Mladen Rudonja

Mladen Rudonja is a Slovenian footballer who has represented his country at the two major tournaments for which they have qualified (Euro 2000 and Football World Cup 2002), and has accumulated over 60 caps. His position has been as an attacking midfielder, or on occasions a forward. However, he only scored one goal for Slovenia (the one against Romania which took them to Korea). After this, his comment was "a blind hen eventually finds the corn". Despite this, his position as a fan's favourite was solid, and his nickname "Turbo Rudi" was embraced by many.

His main asset is the ability to run rather a lot, and his performance against Spain in Korea saw Joe Royle (British commentator) notice that he never stopped for 90 minutes. As a result, he gained a position that was possibly unique in world football: a purely defensive centre forward. His club career never really caught on in the same way, with a spell at Portsmouth amounting to little. After the World Cup, he left for Olimpija Ljubljana to wind down his career, playing alongside Croat legend Robert Prosinecki as Olimpija sought to recapture former glories. Many Triglav-wearing Slovenia fans will miss him, but will not forget his level headed approach to the game.