He played 64 minutes, appearing in three of Slovenia’s four games.
Zan Celar, like his teammates, is now part of his country’s history, having qualified for the first time to the round of 16 of a major competition.
And eliminated, last night, only on penalties, by Portugal.
Four matches and four draws for the Slovenians, who proved to be combative and very well prepared, both tactically and physically.
And if last night Sesko had turned that golden opportunity into a goal at the end, who knows, maybe we would be talking about a real miracle.
Celar was there behind, a few steps away from his Leipzig teammate, who after Pepe’s mistake had flown one-on-one with Diogo Costa. Unfortunately for him, his teammate, the number 11, who in this competition has shown he has some numbers and who the market already rewards with a value of around 70 million, lacked a bit of coolness. On Diogo Costa’s save, the ball arrived right at Celar, but he too, in a much more complicated situation, was unable to score. Too bad.
Slovenia, back home, Celar will go on vacation, before returning to Ticino.
But what remains for the FC Lugano striker from this European Championship?
Certainly the great experience of a stage second only to the World Cup and the feeling of being able to compete.
Yes, because Zan, despite not having played a leading role, even last night against Portugal, has shown himself to be a dangerous attacker, one of those who cause problems for defences.
As Spanish television commented, an element that you can never trust, even though he is so short of that one to make thirty-one. And that for a striker, unfortunately, is sometimes decisive.
His coach, 62-year-old Kek, could have given him more space. Yes, because 30-year-old Sporar, who already scored only one goal in 18 games in Basel a few years ago, did not seem to be a phenomenon. On the contrary.
Zan’s regret is perhaps that: he deserved a few more minutes. But at 25, he will have plenty of time to make up for it.
Now we need to understand what future awaits him: he still has a year left on his contract with the Bianconeri, but he still has the desire to leave for abroad in his head.
The next few days will be decisive, to know if Croci-Torti will still have him at the center of the attack, or if the club will have to move towards other profiles.
(Foto Keystone)
