Speak to those who know Benjamin Sesko best and they will tell you his meteoric rise is no surprise.
Youth coaches in Slovenia always thought he was destined for the top and, at 21 years old, the striker is already among the most-wanted in Europe.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United were all interested in signing Sesko this summer, but he decided to continue his development at RB Leipzig and sign a new contract with them.
Tuesday night gives Sesko the chance to show what all the fuss is about as Slovenia take on England.
After drawing their first two games, Slovenia need a win to guarantee a place in the knockout stages of Euro 2024 and they are relying on Sesko to help them cause a major upset.
The striker was Slovenia’s top scorer in qualifying, while he also finished the season with a goal in each of his last seven Bundesliga games. Sesko is yet to get off the mark at this Euros, but there have been flashes of the talent that got Europe’s big clubs chasing him.
Twice in Slovenia’s opening game with Denmark, the striker was inches from scoring a contender for goal of the tournament with long-range strikes from outside the box.
Along with his height, Sesko’s shooting was one of the attributes that made him stand out from the rest as a youngster.
Rok Zorko, who worked with Sesko between the ages of 13 to 15 at Slovenia side NK Krsko Posavje, recalls the striker’s shot being so powerful he once scored from kick-off.
Supernaturally fast, an even better shot... he was a born winner and shooter.
Before joining Krsko, Sesko had played in defence, midfield and even occasionally as a goalkeeper - but the club quickly decided he was a striker. In two years with them, he scored more than 100 goals.
“Where else can you play a boy who is supernaturally fast, has excellent individual technique, an even better shot and an exceptional jump,” Zorko tells Standard Sport. “He was always the striker. He was a born winner and shooter.”
Those at NK Rudar Trbovlje, where Sesko spent a year playing for their Under-11 side, tell similar stories and even a decade on his prowess in front of goal is still spoken about.
“He was taller than other players, also very fast and with great balance for his height,” David Buovski, a board member of NK Rudar Trbovlje, tells Standard Sport.
“His shooting was also amazing, in youth games he shot from great distances as soon as he saw his opportunity and often scored. You could see very quickly that he was something special.”
Talent is one thing, but crucially a young Sesko showed the attitude to go with it.
Buovski remembers him as a “real sports addict” and, given Sesko’s height, it is no surprise to learn he was a keen basketball player growing up.
When he wasn’t playing football, Sesko often spent evenings playing basketball at his local sports club in his hometown of Radece, sometimes just practicing shooting on his own, and he now has a hoop in the garden of his house in Leipzig.
Sesko began his career playing for Radece, where he swiftly became the star of the team and talk of the town.
“He also played other positions [as well as striker], mostly in the midfield,” Jernej Ceh, Sesko’s first coach, tells Standard Sport. “When things didn’t go according to plan, he took matters into his own hands and turned the game around.”
Sesko stays in touch with those at Radece, even returning two years ago to coach a training session.
When he was 10, however, he joined NK Rudar Trbovlje and the coaches would drive two hours each way just to bring him to training such was their desire to work with a player with his talent.
“Beni never complained and eventually he started coming to Trbovlje by train even though he was still very young - 11 years old,” says Buovski. “Trbovlje is an old coal mining town and the mentality here is pretty similar to some English industrial towns.
“So Beni got a lot of ‘tough love’ as we are known to be a bit rough around the edges sometimes.
“But he coped with it wonderfully, he was never a ‘primadonna’ when a coach, maybe in a rough style, would tell him that he needs to do better in certain areas. And it made him an even better player, I think.”
Sesko is remembered as a calm and grounded player throughout his youth career - and that mindset has stuck with him now. Indeed, Meditation and yoga are part of his training regime at Leipzig.
“If someone showed at an early age that he could be a great professional footballer, it was Beni,” says Buovski. “His talent was so great that something would really have to go wrong that he would not achieve his goals, if he stuck with it.
“So yes, it was obvious that he can become a great footballer. It was obvious even to someone who does not watch football daily. He was too good.”
