FC Koper
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| FC Koper | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Football Club Koper | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | The Canaries (Kanarčki) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1955 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | SRC Bonifika Stadion, Koper (Capacity 4,500) |
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| Chairman |  Jani Bačič(for  Milan Mandarić) |
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| Manager | Vlado Badžim |
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| League | 1.SNL | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006-07 | 6th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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FC Koper is a Football Association of Slovenia (soccer) club, playing in the town of Koper.
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[edit] History
From the records, it appears that football in Koper was played as early as in the 1920s, but officially, the club took the name NK Koper in the year 1955, when it was formed by the merger of two football teams: Aurora and Meduza. The club played under this name in different Yugoslavian leagues until 1991 and was one of the most successful Slovenian clubs. After Slovenia became independent, the club started to play in the 1.SNL and 2.SNL. At the beginning of the 1990s, the club was achieving mid-table success. By the end of the 1990s, the club had been relegated to the second division twice, had serious financial problems and renamed itself to FC Koper, thereby avoiding the necessity of paying off its debts. With the advent of the new millennium, FC Koper consistently achieved positions in the upper half of the table (achieving third place in the 2001–2002 season, its highest since Slovenian independence). In the 2003–2004 season, they were playing in a European competition for the first time since 1991: the UEFA Intertoto Cup. Two years of mid-table anonymity and significant financial difficulties followed, in part because the former owner, Georg Suban, left substantial debts to the club and took half the team with him when he moved to the other 1.SNL team NK Mura.
The fans took control of the club and tried to improve its finances to save it from going bankrupt and disappearing like two other major Slovenian clubs (NK Olimpija and NK Mura), with reasonable success. In the 2005–2006 season, Mladen Rudonja returned to the club and brought with him the Serbian-American businessman Milan Mandarić, who paid off all the remaining debts. After the first half of the season, before the arrival of the new patron, Koper was battling against relegation, but in the second part of the season, with a new coach, Milivoj Braćun, the club started an unbeaten run that led them to reach the 3rd place in the 1.SNL and to win the Slovenian Cup for the first time, FC Koper's first trophy since the Slovenian independence from Yugoslavia. This also qualified the team to play in the UEFA Cup qualifying rounds in the 2006–2007 season.
[edit] Stadium
- See main article SRC Bonifika Stadion
The Bonifika is the team's home stadium, which is named after the area where it is situated in the town of Koper. It has a capacity of 4,500 spectators.
[edit] Fan base
There are two main supporting groups for FC Koper. The first one, the elder, is an ultras group formed in 1987 and it goes by the name of Tifozi Koper. It is the oldest ultras group in Slovenia and it is known for its unconditional loyalty to FC Koper. The second group, formed in March 2002, is a fan group called 12. Kopra.
[edit] Achievements
League Positions:
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Slovenian Cup Winners:
1990/91, 2005/06, 2006/07
[edit] Current Squad
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Hasić
Handanagić
Rajčević
Viler
Mejač
Ibeji
Božič
Božičič
Jukan
Plut
Volaš
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| First squad in the summer round of season 2007/8 |
| Goalkeeper | ||
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| 1 | Ermin Hasić (captain) |
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| 30 | Admir Suhonjić |
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| Defence | ||
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| 3 | Sandi Pavlovič |
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| 4 | Elvis Šahinović |
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| 6 | Enes Handanagić |
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| 26 | Aleksander Rajčević |
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| 28 | Mitja Viler |
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| 22 | Edin Šečić |
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| 34 | Simon Klun |
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| 5 | Jan Pahor |
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| Midfield | |||
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| 8 | Emanuel Galun |
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| 10 |  Sunday Chibuke Ibeji |
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| 17 | Miloš Šučevič |
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| 18 | Amer Jukan |
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| 20 | Rok Božič |
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| 21 | - | 33 | Saša Božičič |
| 35 | Ivan Klun |
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| Strikers | ||
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| 7 | Vito Plut |
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| 11 | Arlind Elshani |
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| 14 | Niki Lekič |
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| 23 |  Josip Barišić |
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| ?? | Damir Vidović |
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[edit] Technical Team
- Manager: Vlado Badžim
- Assistant Manager: Slaven Čuček
- Goalkeeper Coach: Željko Maksič
- Physiotherapist: Darko Čačič
- Team Doctor: Dr. Fedor Friderik Valentin
- Youth center director: Alen Ščulac, Božo Tabar
[edit] Managers
| Manager | Period |
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| Lučo Pertič | 1982 - 1985 |
| Dragan Popadić | 1985 - 1987 |
| Milan Miklavič | 1987 - 1990 |
| Branko Zupan | 1990 - 1992 |
| Vlado Klinčarovski | 1992 - 1994 |
| Marijan Jantoljak | 1994 - 1995 |
| Predrag Stilinović | 1995 - 1996 |
| Vladan Mladenović, Edi Pobega | 1996 - 1997 |
| Branko Zupan, Vlado Badžim | 1997 - 1998 |
| Marin Kovačić, Tone Hrovatič | 1998 - 1999 |
| Branko Zupan | 1999 - 2000 |
| Branko Oblak | 2000 - 2001 |
| Nenad Gračan | 2001 - 2002 |
| Milivoj Bračun | 2002 - 2003 |
| Igor Benedejčič | 2003 - 2004 |
| Borut Jarc, Ivan Marjon | 2004 - 2005 |
| Samir Zulić, Milivoj Bračun/Borut Jarc | 2005 - 2006 |
| Milivoj Bračun/Borut Jarc | 2006 |
| Vlado Badžim | 2007 - present |
[edit] External links
- (Slovene) Official FC Koper website
- (Slovene) Unofficial FC Koper fans forum
- (Slovene) Tifozi Koper website
- (Slovene) 12. Kopra website
- (Slovene) Official Football Association of Slovenia website
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Slovenian First League 2007-08
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