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Mladen Rudonja (born July 26, 1971 in Koper) is a former Slovenian footballer who has represented his country at two major tournaments - (Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup). He most often played as a forward or a winger (usually on the left). Despite this, he did not score a goal for the Slovenian national side until his 53rd cap - in the second leg of a playoff for the 2002 World Cup against Romania in Bucharest that finished 1:1, which meant Slovenia qualified for the tournament, as they won the first leg in Ljubljana 2:1. He has always been very popular with the fans (who nicknamed him "Turbo Rudi") and after this match he has gained an almost national hero status. All in all, he has accumulated 65 caps for the national side, which makes him the 6th most capped player in Slovenia's history.
His main assets were speed and seemingly endless stamina. 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 2002 World Cup, he left for Olimpija Ljubljana to wind down his career, playing alongside Croatian legend and former Portsmouth teammate Robert Prosinečki as Olimpija sought to recapture former glories.
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