
Roman Jerebic* – or, more splendidly, ????? ??????? – is a man in South Africa, and in a hurry. He was quick as a shot to volunteer to answer questions ahead of today’s England v Slovenia clincher, stressing his own acquaintance with several members of his national team, but then disappeared. He resurfaces just in time with these last-minute, no-frills responses …
So you’e beaten Algeria and drawn against the United States. What is your verdict on Slovenia’s tournament so far?
Slovenia has displayed more than good game so far and has great potential for high ranking..
When you qualfiied and saw the other teams in your group, what were your thoughts and how
far did you believe Sloveia could go?
Nothing special. In the WC only the best teams from all over the world qualify. Attractive but.. All teams are favourites against smallest country in the competition.
What about the World Cup generally? Some of the games have been fairly dull but do any stand out for you as being worth remembering?
I would not say that the games are boring .. (but) far too much now is about tactics and less about pleasure..
Tell us about Slovenia as a footballing nation and as a country – do you ever regret, in footballing or any other terms, the break-up of Yugoslavia?
Never .. Whole Slovenia is proud of the successes of our boys …
Which of your players do you regard as the strongest and in which positions are there weaknesses? I believe you played with several of them at lower levels; are you still in contact with anyone form those days?
Honestly, the most strongest man is our goalkeeper Samir Handanovic.. Weakness? Maybe wings.. We are still waiting for Brecko and Jokic day.. Yes, I played with almost all of them and of course, we are still in contact with guys..
And what of England? Who are the players you fear and where do you see our shortcomings? Did you think we played as bdly against the USA as some English people have said?
England is a great disappointment for me on this World Cup.. Names like Lampard, Terry, Gerrard, Rooney, Defoe and others should easily win this tournament.. Yes, England played very, very badly against the USA
Is the Slovenian press as critical and intrusive as the British variety when it comes to football stars? is there anything like our media’s treatment of the WAGS (wives and girlfriends of players)?
The whole of Slovenia is proud of the achievement of such a small country and their players.. Any result against three favourites in our group was a success.. Nothing special with wives and girlfriends.. We do not have David and Victoria Becham in our country.. And we are happy because of that..
A lot of Salut! Sunderland readers, and supporters of other Premier League teams, are much
more passionate about their clubs than about the national team. Do you support a team in Slovenia and do you understand such preferences?
I do not support any of teams in Slovenia.. I am from Ljubljana and I prefer Lj club (NK Olimpija), but I am not fan of that team..
There has been relatively little controversy so far (at time of writing). Does this mean the referees are winning the battle for fair play over cheating (diving, feigning injury, trying to get opposing players show red or yellow cards. shirt-pulling etc)?
In short – I (am) disappointed with the refereeing..
Who is your favourite team in the World Cup apart from Slovenia and who do you want to
win/or think will win if it cannot be your country?
My favourite is Spain and I hope they will win World Cup in South Africa..

Have you any knowledge of Sunderland AFC and have you ever seen us play?
Black Cats? Hmm.. J I know all of your history.. Yes, I saw your team played against Arsenal in London in February.. You lose by two goals..
Who are the foregin players, any nationality, you most admire?
All of players in FC Barcelona.. I like Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, D. Villa,……….
What will be the score between England and Slovenia?
I hope Slovenia will win.. 2:1 wil be
great..
Roman Jerebic on ????? ???????:
Roman lives in Ljubljana, likes the South Park TV series and offers this philosophical thought on Facebook: “Every day when I get up and look at the list of 50 richest people in Sloveniji. If I am still not on the list I go to work.”
But if you think he is holding back a little with his replies, just remember than compared with one Everton fan last season – click here – he is postively verbose.