Matjaž Kek

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

Matjaž Kek
Kek as Slovenia manager in 2009
Personal information
Full name Matjaž Kek
Date of birth (1961-09-09) 9 September 1961
Place of birth Maribor, PR Slovenia,
FPR Yugoslavia
Playing position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Slovenia (manager)
Youth career
0000–1980 Železničar Maribor
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1980 Železničar Maribor
1980–1985 Maribor 114 (36)
1985–1988 Spittal/Drau
1988–1995 GAK 86 (15)
1995–1999 Maribor 126 (17)
National team
1992 Slovenia 1 (0)
Teams managed
2000–2001 Maribor (assistant/caretaker)
2002–2004 Maribor
2006–2007 Slovenia U15/U16
2007–2011 Slovenia
2011–2012 Al-Ittihad
2013–2018 Rijeka
2018– Slovenia
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Kek started his professional football career at his home club Železničar Maribor in 1979,[1] before moving to the Austrian club Spittal/Drau in 1985, where he spent three seasons. He then transferred to another Austrian club, GAK of the Austrian Bundesliga where he played for 7 years. After that he returned to Maribor, where from 1995 to 1999 he won three Slovenian league titles, before retiring. He spent most of his career playing in defense, mostly in the centre back position and was known for his leadership abilities.

Managerial career

Maribor

After finishing his career as a player, Kek stayed at Maribor, serving as an assistant coach for one season, before being appointed manager in 2000. He immediately won the league title in the 2000–01 season. Under his guidance the team won the league again in 2003.

Slovenia

In 2006, he was the coach of the Slovenian under-15 and under-16 national football teams. On 3 January 2007, Kek was appointed manager of the Slovenia national team, 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.[2] He was succeeded by Slaviša Stojanović.

Al Ittihad

Kek then became the head coach of Saudi Arabian team Al Ittihad, however, his brief encounter with the Arabian football finished abruptly when he was sacked couple of weeks later, on 8 February 2012.[3]

Rijeka

On 27 February 2013, after more than a year without contract, Kek took over Croatian top division club HNK Rijeka.[4] He led Rijeka to the group stage of 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 Croatian Cups, as well as 2014 Croatian Super Cup and finished runners-up in the 2013–14, 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons of the Croatian First Football League. 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.[5][6] In June 2017, Kek signed a new three-year contract with Rijeka, which ties him with the club until June 2020.[7] On 7 September 2017, Kek became the longest-serving manager by single appointment in the history of the Croatian First Football League.[8] He resigned on 6 October 2018 after a 2–1 defeat against HNK Gorica.[9]

Slovenia

On 27 November 2018, Kek was appointed as the manager of the Slovenia national team for the second time in his career, replacing caretaker manager Igor Benedejčič.[10]

Managerial statistics
Club From To Competition Record
PWDLWin %
HNK Rijeka 27 February 2013 6 October 2018 Croatian First League 201 122 50 29 060.70
Croatian Cup 30 25 1 4 083.33
Croatian Super Cup 1 1 0 0 100.00
UEFA Champions League 6 2 2 2 033.33
UEFA Europa League 36 14 12 10 038.89
Total 274 164 65 45 059.85

Source: HRnogomet.com

Honours

Player

Club
NK Maribor

Manager

Club
NK Maribor
HNK Rijeka

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.[11][12] His son Matjaž (born 1991) is also a footballer.[13]

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 March 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. http://www.goal.com/en-au/news/4016/main/2012/02/08/2892962/saudi-arabian-giants-al-ittihad-sack-ex-slovenia-coach
  4. Pacak, Tomislav. "Rijeka odabrala Matjaža Keka" (in Croatian). Sportnet.hr. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  5. Vivoda, Vlado (24 October 2016). "Matjaž Kek od Intera do Intera: rekordnih 1335 dana na klupi Rijeke" (in Croatian). Hocuri.com. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  6. Vujnović, Korado (24 October 2016). "Pod stijenama Kantride 24.10. – Ruše se rekordi" (in Croatian). Radio Rijeka. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  7. "Matjaž Kek i Srećko Juričić produžili ugovor" (in Croatian). HNK Rijeka. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  8. Plestenjak, Rok (7 September 2017). "Zgodovinski podvig: Matjažu Keku ploska vsa Hrvaška" (in Slovenian). Siol.net. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  9. H.V. (6 October 2018). "Kek podnio ostavku: "Čuo sam se s Miškovićem, više nisam trener Rijeke"" (in Croatian). Index.hr. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  10. Rok Viškovič (27 November 2018). "Veliki Matjaž Kek. Pretkani Štajerec se vrača na krov" (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  11. "Kek Franc – appearances" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  12. "Kek Franc – goals" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  13. rb (10 November 2014). "Družina Kek: dvakrat šest" (in Slovenian). Ekipa24. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
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