Man of the Tournament: Robert Vittek
Without a doubt, Robert Vittek gets my Man of the Tournament honor. The 28-year-old striker, who was recovering from a knee injury during the run up to the tournament, sparked Slovakia's offense, netting 4 goals in 4 games, and secured legendary status in Slovakia. His 4th goal of the tournament, a spot kick in the waning minutes of the Repre's game with the Netherlands, also put him past Szilárd Németh as Slovakia's all-time leading scorer.

Honorable Mention: Jan Mucha and Martin Skrtel
Both Mucha and Skrtel contributed mightily to the Slovakian cause. Mucha made several big saves, especially key punch-outs in their match against Italy and Skrtel controlled the back line superbly. Skrtel’s goal line deflection of a sure Italy goal in the second half of the game also saved the Repre from giving up the equalizer.

Biggest Surprise: Vladimir Weiss Jnr.
Despite not playing in the Repre’s upset of Italy, the younger Weiss turned heads with his play in their draw with New Zealand and loss to Paraguay. Described a few times as “jet-heeled”, the speedy winger blazed down the sidelines, fooling defenders with his tricky footwork and creating opportunities for teammates in the box. Although he wasn’t as effective against the Netherlands, the 20-year-old winger was certainly a nice surprise at the tournament and a bright spot for Slovakia’s future.

Biggest Letdown: Marek Hamsik
Hamsik was pegged as one of the young stars to look for at this tournament, yet the 22-year-old captain failed to live up to expectations, going scoreless in all 4 games and having very little impact. His best game was against Italy where he created several opportunities for his teammates and had a few himself, but failed to convert. However, in the other three games he was shut down by the defense and appeared frustrated. It makes one wonder how good Slovakia could have been if Hamsik was on form.

Best Goal: Kamil Kopunek vs. Italy
Of the five goals that Slovakia scored in South Africa, my Best Goal award goes to the only one that Robbert Vittek did not score. With all due respect to the country’s leading scorer, Kamil Kopunek’s pretty little chip over Frederico Marchetti surpasses the other 4 goals in both beauty and magnitude. Kopunek snuck behind the defense, ran on to Marek Hamsik’s bouncing throw-in, and deftly touched the ball over Marchetti’s outstretched gloves. The goal gave Slovakia a 3-1 lead and ended up being the game-winner.

Best Save: Jan Mucha vs Italy
As much as I’d like to give it to Mucha’s brave face-save that he made against the Netherlands, his best save of the tournament came in the second half against Italy, when Mucha elevated himself a mere inch over Iaquinta’s head, and JUST managed to punch out a dangerous cross. It was an incredibly athletic and smart play by the goalkeeper, who was not afraid to control the airspace around his goal all-tournament, and snuffed out a potential scoring opportunity for the Azzuri.

Best Quote: Vladimir Weiss Snr. and Robert Vittek
It’s a draw between manager Vladimir Weiss who said “This is a fantastic day for Slovakia and the second greatest day of my life after the birth of my son,” and Robert Vittek who said, “But, of course, to be chosen as Man of the Match means a lot to me. I’d just like to be able to break up this trophy and give a little piece to every one of my team-mates. I was simply there in the right place at the right time to score those two goals.” Both quotes show the spirit of the entire squad and how much the win meant to the team.

Unsung Heroes: Zdeno Strba and Juraj Kucka
The two holding midfielders paired up perfectly in the Repre’s win over Italy, with Strba stonewalling Italy’s midfielders and Kucka sending in dangerous shots on goal. The duo were two of the main reasons that Slovakia was able to keep the ball in Italy’s half and generate as much offense as they did.