Robert Koren will lead his country into World Cup action no longer an Albion player.

Yet, aside from his meeting with England, Baggies fans will still be willing the Slovenia captain to make his mark in South Africa.

That is the mark of the affection with which the 29-year-old surprisingly took his leave of the Hawthorns today.

That Koren’s departure came as a shock when today’s announcement came says much for his contribution in the closing weeks of his second Albion promotion.

Because midway through Roberto Di Matteo’s first season at the helm, his exit this summer looked like a foregone conclusion.

Circumstances and an uneasy truce between player and head coach allowed Koren to reclaim his place as a regular starter, then play his part in the most emphatic of the Baggies’ four promotions.

It ensured a fitting end to one of the most eye-catching careers of the club’s ‘yo-yo years.’

Koren is one of the most gifted performers to have worn Baggies stripes during their Noughties struggles to establish a permanent seat at English football’s top table.

There can be little doubt that his arrival in the winter of 2007 represents the finest piece of free-transfer business in recent Hawthorns history.

He joined from Lillestrom in the early days of the winter transfer window, the first piece of the Baggies ‘jigsaw’ that then-manager Tony Mowbray would discuss at length for the next two-and-a-half years.

Koren’s impact was not immediate, although Mowbray’s faith in his abilities was clear from the outset.

He played regularly as Mowbray halted the slide he inherited from Bryan Robson and led Albion to the Championship play-offs with a brand of football that would make him and many of his players heroes in the eyes of the Hawthorns faithful.

It was the summer of 2007, however, before the ‘real Koren’ emerged.

The post play-off departures cast him in the role of key player in the Mowbray revolution, shifting from the fringes and flanks of the side into the thick of the action.

His combination with Jonathan Greening at the heart of Mowbray’s midfield made him a central figure, in every sense of the phrase, of the Championship triumph of 2008. His performances created high hopes for a major role in Mowbray’s Premier League campaign.

Instead, the season brought the beginning of the frustrations that would blight his remaining days at the club.

Instead of building on the previous year’s frustrations, Koren found himself shunted to every corner of Mowbray’s midfield, with his versatility proving to be his biggest enemy.

There were good days and the Slovenian even picked up the Player of the Year award from Albion’s official supporters’ club.

But, in truth, the season was an anti-climax and with it came the first suggestions that his future might lie elsewhere.

Koren seemed refreshed and re-energised last summer, as Di Matteo succeeded Mowbray and a new promotion campaign began.

Yet the emergence of Graham Dorrans as the Baggies’ driving force again left Koren on the outside looking in.

Frustrations boiled over in February, when a very public touchline spat with Di Matteo appeared to leave the writing on the wall for his Hawthorns career.

But still there was time for a final contribution or two to the Albion cause, with crucial and spectacular March goals against Sheffield Wednesday and Blackpool proving crucial to the defining month of a promotion with a record-breaking number of points.

Koren’s release from his Hawthorns contract will please some supporters, who believe his influence on their side has run its course.

But many more will be disappointed to have seen the last of his clever brand of play in an Albion shirt.

In the next six weeks, Koren will embark on the biggest challenge of his career in leading his nation’s hopes in South Africa.

He will do so with the good wishes of a large section of the Black Country driving him on.

By Steve Madeley