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. In 1980, he returned to Maribor. 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. 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 manager for one season, before being appointed as manager in March 2000 after Bojan Prašnikar left the club. He immediately won the league title in the 1999–2000 season. He resigned in September 2000 after a 3–1 defeat against Korotan Prevalje. In October 2001, Kek returned to Maribor as an interim manager after Ivo Šušak resigned. A couple weeks later, he was moved to the assistant manager position after Bojan Prašnikar took over the managerial role. In September 2002, he once again became a manager of the team, and won the league title in the 2002–03 season. Kek was sacked by the team on 20 September 2004 after a string of poor results. Slovenia national team Between 2006 and 2007, Kek was the head coach of the Slovenian under-15 and under-16 national teams. On 5 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. He was succeeded by Slaviša Stojanović. 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. Rijeka On 27 February 2013, after more than a year