Slovenia 5

 

Zlatko Zahovic (Olympiacos, GRE)
vs. Norway (0:0) | Euros | 2000 in Belgium

When I was just 13 years old, I watched my first full Euros in 2000 and I was a huge fan of Zlatko Zahovic, who was one of the best players of the tournament, in my opinion, while starting for tiny Slovenia, a country I didn't really know anything about back then. At the time, Slovenia just seceeded from Yugoslavia less than a decade before they qualified for the Euros, their first major tournament. The second best goalscorer in the qualifiers, just behind Raúl, was said Zahovic, scoring 9 teams to lead his country to Belgium and the Netherlands.

They started on the big stage with a blast. Playing against Yugoslavia, of all countries, in their opening match, they went ahead 3:0, stunning the footballing world at the time. When Yugoslavia then got a red card on top, the match seemed to be over. But suddenly, Yugoslavia scored and scored again and scored again, all in just six minutes. The match ended 3:3. Zahovic scored twice in that match. In the second match, Raúl opened the scoreline for Spain, before Zahovic equalled the game, only for Spain to immediatiately score the winner a minute later. Yet, Slovenia had all to play for. They just needed to beat Norway. But they failed to get it, ending their last match with a goalless draw. That was enough for Norway, it seemed, as Yugoslavia was leading 3:2 vs. Spain in the 90th minute. But Spain turned the match around in the 90+4th and 90+5th minute to top the group, followed by Yugoslavia, which meant Norway and Slovenia eliminated each other.

Still, Zahovic was incredible and the first big tournament was surely one to remember for Slovenia. This shirt is from that tournament. It is an ugly template, brutally oversized and was the same away shirt Germany had in the tournament, too. Not a beautiful shirt, but a historic one. The shirt I got here is matchworn, too, though not from the Euros itself, but from a match in the months after the tournament. I am not sure which one, but was happy to pay 100€ for it, given the rarity and age of this shirt.