The appointment of only the second foreign manager in Scotland’s history last month lifted the spirits of the Tartan Army greatly following a desperately disappointing World Cup over in the United States this summer.
The refusal of Slovenia to go down the same route has left their supporters deflated and pessimistic about the future.
The central European nation, which has a population of just two million people, won many admirers at the Euro 2024 finals in Germany when they drew their Group C games with Denmark, Serbia and England and progressed the knockout rounds of a major tournament for the first time.
They then took a Portugal side which comprised, among others, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Cristiano Ronaldo to penalties in their last 16 match before being beaten in a shootout. It was a glorious failure and then some.
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Yet, since then Slovenia, who will provide the opposition as Sebastien Pocognoli makes his bow as Scotland head coach in the Stožice Stadium in Ljubljana tomorrow afternoon, have regressed.
They failed to win any of their World Cup qualifiers against Switzerland, Kosovo and Sweden last year and finished third in their section. Their manager Matjaž Kek, who had been in charge since 2018, departed in December when his contract was not renewed.
Hopes were high among fans that his exit would herald the dawn of a brave new era. But when the NZS, their governing body, sprang a major surprise and brought in their legendary former player Boštjan Cesar as his replacement they were swiftly dashed.
“A lot of people here were disappointed,” said Dylan Hayden, the American who runs the English language Slovenian football podcast SLOgomet. “Albert Riera, the former Liverpool, Manchester City and Spain player, was open to taking the job and many supporters were excited at that prospect.
“Riera is a very popular and famous manager over here in Slovenia. He has played for Zavrč and Koper and managed Olimpija Ljubljana and Celje twice and he has enjoyed a lot of success.
“He spoke openly about how he wanted the job, about how he believed he could help the players, about how he felt the side had the potential to be greater than the sum of its parts.
“But the NZS president had no interest in bringing Riera in. He was passed over and is now in charge of Red Star Belgrade after a short spell with Eintracht Frankfurt. The feeling among fans was he would have brought in a progressive, attacking, fun style of football. Now they are stuck with the low block which they played in the Kek era.”
Igor Evgen Bergant, a presenter and sports commentator with national broadcaster TV Slovenia, was also taken aback when Cesar, the former Dinamo Zagreb, Marseille, West Bromwich Albion, Grenoble and Chievo centre-half who won a record 101 caps for his country, was brought in.
“He doesn't have a lot of managerial experience,” he said. “He worked with the Slovenia age-group teams when he retired and was then assistant manager to Kek with the national side for a couple of years. He left because he got the opportunity to coach Maribor, the biggest club in the country.
“The old manager was very respected in Slovenia, but things were getting stale and the squad needed something new. A change was probably necessary. But is it better now Cesar is there? I'm really not sure. It's difficult to say.
“The players obviously know Cesar and respect him because he is one of the best footballers Slovenia has ever had. But he is not experienced enough to be the national team coach in my opinion. There is a really strong policy in Slovenia – we only take Slovenian managers. That is probably why he got the job.”
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Slovenia have been underwhelming in the four friendlies Cesar has presided over since being appointed in January; they have beaten Montenegro, drawn with Cyprus and lost to Hungary and Croatia.
There is perhaps a good reason why they have been unable to rediscover the form they showed at Euro 2024 and why many of their fans fear the forthcoming Nations League campaign might be a challenging one – the absence of Benjamin Šeško.
Slovenia have produced many outstanding footballers over the years. Samir Handanović, the former Inter Milan keeper, Jan Oblak, the current captain and Atletico Madrid goalie, and Zlatko Zahovič, the ex-Porto, Benfica and Sevilla playmaker who is their record scorer, are all well known outside of their homeland.
Branko Oblak, the Ljubljana-born one-time Bayern Munich midfielder, helped the former Yugoslavia to reach the second group stage of the World Cup in West Germany in 1974 and was named alongside the likes Franz Beckenbauer, Ruud Krol and Johan Cruyff in the All-Star Team at the end of that tournament.
Manchester United striker Šeško, though, is widely expected to eclipse the achievements of all of them in the years to come and become his country’s greatest ever player.
However, the 6ft 5in 23-year-old, who the Old Trafford club paid RB Leipzig an eye-watering €76.5m for last year, has not played at international level since October due to injuries. He pulled out of this camp on Tuesday with a shin problem.
“We haven't had many forwards in our history who were huge stars,” said Bergant. “They were always goalkeepers, defenders and midfielders. Šeško is the first big name forward and it feels different because obviously they score goals and are more popular with the fans.
“He's extremely smart, he talks well, he does all the right things on and off the park. He's very much a modern football player. He has everything he needs to become a superstar. But you never know what will happen. Injuries could be a problem.
“Šeško hasn’t featured in a match under Cesar yet. The guy is really keen on playing for Slovenia. He has always been motivated to play for his country. I don't think that he's faking it. But he has had some issues for sure.”
Hayden said, “Šeško is irreplaceable. Like many people here, I think he has the ability and attributes to become the greatest Slovenian player ever. He's got the physique and is an absolute monster up front. He is compared with Erling Haaland all the time. If you have a 6ft 5in striker leading the line it is obviously a massive weapon for you.
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“Cesar was certainly excited to get Šeško back when he named his squad. He called him a player like no other. But he has had to withdraw again. Danijel Šturm and Andraž Šporar, the Slovenian forwards, spoke this week and insisted national side will be able to compete in this group without him. But it is a tremendous blow to the morale of the team.”
Despite the loss of Šeško, Hayden expects Cesar to use a 4-4-2 formation against Scotland in the Group B1 match tomorrow and deploy Šporar, the experienced Slovan Bratislava forward, in attack alongside Zan Vipotnik, the Swansea City player. He does not, however, anticipate a feast of free-flowing football.
“The style of play is the big issue with Slovenia just now,” he said. “Fans were looking forward to something new after Kek. But they have continued to play with a counterattacking style. This weekend it will be defence first and look to hit on the counter.
“The two centre-backs, Vanja Drkušić and Jaka Bijol, will be our key men. They play for Espanyol in Spain and Leeds United in England respectively and are both quality defenders.
“Žan Karničnik, the right-back, plays for Maribor in our domestic league, but he is extremely consistent for the national team. On the other side of the defence, David Brekelo plays with Antoine Griezmann with Orlando City in the MLS. So there is more quality in defence than the attack at the moment.
“Personally, I'm jaded with the performances of the last year. We have let in goals that we shouldn’t have, we have been less comfortable on the ball than before, the quality has been lacking when it comes to finishing the chances. It is not the most modern or entertaining style.”
Bergant said, “Our problems since the Euros have been down to the fact we have a very thin pool of players. It's always an issue if we don't have key men in good shape. There has been no major reshuffle of the team since the new manager came in because he doesn't have a lot to choose from.
“I think Cesar would like to freshen up his defence a little bit because he used to be a defender and he believes that defence is everything. He likes well-organised systems. But there are not many Slovenian defenders around.
“He also desperately needs midfielders, a playmaker especially, and there are not many of them either. He has Timi Max Elšnik, who is now with Riera at Red Star Belgrade, but it is quite a problem. The wingers, like Benjamin Verbič of Celje, are also getting old.
“Cesar would like to have more firepower up front, but he has never been able to play Šeško. Vipotnik was in great form for club and country last season and scored 28 goals in total. But the combination between Šporar and Šeško was extremely fruitful because they are so different.
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“One major positive is the continuing presence of Oblak in goals. He is 33 now, but he is a goalkeeper and I think he still has many more years ahead of him in the international game. He is very patriotic and wants to continue. He said after the Euros that he wants to play for his country at a big tournament again.”
Questions were asked in Scotland about how Slovenia, a country with a far smaller population, could perform so assuredly against far more celebrated opponents at Euro 2024. Their players were well-organised at the back, composed in possession and attacked in numbers and at pace.
Hayden is optimistic that the next generation will help the national team to scale those giddy heights again in the future – but he does not have particularly high hopes for the encounter with Scotland in Ljubljana this afternoon or for this Nations League campaign.
“There is a push to get more young players through domestically,” he said. “The NZS introduced a rule this year which stipulates that every club in the top two tiers must play one under-21 player who is eligible to represent the national team for 45 minutes in the first half.
“But I think there is a lot of technical quality in the young players who are coming through. They have seen their countrymen go overseas to play and are very comfortable going abroad to further their careers. Despite the problems Slovenia have, we have players in England, Germany, Italy, France and Spain.
"The promising midfielder Tian Nai Koren, who is just 17, signed for Club Brugge in Belgium last year. Miha Matjašec, another 17-year-old midfielder, has taken the same path which Šeško took. He signed for Red Bull Salzburg last year and is now playing for their second team Liefering.
“Players who are coming through the pipeline are being scouted young here. If you have big European clubs who are willing to take a chance on young Slovenian players then I say let them.”
The unwillingness of the Slovenian FA to gamble on a manager from further afield will prevent their national team from progressing for many of their supporters.
