian giants Al Ittihad sack ex-Slovenia coach Matjaz Kek". goal.com. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  17. ↑ Pacak, Tomislav. "Rijeka odabrala Matjaža Keka". Sportnet.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Matjaz Kek". footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  19. ↑ Vivoda, Vlado (24 October 2016). "Matjaž Kek od Intera do Intera: rekordnih 1335 dana na klupi Rijeke". Hocuri.com (in Croatian). Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  20. ↑ Vujnović, Korado (24 October 2016). "Pod stijenama Kantride 24.10. – Ruše se rekordi" (in Croatian). Radio Rijeka. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  21. ↑ "Matjaž Kek i Srećko Juričić produžili ugovor" (in Croatian). HNK Rijeka. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  22. ↑ Plestenjak, Rok (7 September 2017). "Zgodovinski podvig: Matjažu Keku ploska vsa Hrvaška" (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  23. ↑ H. V. (6 October 2018). "Kek podnio ostavku: "Čuo sam se s Miškovićem, više nisam trener Rijeke"". Index.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  24. ↑ Viškovič, Rok (27 November 2018). "Veliki Matjaž Kek. Pretkani Štajerec se vrača na krov" (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  25. ↑ "European Qualifiers – Standings". UEFA. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  26. ↑ Gruden, Toni (19 November 2020). "Iz letala se vidi, da je Slovenija postala ekipa, ki pa bo svojo vrednost dokazovala v 2021" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  27. ↑ "Kek: Odkar sem prišel v Stožice, sem si požvižgaval "Dviga Slovenija zastave"" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. 20 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  28. ↑ "Kek Franc – nastopi" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  29. ↑ "Kek Franc – goli" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  30. ↑ rb (10 November 2014). "Družina Kek: dvakrat šest" (in Slovenian). Ekipa24. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  31. ↑ "1. Slovenska nogometna liga – 1999/00" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  32. ↑ "1. Slovenska nogometna liga – 2000/01" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  33. ↑ "1. Slovenska nogometna liga – 2002/03" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  34. ↑ "1. Slovenska nogometna liga – 2003/04" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  35. ↑ "1. Slovenska nogometna liga – 2004/05" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  36. 1 2 "Matjaž Kek – national football team manager". eu-football.info. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
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