NK Maribor

NK Maribor

Full name	Nogometni Klub Maribor
Nickname(s)	Vijoličasti (the Purples) Vijolice (Violets)
Founded	1960
Ground	Stadion Ljudski Vrt, Maribor (Capacity: 12,435)
Chairman	Drago Cotar
Manager	Zlatko Zahovič
Coach	Darko Milanič
League	1.SNL
2009–10	2nd
Home colours Away colours

NK Maribor is a Slovenian football team, playing in the city of Maribor. They are the most successful Slovenian club with eight Slovenian League, six Slovenian Cup and one Slovenian Supercup titles.

They are the only Slovenian club to participate in the UEFA Champions League and one of only four clubs from the SFR Yugoslavia region that participated in UEFA Champions League since the breakup of the country in 1991.

The slogan of the club is En klub, ena čast (One club, one honour).

History

Origins

Inter-war period

The first step in the establishment of NK Maribor, as we know it today, was the creation of 1. Slovenski športni klub Maribor (1. SSK Maribor), on 28th June 1919 in a small tavern called Jadran on Partizanska cesta, Maribor. Their first match soon followed, when 1. SSK Maribor lost against Hertha (1–4) on 19th July. The club won their first match against a fellow Maribor based club called SK Aero on 7th September 1919 (7–5).

It wasn't until 1920 when the club acquired their very first pitch in Ljudski vrt (which later became famous and where the club still plays today). Club players also helped in preparing the pitch.

During the inter-war period the Slovenian football scene was dominated by clubs located in Ljubljana and therefore Maribor managed to win the title only three times (1931, 1933 and 1939).

Time after World War II and abolishment

After World War II FD Maribor (Fiskulturno društvo Maribor) stepped in as the successor of 1. SSK Maribor. In the first match after the war, on 23 September 1945, FD Maribor met local rivals FD Železničar. The match finished with a goalless draw (0–0).

In 1949, FD Maribor started to compete under the name Branik and three years later, on 12 July 1952, the club received a new pitch in Ljudski vrt where it still stands today. The club then played in the 2nd Yugoslav Division since 1953/54 season but was abolished in 1960 due to a food poisoning affair.

NK Maribor is born (December 1960)

NK Maribor football club, as we know it today, was founded on 12th December 1960. After the elections Dr. Srečko Koren was appointed as the first club president, while Andrija Pflander was appointed as the first head coach and Oto Blaznik as the first team captain.

The newly established club played its first match on 5th February 1961, when they defeated city rivals NK Kovinar Maribor by 2–1 (0–0), with Stefan Tolič scoring both goals. Despite heavy rain, 1,500 spectators came to see the match. It was clear that the local fans saw the newly established club as the successor of the club that had been abolished a couple of months earlier.

The first league match was played on 12th March 1961 in Nova Gorica, when NK Maribor Branik played against the local team and won by 2–0. In that year the club won the prestigious Slovene championship and gained a place in the Western group of the 2nd Yugoslav Division through qualifying phases (in the decisive matches NK Maribor defeated NK Uljanik from Pula, Croatia). After five seasons (during that time the average attendance of home matches was around 8,000 spectators) the club, under the guidance of coach Simunič, managed to reach the Yugoslav First League.

In 1962 the club received a new stadium called Ljudski vrt and on 2nd September of the same year, football fans across Slovenia witnessed the birth of a new rivalry between NK Maribor and NK Olimpija. The first match between the two clubs was played in Ljubljana and ended with a draw (1–1).

Matches between these two clubs later became known in Slovenia as Večni derbi (Eternal derby).

Yugoslav First League period (1967–1972)

The club's first match in Yugoslav First League (in 1967) was played against Vardar (1–1) in Skopje - Maras scored the only goal for NK Maribor. The first home match was played on 27th August against FK Proleter Zrenjanin - NK Maribor won the match by 3–0. The goals were scored by Kranjc, Arnejčič and Binkovski. In the same season, football fans across Slovenia witnessed the first match in Yugoslav First League between two clubs from Slovenia. The first home match against the newly established rivals NK Olimpija was played in front of 13,000 spectators and finished with a goalless draw (0–0). All matches between the two clubs during this time were sold out, with crowd attendance sometimes reaching up to 20,000.

During the five years played in Yugoslav First League NK Maribor played a total of 166 matches and achieved 40 wins, 57 draws and 69 defeats, with a goal difference of 166–270.

The last home match was played in 1972, ironically, against NK Olimpija. This was also the last match of the season in the Yugoslav First League for the club. The rivals from Ljubljana won the match 3–6. NK Maribor was relegated and never played in the Yugoslav First League again.

1973–1990 period

For the next three years, NK Maribor played in the Western group of the 2nd Yugoslav Division. In 1975, the club was relegated and had to spend one season in the Slovene League, but was promoted back to the 2nd Yugoslav Division only a year after.

From 1977 to 1981 NK Maribor played in the Western group of the 2nd Yugoslav Division, before being kicked out due to affair named Žoga (Ball).

After one year in the Republican league (Slovenian league) the club returned to 2nd Yugoslav Division. Later the club was bouncing between 2nd Yugoslav Division and the Republican league until the break up of SFR Yugoslavia.

From the summer of 1989 to summer of 1991, the club which had joined MŠD Branik in 1988, competed by the name of NK Maribor Branik in the Western Group of the newly formed Inter-Republic League (with clubs from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia).

New country - New league (1991–1996)

After the declared independence of Slovenia in 1991, Slovenia's best clubs were joined into the Slovenian League. In the first couple of seasons, NK Maribor's rivals NK Olimpija from Ljubljana, which had had a long tradition of playing in the Yugoslav First League and at the time still had their squad composed of players from that era, dominated the league.

Nevertheless NK Maribor managed to win the first Slovenian Cup. The final match was played in Ljubljana against NK Olimpija. The match ended in a goalless draw (0–0) and was won after a penalty shoot-out (4–3). This was the first major success for NK Maribor.

NK Olimpija won the first four consecutive championships, while NK Gorica won in the 1995/96 season. NK Maribor was runner up in the 1991/92, 1992/93 and 1994/95 seasons, while ending 3rd in 1993/94 and 4th in 1995/96 season.

During this period the club managed to win another Slovenian Cup in the 3rd season (1993/94), after NK Maribor defeated NK Mura from Murska Sobota in two matches (aggregate 3:2).

Total domination (1996–2004)

The season 1996/97 was the turning point in the history of NK Maribor. The club stormed the Slovenian League and became the national champion for the first time in history. In this season the average home attendance of NK Maribor's matches was 6,000, which is still a record in Slovenian League. The final match of the season was played against NK Beltinci and gathered a crowd of 14,000, which is another record of the Slovenian League.

In 1996/97 season NK Maribor also won the Slovenian Cup, thus winning the double crown, a feat also repeated in the 1998/99 season. The club was also very close to achieving the double crown in the 2003/04 season but was stopped in the final round of the Slovenian League by another rival NK Mura in Murska Sobota, which won the last match by 2–1 and prevented NK Maribor from winning their 8th consecutive title. The club finished 3rd with two points behind the new champions NK Gorica.

One of the most celebrated matches in Slovenian League history was played in the final round of 2000/01 season, when NK Olimpija met NK Maribor at their home stadium in Ljubljana. Both teams were competing for their 5th Slovenian League title. The home team needed a win for the title, while a draw was enough for NK Maribor. The atmosphere was electric days before the kick-off and the stadium with 9,000 seats was completely sold out. At the end, the match ended with a draw (1–1) and NK Maribor started to celebrate their 5th consecutive title in front of more than 1,500 violet fans that gathered in Ljubljana that day.

The club has won seven consecutive Slovenian League championships and three Slovenian Cup titles in eight seasons between 1996–2004 altogether.

In 1999/00 season, the club, under the guidance of Bojan Prašnikar, also defeated KRC Genk and Olympique Lyon and managed to qualify in the elite UEFA Champions league, winning four points (a win and a draw) in the group with Dynamo Kyiv, Bayer Leverkusen and SS Lazio.

Financial difficulties (2004–2008)

The Slovenian Cup in the 2003/04 season was the last trophy won by NK Maribor before the darkest era of the club begun. Between 2004 and 2008 the club was struggling with financial difficulties - the abolishment of the club was seriously considered at one point. Luckily the club did not follow their rivals NK Olimpija and NK Mura on that path.

Due to a high financial debt, which at one point reached 4 million Euros, the club could not afford to buy new players. As a consequence, the first team consisted mostly of youth-team players together with a couple of foreign players brought to the club for free.

These facts make it even harder to believe that the club managed to defeat Villarreal CF, a club that had played in the semi-finals of the elite UEFA Champions League just a couple of months earlier, in the UEFA Intertoto Cup at the start of the 2006/07 season. With this victory NK Maribor managed to qualify into the UEFA Cup, where they were defeated after a dramatic second leg against FK Partizan.

During this period NK Maribor was never better than 3rd in the Slovenian League and was a runner-up in the Slovenian Cup twice.

Recent times (2008+)

With recent appointments of Slovenian football legends, Zlatko Zahovič as sport director, together with Darko Milanič as head coach and club legend Ante Šimundža as assistant coach, the club and its supporters hope for better times.

At the start of 2008/09 season NK Maribor went into history as the first club that has won 1000 points in Slovenian League. This was achieved in the second round against NK Rudar Velenje in Velenje. NK Maribor won 2–1.

In 2008/09 season the team again went far in the Slovenian Cup, reaching semi-finals. They were defeated by Ljubljana based club NK Interblock (5–4 aggregate). Their home defeat 3–2 was their first ever domestic defeat on the renovated stadium (opened in May 2008).

With a 1–0 home victory in front of 9.500 fans against NK Celje on 9 May 2009 the club managed to secure their first title after six years. The scorer of the goal that brought the side its 8th league title was Dalibor Volaš.

At the beginning of 2009/10 season, NK Maribor have won their first Slovenian Supercup title, the only domestic trophy missing among club honours. The club has also reached the final of Slovenian Cup, which was hosted on their stadium in May 2010. Maribor have won their 6th cup after extra time, beating Domžale. With the latest trophy Darko Milanič is the only coach to have won all three domestic trophies in Slovenian club football. He has achieved that in only two seasons.

Maribor played in another Supercup final at the beginning of 2010/11 season, but failed to defend the title at the home ground, losing to Koper after penalties.

Social identity

Kit and colours

Throughout the entire history of the club, they have been represented by the colour purple. At the beginning of the club some officials were favouring the red and white colours, while the traditional colours of MŠD Branik were black and white. Because of the fact that many football teams in SFR Yugoslavia wore red-white or black-white jerseys, most notably FK Crvena Zvezda and FK Partizan, NK Maribor officials decided for a new and fresh combination. They have decided to follow the example of ACF Fiorentina, which at the time was one of the most successful clubs in Europe, and their purple and white combination. Eventually they changed the secondary colour to yellow. Today NK Maribor plays its home matches in purple and away matches in yellow.

Badge

The badge of the club is probably the most recognizable sport symbol in Slovenia. It is based on the official emblem of the city of Maribor.

Stadium

Ljudski vrt

The Ljudski vrt stadium is the only stadium in Maribor that lies on the left bank of the river Drava. The stadium got its name Ljudski vrt (German: Volksgarten) after a public tree park in the area. The first football pitch in this area was built in 1920. The pitch on the present day area was built in 1952, while the stadium itself was not built until 1962. Since then the stadium went through four renovations. The most notable was the last one when the stadium was completely renovated and now holds a capacity of 12,435 covered seats. The number will be increased to a total of 13,000 seats in the next phase of the renovation.

Beside being the home ground of NK Maribor, the stadium also host matches of the Slovenia national football team and was the main venue for 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifications. The record attendance in the SFR Yugoslavia era is around 20,000 spectators, while the record for the Slovenian League match is 14,000 spectators achieved on the last match of the 1996/97 season. This match is still the record holder for attendance at a football match in Slovenian League^[1].

For the local supporters, the stadium is known as Nogometni hram (Football temple) and the pitch itself as Sveta trava (Holy grass). This is most likely due to the tremendous success the club has had on this stadium, but perhaps also because a cemetery was located on the area before the stadium was built.

Domestic league and cup results

*Best results are highlighted.

European campaigns

UEFA club competition record

As of 27 August 2010.

Matches

Season	Competition	Round	Country	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1971	Mitropa Cup	1st Round		Grazer AK	3–1	0-2	3-3(a)
1992/93	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	Qualifying round		Ħamrun Spartans	4–0	1–2	5-2
		1st Round		Atletico Madrid	0–3	1–6	1-9
1993/94	UEFA Cup	1st Round		Gloria Bistriţa	2–0	0–0	2-0
		2nd Round		Borussia Dortmund	0–0	1–2	1-2
1994/95	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	Qualifying round		FC Norma Tallinn	10–0	4-1	14-1
		1st Round		FK Austria Wien	1–1	0–3	1-4
1995/96	UEFA Cup	Qualifying round		Skonto Riga	2–0	0-1	2-1
		1st round		Olympiacos F.C.	1–3	0-2	1-5
1996	UEFA Intertoto Cup	Group 3		FK Austria Wien	3–0
		Group 3		Keflavík Football Club		0–0
		Group 3		F.C. København	0–1
		Group 3		Örebro SK		1–4
1997/98	UEFA Champions League	1st qualifying round		Derry City F.C.	1–0	2–0	3-0
		2nd qualifying round		Besiktas J.K.	1–3	0-0	1-3
1997/98	UEFA Cup	1st Round		AFC Ajax	1–1	1–9	2-10
1998/99	UEFA Champions League	1st qualifying round		Kareda Šiauliai	1–0	3–0	4-0
		2nd qualifying round		PSV Eindhoven	2–1	1–4(e)	3-5
1998/99	UEFA Cup	1st Round		Wisła Kraków	0–2	0–3	0-5
1999/00	UEFA Champions League	2nd qualifying round		KRC Genk	5–1	0–3	5-4
		3rd qualifying round		Olympique Lyonnais	2–0	1–0	3-0
		Group A		Dynamo Kyiv	1–2	1–0
		Group A		Bayer Leverkusen	0–2	0-0
		Group A		SS Lazio	0–4	0–4
2000/01	UEFA Champions League	2nd qualifying round		Zimbru Chisinau	1–0	0-2	1-2
2001/02	UEFA Champions League	2nd qualifying round		Rangers	0–3	1–3	1-6
2002/03	UEFA Champions League	2nd qualifying round		APOEL F.C.	2–1	2–4	4-5
2003/04	UEFA Champions League	2nd qualifying round		NK Dinamo Zagreb	1–1	1–2	2-3
2004/05	UEFA Cup	1st qualifying round		FK Sileks	1–1	1–0	2-1
		2nd qualifying round		FK Budućnost Banatski Dvor	0–1	2–1	2-2(a)
		1st Round		AC Parma	0–0	2–3	2-3
2006	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1st Round		UE Sant Julià	5–0	3–0	8-0
		2nd Round		FK Zeta	2–1	3-0	4-1
		3rd Round		Villarreal CF	1–1	2–1	3-2
2006/07	UEFA Cup	2nd qualifying round		FK Partizan	1–1	1–2	2-3
2007	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1st Round		Birkirkara	2–1	3-0	5-1
		2nd Round		FK Hajduk Kula	2–0	0–5	2-5
2009/10	UEFA Champions League	2nd qualifying round		FC WIT Georgia	3–1	0-0	3-1
		3rd qualifying round		FC Zürich	0–3	3-2	3-5
2009/10	UEFA Europa League	Play-off round		Sparta Prague	0–2	0–1	0-3
2010/11	UEFA Europa League	2nd qualifying round		Videoton FC	2-0	1-1	3-1
		3rd qualifying round		Hibernian FC	3-0	3-2	6-2
		Play-off round		U.S. Palermo	3-2	0-3	3-5

Supporters

Viole Maribor on their south stand during a match

NK Maribor has long been the most popular football team in Slovenia. With the Violets coming from an industrial city of Maribor the team has always been the team of the working class. After Slovenia declared independence in 1991, most of the town's industry perished and almost 30% of the population was unemployed. Still, the people remained loyal to the club as it became their ray of hope. The club has some 20–25% of people in Slovenia that cheer for them altogether, which means that the club is by far the most popular sports club in the country.

The club also has an Ultras group called Viole Maribor established in 1989, and is considered infamous throughout Slovenia. Their average number accounts to around 500 fans, while as much as 2000 fans can gather at their club's matches. They are located on the south stand of the stadium. Their biggest rivals are the Green Dragons of NK Olimpija.

Recently another fan group emerged to support NK Maribor at their matches. The group is called ESS (East Side Supporters) and consists mostly of former members of Viole Maribor. They are, as the name itself implies, located at the east stand of the stadium.

Rivalries

The club's biggest rival is NK Olimpija from Ljubljana, and with NK Maribor coming from the city of Maribor, this also means that matches played between the two clubs are a battle between the two largest cities in Slovenia. These two clubs are by far the most popular clubs in Slovenia and also have the biggest fan groups in the country. On many occasions the matches between NK Maribor and NK Olimpija were interrupted due to violent clashes between Viole Maribor supporting their club and Green Dragons supporting NK Olimpija. The matches between the two rivals are known in Slovenia as Večni derbi (English: Eternal derby). The atmosphere among football fans and the media was and is always packed with emotions days before the match. Overall more than 60 matches have been played between the two clubs, with NK Maribor being more successful.

The other rivalry of the club is the one against NK Mura from Murska Sobota. NK Mura also has one of the biggest fan bases in Slovenia, which is, by number of supporters, usually considered as the 3rd in the country. Matches between the two clubs where usually packed with thousands of supporters and sometimes attendances at these matches even exceeded those of NK Maribor versus NK Olimpija. The rivalry is not as fierce as the one against NK Olimpija, but it is intense nevertheless. This was proven on the last match of the 2003/04 season when NK Mura won the match against NK Maribor by 2–1 and prevented the club from Maribor from winning their 8th consecutive title. The match did not hold any significant importance for NK Mura as their spot in the league had already been determined before the last round.

Both rivalries are not as fierce as they used to be. This is due to the fact that NK Mura plays in the lower tier of Slovenian football now and that NK Olimpija was abolished in 2004 and a new club, despite the same name, that was founded in 2005, is legally not considered as a succesor of the old club.

Honours

Total titles: 15

League

• Slovenian Championships:

Winners (8): 1996/97, 1997/98, 1998/99, 1999/00, 2000/01, 2001/02, 2002/03, 2008/09

Runners-up (4): 1991/92, 1992/93, 1994/95, 2009/10

Cup

• Slovenian Cup:

Winners (6): 1991/92, 1993/94, 1996/97, 1998/99, 2003/04, 2009/10

Runners-up (2): 2006/07, 2007/08

• Slovenian Supercup:

Winners (1): 2009

Runners-up (1): 2010

Other

• The double (League and Cup):

Winners (2): 1996/97, 1998/99

Purple warrior trophy

The Purple warrior trophy (Vijoličasti bojevnik) is a trophy awarded to the most distinguished player in the past season. The winner of the trophy is decided by a poll on the official website of the club, where everybody can participate. The voting starts at the end of the season and is usually finished in a month. The trophy itself is awarded to a player before the first match of the next season by a random selected fan (season ticket holder). One of the honours is also that the picture of the player is being put on display next to the pitch for the entire season. The voting was first introduced at the end of 2007/08 season. Czech defender Lubomir Kubica was selected as the first ever trophy winner.

Winners

• 2007/08 - 037 DF Lubomir Kubica
• 2008/09 - 0 8 MF Dejan Mezga
• 2009/10 - 0 3 DF Elvedin Džinič

Current squad

Pridigar Mejač Rajčević Andjelković Viler Mezga Bačinovič Mertelj Iličić Tavares Volaš

The first squad during the 2010-11 UEFA Europa League campaign.

As of August 2010 Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 3 DF Elvedin Džinič 5 MF Željko Filipović 6 MF Martin Milec 7 DF Aleš Mejač 8 MF Dejan Mezga 9 FW Marcos Tavares 10 MF Tomislav Pavličić 11 FW Dragan Jelič 12 GK Marko Pridigar 13 GK Matej Radan 14 FW Vito Plut 17 FW Dalibor Volaš

No. Position Player 20 MF Goran Cvijanovič 23 DF Mitja Rešek 25 MF Semir Spahić 26 DF Aleksander Rajčević 28 MF Mitja Viler 29 MF Timotej Dodlek 32 FW Robert Berič 36 DF Aleš Majer 39 FW David Bunderla 55 MF Rajko Rep 66 DF Siniša Anđelković 70 MF Aleš Mertelj

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 35 FW Armend Sprečo (at Mura) 11 FW Dragan Jelič (at Krylia Sovetov)

Notable former players

Club statistics and records

Most appearances

Rank	Name	Caps	Still Active?
1	Tomislav Prosen	363	No
2	Aleš Križan	325	No
3	Mladen Kranjc	304	No
4	Herbert Vabič	289	No
5	Gregor Židan	296	No
6	Ante Šimundža	291	No
7	Matjaž Kek	276	No
8	Milan Arnejčič	270	No
9	Emil Šterbal	263	No
10	Herbert Klančnik	256	No

Most goals

Rank	Name	Goals	Still Active?
1	Branko Horjak	128	No
2	Kliton Bozgo	108	No
3	Mladen Kranjc	103	No
4	Ante Šimundža	102	No
5	Igor Poznič	92	No
6	Milan Žurman	89	No
7	Milan Arnejčič	84	No
8	Tomislav Prosen	82	No
10	Bojan Krempl	73	No
10	Bogdan Pirc	66	No

Club officials

• President: Drago Cotar
• Manager: Zlatko Zahovič
• Director: Bojan Ban
• Secretary: Uroš Jurišič
• Head Coach: Darko Milanič
• Assistant Coach: Ante Šimundža
• Goalkeeper Coach: Drago Kondič
• Physiotherapist: Zlatko Milišić
• Team Doctor: Matjaž Vogrin
• Youth center director: Polde Polegek

References

External links

• (Slovene) Official website
• (Slovene) Supporter website

Maribor City neighborhoods Center, Ivan Cankar, Studenci, Magdalena, Tabor, Nova vas, Tezno, Pobrežje, Brezje-Dogoše-Zrkovci, Radvanje Local communities: Bresternica - Gaj, Kamnica, Malečnik Ruperče, Razvanje, Limbuš, Pekre Landmarks Main Square, Plague Memorial, Angels, Koroška Street, Strossmayer Street, Maribor Island, Kalvarija Hill, Pyramid, Maribor Park, Maribor railway station, Drava, Pohorje, University of Maribor, Revolution Square, Maribor Bridge, Cathedral Peak, Maribor, Trieste Road, Maribor, Market Hall, Maribor, Zamorc Hotel, Hutter's Colony, Maribor, Monument of Liberation, Maribor Castles, Palaces, Fortresses Maribor Town Hall, Maribor Castle, Upper Maribor Castle, Water Tower, Jewish Tower, Judgement Tower, Betnava Castle, Vetrinje Mansion, Orešje Castle, Račji Dvor Manor Places of Worship Maribor Cathedral, Maribor Synagogue, Franciscan Church, Capuchin Church, Maribor, Chapel of St. Urban, Košaki Towns and villages Administrative centre: Maribor, Bresternica, Celestrina, Dogoše, Gaj nad Mariborom, Grušova, Hrastje, Hrenca, Jelovec, Kamnica, Košaki, Laznica, Limbuš, Malečnik, Meljski Hrib, Metava, Nebova, Pekel, Pekre, Počehova, Razvanje, Ribniško selo, Rošpoh, Ruperče, Srednje, Šober, Trčova, Vinarje, Vodole, Vrhov Dol, Za Kalvarijo, Zgornji Slemen, Zrkovci Culture NK Maribor, Stadion Ljudski Vrt, Železničar Maribor, Tabor Hall, Slava Klavora Theatre, Slovene National Theatre, Lent Festival, Obzorja, Shopping, Maribor Philharmonic Orchestra, Maribor Academic Choir, Carmina Slovenica, Račji Dvor Open Air Museum, Aquarium Notable people List of people from Maribor